BT fined £2.8m over failures affecting 1.1 million EE and PlusNet prospects

BT has been fined £2.8m after EE and Plusnet failed to offer clear and easy contract data to greater than 1,000,000 prospects.

Since June 2022, BT’s EE and Plusnet companies made greater than 1.3 million gross sales with out offering prospects with a contract abstract and knowledge paperwork, which affected at the least 1.1 million prospects, in line with trade watchdog, Ofcom.

This meant that BT broke shopper safety guidelines which got here into impact in 2022. They are designed to make sure prospects get clear, comparable details about the providers they’re contemplating shopping for.

“It’s unacceptable that BT couldn’t get its act together in time, and the company must now pay a penalty for its failings,” mentioned Ian Strawhorne, Ofcom enforcement director.

When Ofcom introduced within the guidelines in June 2022, BT assured it that the group was assured the deadline could be met.

But the watchdog mentioned its investigation discovered that, from January 2022, BT was conscious that a few of its gross sales wouldn’t meet the deadline.

“In some cases, BT deliberately chose not to comply with the rules on time,” mentioned Ofcom.

“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.”

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It mentioned BT bought in touch with affected prospects final summer season and provided them the prospect to request data or cancel their contract with out cost.

Some prospects had already left BT earlier than the tip of their contract nevertheless and should have been wrongly charged a so-called exit price.

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Ofcom mentioned: “Our rules are clear that if the required contract summary and contract information is not given, the contract is not binding on customers.

“As a outcome, an early exit price mustn’t have been payable by these prospects.”

As well as the £2.8million fine, BT must also find and reimburse 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 amend all its sales processes to ensure they meet the rules.

Consumer group Which? mentioned the trade watchdog ought to “continue to take action against any telecoms firms that break the rules”.

“It’s absolutely right that Ofcom is fining BT for not providing EE and Plusnet customers with clear contract information before they signed up – as some people will have been hit with pricey exit fees they never should have faced,” mentioned Which? director of coverage and advocacy Rocio Concha.

A BT spokesman mentioned: “We’re sorry that some of our pre-contract information and contract summary documents were not available to some of our customers in a timely manner.

“We apologise for any inconvenience triggered and have taken steps to proactively contact affected prospects and prepare for them to obtain the data and be refunded the place relevant.”