Rogue orange sub contractors of fibre

Hi everyone. I just wanted to warn you about something that happened to my neighbour yesterday. She accidentally broke the fibre cable inside her office - she works from home. She reported this to Orange who said they would send someone out to fix it but there would be a charge on her Orange account. Two men arrived and had a look and one said he would replace the cable but she had to pay him €50. She said she was paying Orange for the repair but he insisted he had to get the money. He said OK then €40. She still said no. This went on for a while and eventually she agreed to pay him €30 as she needed her internet to work.

Once they had replaced the fibre cable and left she phoned Orange and told them what had happened. He said this was completely illegal and he was reporting it to the police because this couple could have been pulling this con for years. He said he would contact this man and tell him he had to return her €30 to her post box and on no account was he to go near her house. He warned her to lock everything up securely and call the police immediately if this person returned and he said he would check this morning to make sure she was OK.

The money was in her post box and Orange also said they would waive the cost of the repair because of what had happened. They said these men would lose their jobs and it was now a police matter.

So if you feel you have been fleeced by an Orange or any other sub contractor please report it. These people have to be stopped. Keep safe.

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A question…why didn’t she phone Orange the minute they asked her for cash?

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I imagine she became flustered. She is not a youngster, lives on her own and is English so not fully aware of how things work here. With 2 big men and you there on your own I can see how she felt threatened and gave in. It is easy after the event to think I should have done this or that. Don’t be judgemental. I only relayed the story to try to help others to avoid something similar.

How would they have known she had a problem? Orange must have told them! They are obviously Orange subcontactors, so this is an Orange problem. I’ve had shifty Orange subcontracted sales oversell me, which I had to go to the Orange office to fixe and the subcontracted fibre installer was pretty shoddy (though pleasant) too.

I doubt it. Orange aren’t vetting their subcontractors sufficiently IMO.

Do you think it will be necessary for her to be vigilant for a while?

I’d have asked for a receipt for the money.

It would depend upon whether she also had a mobile. If not and the fibre connection was broken then she wouldn’t be able to call from the house.

In fairness to her, this kind of scam also happens to elderly French people, as French TV shows often illustrate (TV repair, Internet connection, plumbing emergency, locksmith, etc).

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