Orange customer wins court payout over coverage

An Orange customer has been awarded 500 in damages by a UK court after suing the mobile operator for lack of coverage.

According to a report in the Telegraph newspaper, Tom Prescott sued the company after it refused to end his 18-month contract, despite him being unable to get coverage at his home or office in Richmond.

"As soon as I realised I could not get a signal, I tried to cancel it. But the phone networks... would not let me off the contract," he told the newspaper, adding he was often cut off when he tried to call and held in queue for long periods.

Orange said in a statement that it was disappointed with the court's decision because its own records show Prescott had "good use of his phone".

The mobile operator added that there is no precedent set by this case, as all small claims court decisions are made case-by-case. "Dr Prescott's case does not change our liability for any future claims of this nature," Orange claimed.

Orange added that its GSM networks cover 99 per cent of the UK population. "As with all mobile operators, it is worth noting that continuous network coverage cannot be guaranteed and network coverage can be affected by factors outside our control. These points are acknowledged in our terms and conditions."