BT has been fined £2.8 million after EE and Plusnet failed to provide clear and simple contract information to more than a million customers.
Since June 2022, BT EE and Plusnet made more than 1.3 million sales without providing customers with a contract summary or disclosure documents, affecting at least 1.1 million customers, according to the industry watchdog. Ofcom.
This means BT has breached consumer protection rules which came into force in 2022. They are designed to ensure customers have clear and comparable information about the services they are considering buying.
“It is unacceptable that BT was unable to act in time, and the company must now pay a penalty for its failings,” said Ian Strawhorne, director of enforcement at Ofcom.
When Ofcom introduced the rules in June 2022, BT said the group was confident the deadline would be met.
But the watchdog said its investigation found that, as early as January 2022, BT was aware that some of its sales would miss the deadline.
“In some cases, BT deliberately chose not to comply with the rules in time,” Ofcom said.
“Other providers have dedicated the resources necessary to meet the deadline for implementing these new rules, and BT has likely made savings by not doing so.”
Read more on Sky News:
Post office scandal: long silences while the ex-boss struggles to respond
Inflation falls to 2.3% in April – lowest level in almost three years
Inflation is reassuring but should not distract from the cost of living crisis
BT contacted affected customers last summer and offered them the option to request information or cancel their contract free of charge.
However, some customers had already left BT before the end of their contract and may have been wrongly charged an exit fee.
Ofcom said: “Our rules are clear: if the required contract summary and contractual information is not provided, the contract is not binding on customers.
“As a result, these customers should not have had to pay an early exit fee.”
As well as the £2.8 million fine, BT must also trace and refund any affected customers who were charged exit fees, contact remaining customers who are still with BT and offer them the right to cancel without charge, and modify all its sales processes to ensure they comply with the rules.
Consumer group Which? said the industry watchdog should “continue to take action against any telecommunications company that breaks the rules.”
“It is absolutely right that Ofcom is fining BT for failing to provide EE and Plusnet customers with clear information about their contracts before they sign up – as some people will have been hit with high exit fees they should never have faced,” said Which? director of policy and advocacy Rocio Concha.
A BT spokesperson said: “We are sorry that some of our pre-contract information and contract summary documents were not available in time to some of our customers.
“We apologize for any inconvenience caused and have taken steps to proactively contact affected customers and ensure they receive the information and are refunded where appropriate.”
