David versus Goliath: How large companies exploit individuals and small businesses

Note: We are publishing this article on a completely exceptional basis, as this time we are going to be sharing a first-hand account.

We, like so many individuals and small businesses who depend on large organisations such as banks or telecoms companies, and who have to keep a very close eye on our expenditure, have fallen victim to the arrogance and abuse of power by a telecoms company – in this case, Orange.

We want to assure everyone who feels this applies to them that, in this case, we will go as far as it takes to ensure justice is done.
Because we have rights, and these must take precedence, however small we may be.

The story of what happened is a bit of a mess and might be too long to go into, so we won’t go into detail. We’d like to point out that it all began with a very friendly and (apparently) reliable sales representative who, taking advantage of the fact that we were moving and expanding our headquarters, promised us the world for our business. She agreed to all our requests. Everything was perfectly tailored to our needs. We were so impressed by her promises that we entrusted her with our landlines, mobile lines and two fibre-optic connections. In short, all the communications from our law firm, on which a large part of our livelihood depends.

But, like any horror story, after this idyllic start, our nightmare began: twelve months of broken promises, appalling management, supply cuts, delays on the part of the company, and new salespeople who wanted to sell us more products, and who to stock our products they even went so far as to forge our signature. Twelve months that ended with a final mistake that left us more than eight days without any connection, and unable to work in the office, with the resulting damage to our reputation, failed commitments to clients, and a great deal of frustration and annoyance. We rang and rang and spoke to numerous departments, yet nobody could or would do anything about it. One of the company’s corporate account managers even went so far as to tell us that the best thing would be for us to switch providers, as Orange did not have the resources to quickly resolve the problem that they themselves had caused.

It got to the point where we sent the company two formal complaints, stating that we had no choice but to ask another company to restore our services, and that is exactly what we did. In view of Orange’s clear, documented and utterly flagrant breach, we switched to another provider, who restored our service within a few hours and everything returned to normal. In our complaints, we documented all the services we had not been able to use but were still being charged for, as well as the damage we had suffered, and demanded that they reimburse us.

Not only have they not deigned to reply, but – despite having forged signatures and systematically failed to fulfil their obligations – they have started to demand penalties from us, threatening to add us to debtors’ registers, whilst systematically ignoring our complaints. Three months after sending a complaint (we have proof of delivery), they tell us they have no record of it and that we should resend it. And they tell us they will continue to pursue the matter relentlessly until we pay. It may not be fair, but that’s the way it is.

In short, this is a blatant trampling of the rights that we – whether consumers, individuals or businesses – have, and which we must defend.

One final point: In the midst of the dispute, the company’s sales representatives have called us twice to try to sell us their products. Long live good management.

Despite the threats – and this is why we are publishing this article – it is because We’re not going to give up under any circumstances. If we have to go to court, we will; we’re lawyers, and we know exactly what we have to do. And we will claim compensation for each and every one of the damages they have caused us.

We stand in solidarity with all those who have experienced or witnessed similar situations and have felt powerless in the face of such an abuse of power.

We will keep you updated.

Xavi Saula
Civil and Commercial Litigation
Bankruptcy
New technologies
Management of non-payment and arrears