Should I have to pay for internet services not rendered?

There were many in Armenia eagerly awaiting the entry of Orange Armenia, a subsidiary of Orange Telecom (trade name “Orange”) into the communications market here. The hope was that Orange would raise the level of cell phone and internet services to a European level.

However, several months after Orange appeared in Armenia, these hopes were dashed and subscribers never received services on par with Europe. Orange started to offer its services in Armenia on November 5, 2009. According to the company, its 3G network is the most extensive in Armenia, covering 85% of the population. In its website Orange states that, “The objective of Orange Armenia is to become a powerful actor in the Armenian telecommunication market, with high quality services, innovative offers, flexible price policy and a wide sales network. The company offers to its customers the best services based on modern technologies, as well as its know-how and knowledge accumulated in the five continents of the world.” As to what Orange means by “high quality” and “innovative offers” isn’t all that clear, given that in Yerevan and especially the outlying regions, many are displeased with the company’s services, particularly the internet. Potential customers can go to any Orange retail outlet and receive an “Internet Hima 7.2 3G+” modem for just 1AMD by taking out a one year subscription. This is an attractive offer, to be sure, especially since commercials touting Orange high speed internet are flashed on various TV stations several times a day. These ads are especially enticing to residents outside Yerevan who have no real internet alternative. Many sign up and fall into the Orange spider web.

Those who don’t sign up for the one year subscription must pay 24,000 AMD ($65) for the “Internet Hima 7.2 3G+” modem. When Orange first started out it cost a hefty 35,000 AMD. Orange gives customers who sign up for the one year package a15 day grace period to try out the modem and return it if unsatisfied. Customers who decide to return the modem and cancel the contract after this deadline, for whatever reason, must pay the 24,000 AMD modem price and a 1,000 AMD penalty. Thus, even though many are dissatisfied with Orange’s internet service, they stick it out, rather than paying the pricey cancellation charges. I also wound up in this marketing trap and have become an involuntary Orange internet user. At the beginning, the quality of Orange’s internet service was indeed superior when compared to the other two internet providers in Armenia.

This “honeymoon” only lasted 20 days, after which service really took a nose dive. Many other irate Orange customers have made a path to Hetq to express their displeasure as well. Most are from the provinces outside Yerevan. As of September 4, residents of Aghavnatun and surrounding villages in Armavir Marz haven’t been able to connect to their high speed internet. It takes them 10-15 minutes just to connect to a widely used site like mail.ru. Orange customers can’t even send a regular e-mail before the notice “No Service” appears in a window on the computer screen. Internet users have to surf the web to see which of their favorite sites can be accessed before the “No Service” notice reappears. It’s a game of chance and it’s irritating. During the past few days, I must have called Orange customer service fifty times to complain and to ask why the company isn’t living up to its obligations as contractually stated. None of the Orange reps I spoke to were honest enough to say that the problem was a result of their network’s weak connection. Oh no…These Orange customer service personnel preferred to blame everything and everybody else, starting with my computer, mystery viruses, etc. They registered my complaint on September 4 and were supposed to forward the matter to Orange’s technical division for fixing.

This launched another nightmare for me since customers are told to expect a reply within 3-4 business days. If an Orange subscriber’s internet service suddenly decides to break-down on a holiday, the unfortunate soul must wait a full 5-6 days for any hope of relief. On June 24, 2010, Orange CEO Bruno Duthoit declared, “We have achieved something really crucial; we have made   first-class services available for everyone. Every day we continue to work on the quality of our services to make sure that Orange Armenia meets the quality standards of a European operator, at the most competitive price.” Oh, I get it now.

So in Europe, Orange subscribers are billed and must pay for services never received; right? I don’t think so. And I find it hard to believe that companies marketing themselves as high-speed internet providers in any European country also sell low-quality dial-up internet for 6,000-20,000 AMD as Orange does here in Armenia. Irate Orange subscribers who make their way to the offices of Hetq, claim that the quality of their internet connections really dropped after August 28, when the much faster “Internet Hima 14.4 3G+” modem hit the marketplace.

The price for this modem is 15,000 AMD ($40) with a one year subscription and 37,000 AMD ($100) without. Lilit Martirosyan, who heads public affairs over at Orange, explained to Hetq that low level of service in the village of Aghavnatun has nothing to new with the entry of the new faster modem. “In fact, the quality of service is so good thereabouts that in two months we had a lot of people signing up. This put a strain on the network. The relay station will be upgraded in about ten days and the internet’s former speed will be restored,” she replied.

When I asked why it took so long for Orange’s technical services division to get back to customers, Lilit Martirosyan noted that it took a few days for the phone rep to locate a technician and that the technician needed time to perform certain tests, etc., to reveal the cause of the problem and offer solutions. “All this can’t be done in just five minutes. Yes, we know that service is down in that village due to overloading, but this further testifies to our successes,” she maintained. I asked Lilit Martirosyan how Orange planned to compensate me, a customer, for not fulfilling its company obligations. The public affairs director retorted that connectivity fluctuations could not be construed as contractual violations.

“If our specialists note that you aren’t able to connect to the internet for a certain period of time and that the problem is on our end, they will think of something to alleviate your bad luck. I cannot say specifically what they might come up with but we there are clear-cut compensatory mechanisms and you wouldn’t be the first.” Rather than noting what these mechanisms might be and offering the company’s apologies, the head of Orange Armenia public affairs gave this “unfortunate” customer hope that they would think of something to dispel my bad luck. Lilit Martirosyan said that Orange would also be willing to compensate other subscribers if it was proven that the company was at fault. All that remains is for me to personally thank Orange for its kind consideration and the fact that it commiserates with me and others who’ve experienced such “bad luck”.