UK telco BT has been required to refund or credit £18 million (€20.7m) to customers, following enforcement action by regulator Ofcom.

In 2024, Ofcom fined BT £2.8 million after it failed to provide customers with clear and simple contract information before signing up to a new deal.

The company broke Ofcom’s consumer protection rules designed to ensure telecoms customers get clear, comparable information about the services they are considering buying.

Following engagement with Ofcom, BT contacted the majority of affected customers, explaining that it had not provided them with the information to which they were entitled, and giving them the opportunity to request the information and/or cancel their contract without charge.

However, before these communications were sent, some customers affected by the breach left BT before the end of their contract and may have been charged an early exit fee. Ofcom says its rules are clear that if the required contract summary and contract information is not given, the contract is not binding on customers. As a result, an early exit fee should not have been payable by these customers.

As well as fining BT, Ofcom also required it to amend its sales process and refund any affected customers who may have been charged for leaving before the end of their contract period. It told the company that if it was unable to refund any money, it must donate it to charity.

As a result of this enforcement action, BT has now refunded or credited £18 million back to customers and donated £440,000 across 17 charities where refunds or credits were not possible.

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Categories: AI, Broadband, Business, Policy, Regulation, Telco

Tags: bt, Ofcom