ligne fixe en panne - contact for Orange please?

Our land line seems to have gone down such that when you pick up the receiver all you get is a lot of crackling. We cannot dial out and have tried dialling in to no avail. Therefore, I need to phone Orange (as that is our provider), but from my mobile (which is not Orange) and therefore I am searching for the "long" number I would call from, in effect, another provider (as my mobile is Reglomobile). I have already looked on all our Orange paperwork and it seems to assume that even if the land line goes down you might be able to ring them from your Orange mobile! Ugh!
Please help!
Thanks.

The English speaking helpline number is 0969 36 39 00

thanks Irena. According to the message I got when I rang it says that French users are causing a bouchon with this line and therefore there is a long queue............I also have to work out how to hold the call and bring up the keypad on my mobile so that I can choose option 1,2, etc ggrrrrrhhhh.

I usually call via skype as I can then carry on working or doing whatever whilst I hold. It can take up to 30 mins to connect sometimes. Late afternoon as the best times to call and mid morning. First thing in morning and just after lunch are the worst!

......I don't have a telephone subscription with Skype........and I can't afford to use up 30mins plus on my mobile........so I'll try and find another way thanks.

Have you tried online at http://assistance.orange.fr/telephone/telephone-fixe/.

If you go to http://tester-depanner-vos-services.orange.fr/?page=accueilRTC and click on 'commencer' in the orange box I think it tests your line.

If your French isn't great and your using Microsoft (not Mac) then you can right click on the website page and choose 'translate to English' from the drop down box that appears. Sometimes the English is a bit muddled but it certainly gives you the gist of what it says.

Thanks again Irena, but, both of these again assume that you have Orange broadband as they test through the internet connection and mail you.......neither are we an "Open" client. So, back to the drawing board.

So, the latest is that I have been to the Mairie this morning and the secretary has telephoned France Telecom who have confirmed we have a faulty line which will be fixed in 1,2,3 ...7...days!!!

Blakevine, that message does say that, but it's for the French speakers only, to get them to call their own number. I rang a couple of times, and after that message, I was through in no time.

Yes, Inkflo, I know that. My timing was obviously not good as I hung on for a few minutes and then rang off as I was just hearing a repeat of the message. However, this morning's trip to the Mairie was worth it as my telephone line is now fixed!!!

That was quick!

Yes - it was a bit too quick! The ligne seems fine as I can get a dialling tone and dial out, but, checking my boites aux lettres I found an Avis de passage and it seems that they also need a r-d-v to come inside chez nous. So, I telephoned today and having progressed through the voice recognition thingy in French (that was a first for me), a nice lady went away to check the line again and then rang me back to say it was still faulty! So, I now have a r-d-v for tomorrow (!) between 13h and 18h. I've since had a message on my portable to confirm said r-d-v and await the technicien! This is going to cost me 69 euros which will be added to my next facture! Ho-hum.

My french neighbour was having the same problem and phoned up for me and herself ,they came within 2 hours , need i say more !!!

Some people pay for a service within 24 hours with Orange, maybe she does?
Blakevine, why do you have to pay? Is it because you use a different provider?

We are with Orange for our land line only and have no special service contract.....we were out in the morning and arrived home at 12h30 to find the technicien on our neighbour's doorstep trying to find out where we were, although, he told me she had not let him in as it was lunchtime....anyhow, he came round to our house and tried the phone (base station downstairs with an extension in the bedroom).  He could find nothing wrong at which point I asked again why I was having to pay 69 euros.  For the next few minutes it reminded me of a french class where you have to ask a question in a number of different ways, finishing up with a statement and using different tones of voice.  Having tried all of these options I still could not fathom why I was being charged 69 euros.

At this point he then rang someone who insisted we had a fault and with this he went back outside to the street pilon and got his ladder out (carefully avoiding the serpent which had now joined us - I'm not joking.....).  He shouted down to ask why we had two lines as it was not the one to the house which was faulty but the other one.  Things now became a bit clearer as when the previous owner was doing work on our house, he built a wooden chalet in the garden for them to live in and had a phone line installed.  It uses the same land line number as the house, but, has not been used since about 2002 and it was that line which was causing all the problems.  After a brief consultation, I asked him to take down all the faulty line and leave us with the telegraph poles in situ.  So, one hour and 4 telegraph poles later he had finished fighting his way through our trees and came to join us for a drink.  

The phone seems to be working fine..................

Hurray!