Orange Loses Legal Action Over Poor Coverage

A British customer has won a court action after successfully suing the Orange network operator over poor coverage at his home and office in South London. Tom Prescott, 32, took Orange to court after they refused to cancel his 18 month contract when he complained about the poor coverage.

He argued that as the operator was willing to offer 18-month contracts, then it should have a reasonable expectation of being able to offer a service.

He won his case at Brentford county court and was awarded £500 (US$722).

The biochemist who represented himself in court said: "I would ring them up and it would take 15 minutes to get through and then my phone would cut off and I would have to ring them again but at the back of the queue", adding "Dealing with Orange was awful. I hope people who have the same problem now realise they can do something about it,"

A spokesperson for Orange told The Telegraph newspaper: "The award granted to Dr Prescott was due to exceptional circumstances. We are disappointed with the outcome as our records show that Dr Prescott had good use of his phone.", warning potential claimants that, "the Brentford County Court judgement in no way sets a precedent as claims made in the small claims court are decided on a case-by-case basis. Dr Prescott's case does not change our liability for any future claims of this nature."

On the web: The Telegraph

Posted to the site on 22nd February 2009