I HAD an email from a reader of the site asking if I could help with tracking down the telephone number for the English-language service offered by Orange, formerly France Telecom.
The Orange English-language helpline number is 09 69 36 39 00. The helpline is open Monday to Friday, between 9am and 5pm.
If you are in the UK, or another country, and need to call France Telecom then you can contact the English language service on + 33 9 69 39 39 00. So calling from the UK you would begin with 0033.
Another possible solution might be to contact Orange via their Facebook page.
As an aside, you can also use an English language helpline for EDF that will enable you to speak to someone regarding your bill and energy use.
Below is a list of telephone numbers and websites that will be in French, but that might help you with a search for a solution for problems with Orange.
Although it mentions the Dordogne, the telephone numbers and websites are applicable to all.
I have used this service from the UK to setup a telephone and broadband service at my house in Brittany. I can recommend it. They were very friendly and helpful. The English was a bit faltering however infinitely better than my French!
I made numerous attempts to contact the English hot line with no result. I sent an e mail and no reply. When I eventually got thro’ on the phone I was told that, as they were in Paris, they could not advise on a local situation. Try your local France Telecom office!
Hi John
Many thanks for your message.
It is a shame that the FT telephone service has not been able to help you out.
I have spoken to others and received an email just yesterday from a reader of the site saying their own problem had been sorted out, and their property was outside Paris.
If it is a technical problem that you have then that might be why they were not able to help and then it is best if you call into your local office.
A list can be found through this page:
http://www.agence.francetelecom.com/
Click on the link titled ‘trouver facilement votre agence’ at the foot of the page.
Hope this helps.
Craig
is there a free phone number from UK to help line, have phoned and phoned for hours to finally get through and then put on hold for 30 minutes by which time I gave up. and I was paying for that call! Help
Hi Gwineth, I’m afraid I’ve never crossed a free phone number you can call from the UK for France Telecom.
You might have been a little unlucky, I know others have been able to get some joy from the number, but I wonder if there is a “summer holiday” effect!
Another option could be to contact the office local to your home, check the link in the next comment up.
Regards, Craig
I managed to get through to this number in March of this year, made all the arrangements for the installation of a telephone line and for broadband, sat in waiting for the engineer to connect us, he never turned up and I have never been able to get a response to this telephone number ever since, I now notice from our bank statement that they are charging us for the line, I still cannot get through on the english speaking number and cannot find any other number to contact them on.
Hi Alice (and others), I have put a request in to the France Telecom press office to see if they can help with some of the questions posed.
Will hopefully hear from them soon, Craig
This free number worked well after it was first created but now it is always busy..whenever you ring..and after a short message you are cut off so no hanging on for half an hour..equally no service!
I have just tried the Francetelecom -english-speaking service and no response. We are trying to have our telephone line cut off-there is no link on the website to do this-anyone got a suggestion?
I tried the “+ 33 1 55 78 60 56” number today and sat for over an hour listening to the following recorded message every 12 seconds (typed exactly as spoken):
“Wecome to your France Telecom Orange in please speaking customs service. Please hold on, your request is being handled. Please note that technical issues are to be handled by dialing three nine zero zero”
Somehow, I feel that my request wasn’t being handled and guess I’m going to have to do it the regular way, in French =(
After 1 hour and 7 minutes a woman speaking perfect English answered the phone! \o/
Wow Craig, that sort of perseverance definitely deserves having your problem with France Telecom answered.
Hope it has been sorted out.
Craig
My initial experience with the english speaking helpline was good – albeit after the obligatory 30 mins waiting to be connected. This was to get my line set up properly so I could start getting a service.
Now, when they messed up my account so I ended up paying for all my international calls, I asked them to change me back to the tarrif I was supposed to be on so my calls were free, suddenly they can’t help me.
1 month later and still they haven;t changed me back….
I tried the ….6056 number at 10.00 recorded message. Why do they advertise these matters if they are unable to staff them ? Hopeless service.MH.
The only time I have ever managed to get through was when their computers were down, and no they wouldn’t do anything…I was to call again later. This was after three days of trying to get through on behalf of an elderly neighbour who had been cut off. They were quite happy for her to stand in a phone box for hours trying to get through. I’m afraid I told them what I thought of them. I agree, if they don’t staff the line properly, why bother.
Just come off the phone from FT. Took just ten minutes to answer, but as has been said the lady at the other end could not HAVE BEEN MORE HELPFUL!!!
One way to get a cheap or free call in France is to employ the services of Primus Telecom which acts in the guise of Andy at http://www.AS24telecom.com I get FREE calls using FT lines!! And a CHEAP rate number for UK people to ring me on (3P a Minute!)
BUT yes! The service worked for me!!
Chris
I’ve had a bad experience trying to connect with the English-speaking France Telecom number in my attempt to get a broadband service.
Teleconnect couldn’t help – they found my number in France Profund out of reach.
My solution was Broadband in France an English company pledged to sort out problems with France Telecom. They set up the system by phone; the necessary router arriving as promised and a local difficulty sorted with the eventual attendance of a France Telecom engineer at the promisd time. Both Toby and Philippa impressed me with their concern maintaining comforting contact until it was up and running.
Phoned the No. from the UK at 8o/c UK time. Got the recorded message for about 10 mins and then got through to a guy who spoke good English. I wanted 2 lines disconnected, plus broadband termination. He sorted it all – no further action need from my end (well let’s hope I don’t receive any more bills anyway!!)Seems like an excellent service to me, thanks for the info.
It is maybe too much to think that FT has taken a look at this list of complaints and decided to do something???
All the best
Craig
The France Telecom English speaking phone line is a complete nightmare – You just CAN’T GET THROUGH. Constant recorded messages saying, “All our lines are busy”. This has gone on for days now…. Is there a way of contacting them on line?
NIGHTMARE. All I can say. They continue to take money from my account, yet I have no service, no live box> They won’t let me cancel it. They won’t answer the phone. NIGHTMARE. How do companies legally get away with this?
Same comments as the majority above- am desperate to get phone line installed and no joy- 58 attempts to get through and one succes but 33mins later nobody actually answered the call- this is absolutely ludicrous!!! am now really worried that if i ever get through and get connected will i get a service? and to think i used to moan about BT….happy days!
Hi to everyone who is currently trying without success to contact the English speaking arm of France Telecom. Quel horreur!! I am sitting here now with the ‘phone on speaker,having listened to a lady repeating her message every 12 secs.I have filed some papers, filed my nails and filed into the kitchen for a coffee,all during the 23 mins I have been waiting.Still no joy.Never mind.The office is tidy,my nails are immaculate and I’ve had my caffeine fix.Unfortunately,France Telecom are continuing to take money from my CA account for a service I replaced with Tele 2 in Feb.Tele 2 tell you they will do all the change over details,but they seem to have slipped up with us. They however,will only tell me to contact France Telecom service cientele,and absolve themselves of all responsibility for the c–k up.
Now, where’s that Revlon Vixen Red nail polish,whilst I have this time on my hands—
I too tried the English “help”???? line. I did get through after 20 minutes and the lady tried her best to help but I still have not solved my problem.
Every other month I have been billed for 0899 premium rate services. Not sure if these are telephone calls or internet dial ups or internet access. ALL I want is to have these calls barred. FT helpline suggested entering in a pin code which I assume will need to be entered for all external calls. However, the help given did not seem to work.
Does anyone know how to block these calls?
In the UK you call BT and they can instantly block all such calls.
Thanks
Martin
France Telecom..? In English..? They can barely speak French, and in any case only if you can ever get through to them! At least (since 1 June 08) the calls you make to them are less expensive – IF you call from a FIXED F-Telecom landline, or if you use their “Livebox”(which you must have to be an Internet customer of F-Telecom). If you use a handy (mobile) then the costs are horrendous!
My tip is: When you arrive in France, decide what you want first (just phone, or phone and Internet etc..) then COMPARE the prices. Fr-Telecom is the MOST EXPENSIVE for all things, particularly for unlimited International calls via the Internet,which I presume would interest most “ex-pats”. The EXTRA subscription for that is from 7euros/month (this gives you 30 minutes to French handies as well)
Tele2, SFR, Free, Neuf, and a multitude more offer much, much cheaper services, with the International call service INCLUDED! Do a “google” on them!
There are quite a few other “extras” with F-Telecom (also called Orange.fr or wanadoo.fr)
so make your choice WISELY!
ALL the services in France are not extremely reliable, with cuts and other problems a regular feature, and “help” lines are a nightmare! Even writing to them very often produces NO reaction at all!Even by REGISTERED POST (expensive) you ain’t got any guarantee of a reply, particularly if you’re asking for your money back!
F-Telecom is supposed to be the most reliable, hence the cost factor, but I haven’t found that to be the case. Neuf (where I was a client) was miserable, and required an Ombudsman complaint to get away from, F-Telecom is going the same way, probably “bye-bye” end of this year!
The only one I had very few problems with was Tele2 (still exists, but has been bought by SFR- I had few problems with them either for my handy, in the past) and I will probably return to Tele 2 later! I’ve already got my handy with Tele2 and – no problems, to date!
It’s all a lottery – pay your money and take your chance/choice!
Certainly I wouldn’t want to have to try and do it all in English – that would be sheer HELL!
Made your choice? Try and get someone in France to order (Handy/Landlines/with or without Internet connexion are all available to order and subscribe to ONLINE!)on your behalf. You can always change the address and any other things necessary later on – BUT..you WILL need either your own Bank/Postal Account in France, or a damned good friend!
The last time I subscribed, I was told in no uncertain French that I should ALWAYS do it by Internet – it’s cheaper, easier, quicker and more certain!
All of which does not augure well for when you have to contact them by mail (posted with a stamp!)- The risk of them “losing” or “never receiving” your letter is GREAT…..!
As I said – pay your brass………
My experience with FT English-speaking service was horrendous. Swapped to Phonexpat for both landline and internet – good prices and excellent support (en anglais!).
FT are totally useless.If they wish to sell you something they will phone and persuade you in perfect english to take whatever offer they are pushing at the time.However when it goes wrong,(and it will) they suddenley don’t have any English speaking staff.One woman on a help line repeatedley told me in perfect english that I must phone them and speak only in French.
Last year we lost our adsl line,it took a French speaking friend 45 minuntes to convince the ‘technician’ that it was a line fault and not some configuration error on my pc,they agreed to send an engineer,who never arrived but the line was re-established 10 days later.
On Sat the 21st June a storm brought down our neighbours cherry tree,and our phone line with it.They are French,and have phoned FT at least four times to my knowledge with no results.On Friday last, armed with ladders gaffa tape and a length of wire ‘pinched’from another felled line I reconnected the line .I wonder how long ,if at all,it will be before they repair the line?
In conclusion,useless, useless, useless!
I have found it most effective to use France Telecom, although, it is true that I usually step in to help clients when they cannot make progress with the English speaking department. I have always found them courteous, they ring back when they say they will ring back.
If you are seriously struggling and do not speak the language, you can send me an e-mail I’ll happily see what I can do to help.I always feel it is better to find a solution and to help each other out, rather than focus on the challenges and create hostile feelings.
Help! I have been on the phone for half an hour both to the English and French line for equal times! After getting through on the English line eventually, they were actually fairly unhelpful and clearly unphased – what I really need is a fax number, a working email as this one disclosed doesn’t work and an address! We need to courier some documents and also forward using all three communication methods! Gratfeful for you help… K
Hi Kate, I’m afraid I have no other information than that supplied, and as you are finding out service can be a bit dodgy.
All the best, Craig
France Telecom is a complete nightmare,helpline is useless even after cancelling my account they are still taking my money.AVOID LIKE THE PLAGUE
I have had trouble with France Telecom for the last 4 years. First of all, we signed up to them, they billed us line rental and broadband for 9 months and we had no line installed by them, just a dead end cable up a pole half a mile from the house. It took another 6 months to get our money back. Eventually they did install a line 1 year after that. Now we have an automatique prelevement set up, which never gets paid – so each month we have to manually pay by credit card. The bank says the problem is with France Telecom. The next problem we had was the ‘Free International Calls’ to all countries in the EU, which includes Poland, when we received our bill we were charged over 100 Euros in one month for calls to Poland at a completely rip-off rate like half a Euro per minute, when we phoned France Telecom to find out why they had billed us for this, Poland mysteriously was not on their list of countries in the EU. Use France Telecom AT YOUR PERIL.
Having read the comments above I would have sought a different provider. I have just spent 3 days trying to contact French Telecom English helpline and still trying. Can anything be done about this problem?
Two years ago we took out a phone broadband package with FT which we were billed for, for 6 months with no line and no connection. When I went to the local FT office (and spoke with a guy who just about spoke english) he assured us that there will be no costs involved as he could prove there was no active line there.Lo and behold, I then get bill after bill threatening court action for unpaid bills. I ended up paying them despite trying to dispute them thru the english speaking line, as I didnt want a black mark by my name in France.
I am now in the process of moving to France with 2 internet businesses I own and need the reassurance that they will connect the line for internet access but it seems to be an ongoing problem in the village.
Has anyone any advice? Thanks.
Hi Bronwen, I don’t think it is possible to offer ‘reassurance’ as such, because like most countries whilst the technology is there it seems to be the admin system that falls over!
All I would suggest is to try and have a back-up plan, this could be short periods of mobile access or even using some one else’s connection whilst your account is being processed.
It might also be worth asking about the business accounts ISPs offer as these allegedly offer better service.
Thanks Craig. Thats really useful. Will let you know how I get on!
I sympathise with you all. We ordered a phone line and broadband on 23rd May. Finally got the phone connected on 5th September! but still no internet access. Meanwhile they have taken the money each month for a service which we haven’t had. I have lost count of the e-mails that I have sent as well as visiting our local shop and my daughter(who speaks fluent french)has made numerous phonecalls. Once you have signed up you can”t cancel or they send you threatening letters. I was going to cancel the Direct debit but was advised not too so we can’t get out of the agreement until it expires. I have never been able to get through to the english speaking line and am quite appalled by the service. I’m know e-mailing every day and hope that they might get so annoyed that they’ll do something. By the way you can get calls from UK to France for 1p a minute. 3p is quite expensive. Use Telediscount ( google it).
I have used France Telecom for over 2 years now and have found every thing Ok.I can only complain about the time it takes to get through to the freephone English line,but when i get through things get sorted fast.I moved house in Jan 2008, and phoned the Freephone line and had my phone and internet transferred in 3 days.
Last month the bank srewed my Direct debit up and i was cut off.Phoned Freephone paid with catre banqueaire and was back on in 2 hours.I have found its not a good idea to go into one of the shops, as they are useless and seem to be on commision or something,maybe just useless.I have found all the people on the Freephone number to be friendly and helpfull,so just keep trying to get through on that, as its the only one that is going to get you anywhere, unless your French is perfect.
As for coming here to run an Internet based buisines, be aware that some Vilages and Hamlets have no ADSL, if you must have access ask at the Marie, and dont expect that it is available everywhere,
Also some are so far from the Exchange your speed will be limited.Its not the UK its France and things are different,after all thats why we are here.
Want a Gauranteed Fast connection,then live in a City and get Fibre,as anywhere else is hit and miss at the moment.
Seems to be luck of the draw with France Telecom….I have been trying to get through to the English help line for several weeks ‘please call back later’ is the response. I have tried other avenues without success. My phone and i/net line stopped working in May 2008, an overhead line fault seems to be the problem and despite one visit in August where the technician decided his ladder was too short and despite a promise that he would return, he has never been seen again.After all this time I just want to cancel my dealings with FT as the customer service is non existant and I am still paying rental on a non working line.
Has anyone any ideas on how to resolve my problem and does FT chiefs know or care how bad their service is??
Interesting comment the last post made about
“Do FT chiefs know or care how bad their service is?”
After my last dealing with the English Line i received an email questionair about the service.
Sounds good but Why the Hell send it in French.
I will Reply but it will Take me a bit longer to do so.
Just want to say that I have a second home in France and due to mobile not working very well in the area decided to get a land line. This was installed in August 08, so far no problem.They arrived on time and were extremely helpful. The first bill arrived shortly after to my address in France and my neighbour posted it on to me in England. However another bill arrived and my neighbour sent it on but there was a delay and although I paid the bill as soon as I received it,I was cut off over the christmas period. I rang the english helpline and was told the operators were all busy on numerous occasions. I am pleased to say I rang back and waited no more than 10 minutes to be put through after it asked me to hold. I spoke to an extremely helpful lady whose English was perfect.She explained I would need a new number(which I found rather strange)however she explained it well and I had to pay to be re-connected. She has arranged for my bills to be on line as well as sent to my address in England. I have paid the remains of the last bills line rental via english credit card and will now pay via direct debit. Much easier, I hope. Just want to say please persevere with the English line and when you do get through they are more than helpful.
Can you help?
I want a broadband connection in my apartment in the alps. At present I have a france telecon fixed line and use dial up. I certainly don’t fancy going through the endless calls to the france telecom english speaking line to try and get it sorted out. Is there any other way!!!!!!
Thanks for the comments, it does look as though you struck gold there Simon, and if you already have dial-up access Charlie then you will be able to subscribe to broadband online.
Or the other option is to head to your nearest France Telecom shop armed with copies of your most recent bills.
All the best, Craig
Hello, my wife and I are moving to France for 9 months beginning in June. We will be living in a small village near Clermont-Ferrand (30km away). Her family has a home there, which does not have phone service. I was wondering if there is a way to get high speed internet service without the phone line. We live in the U.S. now and many of the satellite and mobile phone carriers have internet services that don’t require a land line. It’s important for me to have internet access as my consulting work will be sent via e-mail from the the U.S. and the U.K. I know this is an oxymoron in France, but I need the easiest short term solution. Any advice?
I was going to try contactacting FT English helpline but judging by the comments here thought I would have a better chance of a sensible answer by trying here first!I have a holiday home in the Lot which has a land line connection. For the last 3 or 4 times I have paid my bill online by credit card through the FT website following the links as shown on the back of the bill ‘onglet fixe’ and ‘reglez votre facture’. However when I tried to do so with my current bill and went to the website I can’t for the life of me see these links anywhere, despite them being still printed on the bill. I’m not particularly computer literate but can usually navigate my way to most things but this has got me stumped!Any tips?
Many thanks
Peter
Please ignore my plea for help shown above. I managed to get my head round the FT website and found what I was looking for. Bill now paid!
Thanks for the space anyway
Hi, I have just noticed that since 2nd Feb 2009 my calls to UK landlines suddenly have a charge against them. But I have a contract that provides for unlimited calls to Europe landlines. I called the English speaking helpline (0800 364775) today. The first 2 attempts gave me a message along the lines of “Can’t deal with your call at present, please call later”. However on my 3rd attempt I got a different message “please hold, your call will be answered shortly”. After 3 or 4 of these a very helpful gentleman answered and assured me that it will be corrected automatically and not to worry.
So,as long as it is, I think that is a result. Having read the comments on here beforehand I was not very hopeful. And I was calling between 12.30 amd 13.00. Pretty good for France.
Think you’ve done well there Ron, maybe that’s the secret get them when their guard is down over lunch 😉
Craig
We didin’t pay our bill on time, and had our telephone disconnected. After over an hour trying to find a non-freephone number for France Telecom so that we could pay the bill and get reconnected, I gave up. In desperation I Googled a search phrase and came up with this site and the number to call. I called at 9.45 am, got through immediately, and spoke to a very pleasant guy who spoke better English than my French. Good enough for me! I was able to pay the bill by card, and get reconnected immediately (with a different number). He pulled the details up immediately, organised email invoices, gave me a payment reference and even our new number. He even attempted, in true British fashion, to sell me extra services like Internet connection, etc. An excellent service, many thanks!
I have tried for four weeks to contact French Telecom/orange using the English helpline number. My new provider informed FT that I would be changing providers from January 09 in December 08, and FT informed my telephone company, but it appears that FT did not bother to notify Orange (part of FT), and they are now trying to charge me for two months service. The line was disconnected by the time I returned from UK on Jan 4th, as arranged so I could not use phone or internet even if I wanted to. I learnt from my old phone supplier that FT had contacted them on 24th December. When I found out in February, I decided to contact FT/Orange again as I don’t see why I should pay for a service that was not active. I am really annoyed that whatever time I phone, and however often during the day, all I get is a message telling me to call back later! I am now going to ask a French speaking friend to telephone for me as I just don’t know what else to do. I certainly wouldn’t go back to FT!
0800 364 775 is the number to call @ they were very helpful 16E per month + 55E one off connection charge and you can have the service turned on and off for when you are there and only pay 16E pm + calls.
Hi Simon,
Many thanks for that, and I’m not sure if you are highlighting the Ligne Résidence Secondaire? If so there is an article here:
https://thisfrenchlife.com/thisfrenchlife/2008/04/france-telecom.html
All the best,
Craig
My local office in Gueret could not be more helpful, but you have to be reasonably adept in French.(It’s the country, it’s not the UK, which is a clue, anyway it’s polite). I go in, I talk to the people, things get sorted. Initially I used the office in La Souterraine, now closed sadly. Our house had a live connection which the previous owner had omitted to close, owing lots. FT reopened it for us with a different number. We visited at 10am and the line was open at 3pm. I would always visit rather than deal over the phone, even though my French is good.Gueret office report that they try their best to help with customers who don’t speak much French, but in that case there are often problems even face to face.
Hi GinaJ, must admit that heading to the local office, armed to the teeth with past bills, is most probably the best way to get things sorted out.
All the best, Craig
I finally got through but the support was not great. As my problem is likely to be technical he could not transfer me as I cannot speak French. Instead, I was given the http://www.1013.fr website which translates into english. From here you can e-mail the technicians and hopefully they will come back to me.
Just tried to get through to the English speaking help line again (0033155786056) from the UK and there is now a recorded message saying the number has been changed and is now 0800 3006470075. As this is an 0800 number you cannot dial it from the UK!
Hi Linda,
Thanks for that, I’ll try and check up to see what has happened.
All the best, Craig
I have spent the last 3 months calling France Telecom on all their different numbers , to report a dead land line. They have sent me round in circles, making me call yet more numbers (from neighbours and phone booths),cutting me off and simply not sorting the problem out. No one seemed to want to take responsibilty.I then sent e-mails, letters etc. Still no help. Until I found your page, rang 00 33 800 364 775 at 8 am from the UK. Fantastic! They were efficient, helpful, sourced the problem & organised an engineer.The English helpline is brilliant! Now lets hope the engineer turns up. I have learnt a lesson though. If your phone+broadband work, leave them. Don’t get sucked into any changes/deals. I went from perfect seperate internet & phone to the internet-phone deal. Thats when the problems started.I had to unravel this to get back to the old system. Instead of saving money, it has cost me paying for a dead landline for months. Thanks for that number…I feel I’m finally getting somewhere. Does anyone have ideas on how to save money on international calls on a non-France Telecom deal??
Hi Val, many thanks for your message and I hope other readers are able to pick up some tips. As for saving money on international calls, seeing you have broadband why not try Skype?
http://www.skype.com/
All the best, Craig
I needed to report a fault on my France Telecom fixed line in our French house. My French is OK but, in anticipation of struggling to understand in French on the phone, I called the English-speaking number (0800 364775), prefixing 0033 as I called from UK. I called at 10:45 UK time and a recorded messge advised me of a “less than 6 mins wait”. Within 5 mins I got through to a very pleasant agent who accessed all my details quickly and also checked the line whilst I waited. He confirmed severe interference on the line and also that an engineer would call to fix within 2 days, explaining that the fault would be outside the house and so access to the house would be unnecessary. He also offered to confirm the repair by text to my French mobile. So far so good………seems a good service to me.
I have rung the english speaking line to be told that it is now an 0800 number – which one cannot ring from the UK. I have spent time on the site trying to find another number to ring with no joy – has anyone a number I can ring from the UK so that I can arrange for the internet to be back on when we go in July.
I work at the english helpline.
On the 0800 number, you have two services : the commercial (billing,sales, subscriptions, etc.) and the technical service.
The technical service is only about the broadband connection, we can’t handle everything else.
People call us about landline problems, but we can’t do anything. And don’t listen to the commercials who tell you that we can !
Hello,
I work too for the commercial department of France Telecom. It is certain that any request or bills complain or any other subject (apart the technical part) is welcome.
The technical choice (option 2) is there to offer assistance on your Internet or give you the opportunity to bring a technician to your home (or even remotely) to help you configure your hardware.
We are now a dozen of consultants in business side, and also technical, so be sure you will not wait too long …
good luck
hi,already have a France Telocom line which we had suspended when we left after last visit in April. Have been trying for several days to get it reconnected but am going round in circles. Tried 0033800364775 to be told by a helpful young man that that number was for Orange and not FT. Help !!
I have used the FT English helpline previously and found them helpful but it took a little while to connect.
Phoned them this week and a message says the number has changed to 0800 364 775 (the old freephone number from france.
I then dialled 0033 800 364 775 from England and got through almost immediately and a very well spoken assistant arranged to reconnect my phone and broadband for my summer visit to my residence secondaire.
I appreciate comments from people wish to help however I have tried to contact FT on several numbers over several days. The 0800 number does not work. Their French number does not work. I think the best way will be to fly down and sort it out. It will be quicker.
Best advice I can give people is to get some french lessons and use the French service. Combined with a good dose of babelfish and a little preparation its amazing what you can achieve…
With regards the comments about the quality of service, can’t say its been any worst than the UK. Obviously we lived in the sticks in the UK. For newcomers to rural life (living a good 10 miles from a town) then obviously you may notice a difference in service as lines get chopped accidentally by farmers each year etc… best advice is to expect it.
Hi
I have found the English speaking helpline very helpful too.
I am in the process of having broadband installed by Orange, and they now have a contract free service which I am told, (and hope!) allows me to return the Livebox at the end of my final stay of the year , cancel the service and then take out a new deal next year. Of course I use the service for second homes that allows me to put my line into suspension too.
I am also taking a great new gizmo with me that allows me to take my local UK number with me and make totally free phone calls not only to the UK, France, Us, Oz etc, but lets my UK friends call me at a UK rate too! It’s something which the company I use supplies, and I also benefit from totally free calls to France from the UK, which is a terrific help when contacting people there.
I’d be interested in hearing whether anybody else has signed up for this new Orange Internet service?
I’m beginning to despair!
If you phone the English help service from the UK, you are directed to the 0800 number, and that seems not to operate.
HAs anyone got any advice, a number, anything! My phone in France has been broken for more than 6 months now …
Cheers, and thanks in advance
Matthew
Hi Matthew,
Not sure what numbers you’ve tried, but have you had any luck calling from the UK with: 00 33 800 364 775
There is also an online error report service, more here:
https://thisfrenchlife.com/thisfrenchlife/2009/04/france-telecom-online-error-report-in-english.html
Hope this helps,
Craig
We are having a dreadful time with our phoneline since Easter 09. First the line did not function at all and now it does function but we have no internet connections. SFR our ISP has been and done a technical check on all the equipment and it is fine. The problem is with the line and France Telecom. My husband is at present in France (Charente) and I am in England. We are paying for both the line rental (FT) and the internet provision (SFR) and have had more or less no service since the end of May and intermittent service prior to that. Does anyone know how I can ring FT or SFR from UK? I have tried in vain to contact them but can only doso by email.
ANy suggestions gratefully received.
The 0800 number doesn’t connect when using my UK mobile phone from France. As my French landline isn’t working – hence needing to reach FT – this is rather useless and frutrating. At the moment I can not make contact with FT by any means on the phone to fix my phone problem!
Hi Allison, do you know anyone else near to you so that you can use their landline, it is a free call from such. Otherwise you may have to head to your nearest France Telecom office.
All the best, Craig
We ditched France Telecom & Orange & now have broadband with UK Telecom Ltd,
We pay one fee for the phone, broadband, free calls to France & UK & FREE English helpline.
The bill can be paid in euros or sterling.
The freephone number is a lifesaver! Just remember to dial 0033 then 800…..from the UK. At least they give you customer service, which certainly isn’t always the case! Why are Sagem Liveboxes so unreliable though? I have to collect my second replacement.
We have a second home in Averyon which we only use for 2 fortnights a year. I believe you can cease the fixed line when you are not there, to save money. Is this the case, as I cannot find any way of doing on the FT website? Has anyone else done this, and how did they arrange it?
Hi Judy,
You are looking for a Ligne Résidence Secondaire, I’ve written a little here:
https://thisfrenchlife.com/thisfrenchlife/2008/04/france-telecom.html
Hope this helps,
Craig
The free phone number for France Telecom 0800364775 does not work
I have been trying to get hold of France telecom for weeks and I have lost count of how many hours I have spent on the phone waiting to speak to a human, but today at 10.30am I got through to a helpfull man.
We sold our house in France in September and I wrote to all the utilities and cancelled our accounts, only France telecom kept sending me bills which are not mine they are the new occupants bills. Anyway he gave me a postal address and said to send out another letter in English or French and send it by international signed for post only: Orange Internet/phone services, Unit 11,, Bordeaux, Cedex 9, France.
I will do this today and fingers crossed my line will be cancelled.
Hope this helps anyone else out there.
Does anyone have an e-mail address for FT?
I am trying to re-connect my French landline, with broadband internet…have spoken with FT, loads of promises..but nothing!!!
I think that France Telecom coupled with Orange .fr is a total disgrace. They are holding up all hope of progress in this the 21st century. The help line is ignorant and altogether hell to deal with. I wish and hope that we can find an alternative server. I am sick of giving them huge fees for an appalling sevice. In England the charges are approximately one quarter of those thieved from the hapless French people. I may decide to quit this onece beautiful country because I can not stand the general acceptance of incompetance that pervades the whole of the business world and the happy go lucky but high charging tradespeople.
Does anyone know the email address of tech support for French Telecom Internet. I am in the USA (west coast) and never seem to be able to call them. All I want to know is what kinds of wireless modems are compatible with their wireless ADSL system. Thanks.
Area DORDOGNE: I have had no internet and telephone for 3 months. I am age 78 and contacted and visited France Telecom/ orange at least 20 times and to no avail. Is there anyone that can assist in this matter. My sister in England is dying and the only contact I have is with an English mobile which is far too expensive. I had a brain haemmorage 3 years ago which could reoccur at anytime. Nobody seems to have any consideration of our age and infirmities. THIS IS REDICULOUS. Please can someone give any advice or assistance on this matter. Many Thanks
Phoned just after 8.00am from UK to reconnect line and internet at maison secondaire. Message said queue was about 8 mins. In fact took about 16 mins but then dealt with very efficiently, so very pleased as long as they do as promised.
On leaving France last year we had to cancel our utilities contracts. There were no problems with the EDF, Canal Plus,Orange Telecom etc; but Orange Internet took an extra 3 months charges ie until the end of the existing contract even though we had advised them that we had left the country. They did not respond to letter, emails or telephone messages. As the sum involved is less than 100 Euros they are probably assuming that we will not pursue them through legal channels and are deliberately ignoring us.
Is this a well known problem with Orange Internet and is there anything one can do?
Beware of France telecom/Orange – they share the same bed.
On 23 June 2011 I had a telephone and internet account with SFR and I also had an Orange account for my mobile. My SFR account runs until February 2012. I rang the “Help line” to check out whether it could be worth combing my mobile,telephone and internet when my SFR account ended in February 2012. 48 hours later I had no telephone or internet. France telecom had cut the line. Orange had informed SFR that I had changed to Orange (untrue)Orange advisors get a financial bonus for upgrading contracts !! I had been verballed and an allegation made that I had switched to Orange for TV,telephone, internet and mobile phone – all which was a fiction of the Advisor’s imagination. All 5 letters dispatched by registered post have been ignored and now I have written to the Mediateur Telecommunications. As I write, on a friend’s computer, I still have no idea when or if I will be reconnected. The alleged new contract was due to start on 1st July 2011 yet Orange are trying to bill me for June which I have already paid to SFR – a sum of 745 euros – my internet with SFR is illimited so often it is left on all day. As you can imagine it is a nightmare. They also allege that I have the equipment to connect to Orange but I took it to an Orange shop on 28th June 2011 (4 days before the alleged contract was due to start). I have a receipt but Orange ignore this. They also want 500 euros for cancelling a contract that doesn’t exist.
It’s an unfortunate fact, and a “pet” theme of mine!
The bigger a company gets, the more anonymous, unfriendly, unhelpful it becomes, and generally more expensive!
Just in that one sentence, you’ve got the problems of France Telecom – Orange – Wanadoo or whatever else you Wannacall it!
For some years, they haven’t been able to help their own employees, who just keep jumping out of windows – the suicide rate at F-Telecom is huge.
Sad – but if they do nothing about helping their staff, what do you imagine they’ll do to help you – a simple client?
During 7 years of being a France Telecom customer we have had repeated experience of the Emglish-speaking customer help-line staff being totally incompetent – they say they’ll reconnect the line – they don’t. They say they’ll suspend the line – they don’t. They say they’ll e-mail you a ‘model letter’ and the address to WRITE to to suspend your internet connection – they don’t bother. It really is unbelievable how often the staff quite simply just don’t care what sort of service they’re providing.
can you advise how Icontact an english speaking line regarding my orange account
PLEASE give me your mailing address. I telephoned from USA to SUSPEND my telephone and ASDL services on 05 65.38.14.74 until I reactivate in May, 2012, but the agent tole me I had to write a letter to request ASDL suspension, The line was cut off and I did not receive from him the mailing address.
Merci ppur votre assistance.
Rudolph Lea
I live in Canada and for some reason I keep getting an email message, in French, appearing to be from France Telecom (Orange). It’s an alert saying my bill is past due. From service-orange@alert.fr
I can barely read the message, I’m not very good with French, but it shows an amount in Euros? I think? 59.80 that I owe. Do you know how I contact these guys from Canada about this? I have NEVER HEARD OF NOR USED THIS SERVICE.
Thanks!
That looks like a spam message to me, I’d just file it under ‘b for bin’.
Can anybody give me help how I cancel or block a payment with France Orange. I am being charged a large amount for internet plus, which I do not know what that is