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(Alliance News) - BT Group PLC must pay a GBP2.8 million fine after its "unacceptable" failure to provide adequate information to prospective customers, Ofcom announced on Wednesday.
The UK telecoms regulator said it opened an investigation into the London-based telecommunications provider, after receiving information that its subsidiaries EE and Plusnet failed to provide certain documents to some customers.
Ofcom explained that under rules introduced on June 17, 2022, phone and broadband companies must give customers "the details of a contract, as well as a short summary of its key terms", before they sign up for its services.
Such documentation would include information like the speed of the service, any early exit fees, the length of the contract and how much it will cost.
Ofcom said its investigation found that, since the above consumer protection rules were introduced, EE and Plusnet failed to provide the required documents in over 1.3 million transactions. It believes at least 1.1 million customers were affected.
This, the regulator noted, was despite the fact it had engaged with providers before June 2022 to implement compliance measures in time, and despite BT saying "it was confident the deadline would be met" in February that year.
"Evidence we have gathered shows that BT was aware from as early as January 2022 that some of its sales channels would not meet the deadline," Ofcom added. "In some cases, BT deliberately chose not to comply with the rules on time.
"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."
BT has notified the majority of customers affected, Ofcom noted, and allowed them to request the relevant contract information and/or cancel their contracts without charge.
However, the regulator said some customers had already cancelled and may have been wrongly charged early exit fees, and that some BT sales channels "are still non-compliant".
Ofcom said its decision to fine BT GBP2.8 million "reflects the seriousness of this breach".
BT must also identify and refund any customers charged early exit fees; contact any remaining customers to offer the required information and/or the chance to cancel; and amend any sales processes that have not yet complied with the rules.
"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," commented Ofcom's Enforcement Director Ian Strawhorne. "It's unacceptable that BT couldn't get its act together in time, and the company must now pay a penalty for its failings."
BT Group shares were trading 1.4% higher at 129.80 pence on Wednesday morning in London.
By Emma Curzon, Alliance News reporter
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