Communications regulator Ofcom has fined BT millions after it failed to provide “clear and simple” contract information to over 1m customers.
Britain’s biggest telecoms company, which owns network operator EE and internet service provider Plusnet, has violated consumer protection rules, Ofcom said on Wednesday.
Since June 2022, EE and Plusnet have made over 1.3m sales without giving customers the required contract summaries, affecting at least 1.1m customers.
BT was made aware of the non-compliance issues but failed to meet the deadline to amend them.
“In some cases, BT deliberately chose not to comply with the rules on time,” Ofcom said. “Other providers dedicated the resource required to meet the implementation deadline for these new rules, and BT is likely to have saved costs by not doing so,” it added.
It meant some customers were improperly charged early exit fees. BT later contacted most affected customers to offer the missing information or the option to cancel their contracts without charge.
However, Ofcom has decided to fine BT £2.8m as a result of these failures, “which reflects the seriousness of this breach,” the watchdog said on Wednesday.
In addition to fining BT, Ofcom said it would force the company to refund affected customers charged for early exit fees, contact remaining affected customers with contract information or cancellation options and fix its sales processes within three months.
Ian Strawhorne, Ofcom enforcement director, said: “For people to take advantage of the competitive telecoms market here in the UK, they must be able to shop around with confidence.
“When we strengthened our rules to make it easier for consumers to compare deals, we gave providers a strict timeline by which to implement them. It’s unacceptable that BT couldn’t get its act together in time, and the company must now pay a penalty for its failings.
“We won’t hesitate to step in on behalf of phone and broadband customers when our rules to protect them are broken,” he added.
BT did not immediately respond to a request for comment from City A.M.