If you've used BT, EE, or Plusnet for your broadband, you should check your bank account.
BT, which also owns EE and Plusnet, has been ordered to refund £18 million to 1.1 million broadband customers, roughly £16 per person. The fine comes after a two-year investigation conducted by UK telecom regulator, Ofcom, which found that BT had failed to comply with its "consumer protection rules" and provide customers with "clear and simple contract information" before the end of their current broadband deal.
Without that information, some subscribers paid an early exit fee to leave their BT, EE, or Plusnet broadband contract. Ofcom confirmed that anyone who did not receive the necessary contract documents does not have to pay the fee associated with leaving a broadband contract early.
Ofcom stated: "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 result, an early exit fee should not have been payable by these customers."
When you sign up for a new broadband deal, you agree to stick with the company for a minimum contract term, usually 24 months. When your broadband contract ends, you're considered "out of contract", which means you can switch to another internet provider without incurring any costs.
BT breached Ofcom's contract compliance requirement, which has been in effect since June 2022
|BT PRESS
If BT wasn't able to refund the money to one of the 1.1 million broadband customers, it had to donate their slice of the £18 million fine to charitable causes.
“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,” telecom regulator Ofcom confirmed.
Since the investigation, BT has been required to change its contract process for customers, ensuring customers who enter into a new broadband contract with BT, Plusnet, or EE receive the correct information in a timely manner. This means broadband subscribers can plan exactly when to switch to a rival provider to avoid any early exit fees.
A spokesperson for BT said: "We're sorry that Pre-Contract information and Contract Summary documents were not available to some of our customers in a timely manner. We have taken steps to proactively contact affected customers and refund them if they had subsequently paid any early termination charges. We take compliance seriously at BT and have worked closely with Ofcom to implement all remedial actions."
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This isn't a new compliance requirement. Since June 2022, all UK broadband and mobile companies have been required to provide customers with a short, one-page summary of the contract terms of their chosen package.
This is also required before the customer enters the contract.
BT was fined £2.8 million by Ofcom last year, and had to refund every broadband customer who didn't receive the contract documents and were charged for leaving before the end of their contract period. Since the contract documents weren't received, customers weren't properly informed on when the contract date would end.