Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

EE and Virgin Media fined for overcharging customers

16/11/2018

EE and Virgin Media fined for overcharging customers Add to Your Pages

16 November 2018

Ofcom fines EE £6.3m and Virgin Media £7m for breaking consumer protection rules

Both levied excessive charges to customers who ended their contracts early

Ofcom has today fined EE and Virgin Media a combined total of £13.3m for overcharging phone and broadband customers who wished to leave their contracts early.

The penalties are the result of investigations into EE's and Virgin Media's early-exit charges.

Phone and broadband companies can charge customers who decide not to see out the minimum term of their contracts.[1] But under Ofcom rules, those charges must be made clear to customers, and must not make switching to another provider too costly. [2]

Our investigation found that both EE and Virgin Media failed to comply with these rules, because:

around 400,000 EE customers who ended their contracts early were over-billed, and customers ended up over-paying up to £4.3m;

almost 82,000 Virgin Media customers were overcharged a total of just under £2.8m; and

both companies failed to make sufficiently clear the charges customers would have to pay if they ended their contract early.

Gaucho Rasmussen, Ofcom's Director of Investigations and Enforcement, said: EE and Virgin Media broke our rules by overcharging people who ended their contracts early. Those people were left out of pocket, and the charges amounted to millions of pounds.

That is unacceptable. These fines send a clear message to all phone and broadband firms that they must play by the rules, in the interests of their customers.

What happened with EEOfcom's investigation found that, over a six-year period, terms applying to EE's discount contracts' did not clearly set out the charges its mobile customers would have to pay if they ended their contracts early. We also found that up to 15 million discount contracts for EE's mobile, landline and broadband customers required them to pay excessive early exit charges.[3]

Of those customers, 400,000 decided to leave their contracts early during the relevant period. They were collectively over-billed by up to £13.5m in early exit charges.

This was because EE mis-calculated early-exit charges for these customers based on the non-discounted monthly retail price. Affected customers were therefore allowed to pay a lower price while they remained EE customers, but were treated as if they were paying another, higher price if they wanted to leave.

Not all affected customers paid the excessive charges, as some were subsequently waived by EE. Taking this into account, EE estimates that its discount customers overpaid by up to £4.3m. These excessive charges disincentivised EE customers from switching to another provider, which is against Ofcom rules.

EE fine and customer refundsIn light of these findings, Ofcom has fined EE £6,300,000 for its failings. The figure incorporates a 30% reduction to reflect that EE admitted the breaches and agreed to settle the case.

As part of EE's co-operation with our investigation, EE agreed to change its terms and significantly reduce its charges. EE has refunded just over £2.7m to the affected customers it has been able to identify, although this means up to £1.6m cannot be refunded. Ofcom took these facts into account when setting the financial penalty.

As a result of our investigation, EE also volunteered to conduct an in-depth review of its processes and systems to help secure its future compliance with our rules, which we welcome.

What happened with Virgin MediaOur investigation found that, for almost a year, Virgin Media levied early-exit charges that were higher than customers had agreed to when signing up to their residential contracts.[4]

The company overcharged almost 82,000 customers who left their contracts early, by a total of just under £2.8m an average of £34 per person. Some 6,800 customers were overcharged by more than £100.

Due to Virgin Media setting its early-exit charges too high, its customers were disincentivised from switching to another provider, which is against Ofcom's rules.

Our investigation also discovered that Virgin Media failed to publish clear and up-to-date information on its website to help customers understand its early-exit charges.

Virgin Media fine and customer refundsOfcom has fined Virgin Media £7,000,000 for its failings. We have also fined the company an additional £25,000 for providing incomplete information in response to a statutory information request.[5]

Virgin Media has reimbursed or made donations to charity in respect of 99.8% of affected customers and the company is continuing its efforts to trace remaining customers in order to refund them. In the event it is unable to trace these customers, it will donate the remaining refunds to charity.

As a result of our investigation, Virgin Media has significantly reduced the level of its early-exit charges by an average of 30%, and up to 50% in some cases. Virgin Media now applies an additional reduction to the early-exit charges paid by customers who end their contract after moving house.

The company has also made changes to its procedures and contract terms applicable to home movers[6]. Virgin Media has agreed to:

make it clearer in contract terms, on its website and in conversations with customers, that Virgin Media's network does not cover the whole of the UK; and that, if a customer moves home to an area outside of its network, they may be liable to pay an early-exit charge;

promote 30-day rolling contracts as an alternative option for customers who are aware they may need to move house in the near future; and

update its training processes and customer service agents' scripts and materials to ensure that customers who indicate they may need to move home are provided with correct information.

In a
LINK: https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__search/s/redirect?collection=web&url=https:...
See more stories from ofcom

Most recent headlines

06/10/2025

France Tlvisions Wins Prestigious 2025 EBU Technology & Innovation Award in Groundbreaking Collaboration with Dalet

France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...

04/09/2025

Monumental Sports & Entertainment and Dalet Win Prestigious 2025 NAB Show Project of the Year Award

Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...

01/07/2025

Sinclair Pays $500,000 to Settle FCC Investigations

WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement and Media Bureaus have entered into a consent decree with Sinclair to resolve a variety of in...

01/07/2025

LPTV Broadcasters Association to Hold Webinar on Station Sales

DENVER Low-power television (LPTV) station owners looking to navigate the complexities of selling their assets in todays dynamic media environment are invited t...

01/07/2025

Netflix to Carry Live Programming from NASA+

NASA announced today that live programming from its NASA+ channel will be available on Netflix starting sometime this summer....

01/07/2025

FCC Chair Carr Hires Katie McAuliffe as Policy Advisor

WASHINGTON Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr has appointed Katie McAuliffe to serve as policy advisor in his office....

01/07/2025

GFiber Demonstrates Network Slicing to Improve Home Internet Performance

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. Alphabet's GFiber pay TV and broadband provider has announced that it recently worked with Nokia to demonstrate network slicing....

01/07/2025

DoubleVerify Debuts Attention Measurement for Social Media

NEW YORK, N.Y. DoubleVerify (DV) has announced the launch of DV Authentic Attention for Social. The product will first launch with Snap, the owner of Snapchat....

01/07/2025

FCC Rejects License Challenges to Three Baltimore TV Stations

WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has rejected license challenges to three full-power Baltimore TV stations and agreed to renew the license for C...

01/07/2025

Magewell Brings NDI into Conferencing Software and More w...

Compact new converter lets users capture live NDI and streaming sources into software over a USB interface Video interface and IP workflow innovator Magewell ...

01/07/2025

Disneys Hercules Brings Mosaic Visuals To Life On Stage W...

Disguise, the award-winning tech company driving visuals for Broadway and West End hits including Redwood, Stranger Things: The First Shadow and Disney's Fr...

01/07/2025

KIT Plugins release NOIZ One Vox

Vocal-processing plug-in joins NOIZ Hub series Launched in 2024, KIT Plugins' NOIZ Hub series was created with the aim of providing a range of professio...

01/07/2025

7 Day Mastering: New course from Mastering.com

New self-paced learning programme announced Mastering.com have announced the availability of a new online course designed to cover the fundamentals of maste...

01/07/2025

Heather Gray Named Vice President and General Manager of WRAL and FOX 50

Historic appointment ushers in unified leadership for WRAL-TV, New Media, and Digital Solutions RALEIGH, N.C. - 6-27-25 - Capitol Broadcasting Company is prou...

30/06/2025

Discover Weekly Turns 10: Celebrating 100 Billion+ Tracks Streamed and a Decade of Personalized Discovery

There's nothing quite like the magic of finding music that feels made just f...

30/06/2025

Spotify's Editors Pick Their Best Songs of the Year (So Far)

When it comes to new music, Spotify's team of editors across North America is always on the hunt for songs that make them feel, think, and move. They're...

30/06/2025

SBS On Demand boosts global news offering with launch of France 24 FAST Channel

SBS On Demand boosts global news offering with launch of France 24 FAST Channel 30 June, 2025 Media releases SBS is expanding its international news offeri...

30/06/2025

The Forsytes Season 2 Commissioned by MASTERPIECE on PBS

Star Studded Ensemble Cast Are Joined by Richard Rankin as Filming Begins on the Second Season [June 12, 2025 - Boston, MA]: The Forsytes, Debbie Horsfield...

30/06/2025

Artemis II Mission Advances with Successful RS-25 Engine Checkout Tests

The Artemis II Space Launch System core stage is integrated with the solid rocket boosters inside High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASAs Kennedy S...

30/06/2025

WRAL-WRAZ Raleigh Names Heather Gray as VP and GM

RALEIGH, N.C. Capitol Broadcasting Co. has named Heather Gray vice president and general manager of WRAL-TV and WRAZ-TV here....

30/06/2025

VAB Awards JJ Freeman Engineering Award to Bill Sewell of WTKR/WGNT

The Virginia Association of Broadcasters has recognized Bill Sewell, Director of Engineering at WTKR & WGNT in Norfolk, Va. as the recipient of the 2025 J.J. Fr...

30/06/2025

SBE Recruits 49 New Members

The Society of Broadcast Engineers said its annual member drive resulted in the recruitment of 49 individual members....

30/06/2025

Avid Releases Full Integration of MediaCentral, Wolftech News

BURLINGTON, Mass. Avid today released its fully integrated news platform, uniting MediaCentral and Wolftech News in a single newsroom solution, and will demonst...

30/06/2025

FCC Fines Sinclair $500,000

WASHINGTON The Federal Communication's Enforcement and Media Bureaus have entered into a Consent Decree with Sinclair Broadcast Group to resolve a variety o...

30/06/2025

Qu-Bit announce the Bloom v2

Eurorack sequencer module reimagined California-based modular synth innovators Qu-Bit have announced the launch of a new module that offers a fresh new take...

30/06/2025

Berklee at Umbria Jazz Clinics to Host 40th Anniversary Concert

Berklee at Umbria Jazz Clinics to Host 40th Anniversary Concert The celebration will be held on July 10 in Perugia, Italy. By Colette Greenstein June 30, 202...

30/06/2025

PremiumBeat Tips and Tricks

PremiumBeat Tips and Tricks Brie Clayton June 30, 2025 0 Comments When editing to impress, you'll need quality music, and if your studio happens t...

30/06/2025

Techivation launch T-De-Esser Pro Mk2

Improved dynamic behaviour, improved audio quality & more Techivation have announced the release of an upgraded edition of their very first premium plug-in,...

30/06/2025

German premiere with live flight demonstration: German industry team showcases electromagnetic combat from the air

German premiere with live flight demonstration: German industry team showcases e...

30/06/2025

Beln Cuesta and Karra Elejalde Star in 'El nio', the New Film by Mariano Barroso

Back to All News Bel n Cuesta and Karra Elejalde Star in El ni o, the New Film ...

30/06/2025

A New Dangerous Troll Awakens: Netflix Unleashes Teaser for 'Troll 2'

Back to All News A New Dangerous Troll Awakens: Netflix Unleashes Teaser for Troll 2Play Video Play Video Entertainment 30 June 2025 GlobalNorwayDenmarkSwe...

30/06/2025

The Focusrite Summer Sale is now on

The Focusrite Summer Sale is now on Don't miss unbeatable deals on Scarlett, Vocaster, and more. Whether you're an artist, a producer, or a podcaste...

30/06/2025

Yellowstone origin story 1923 starring Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren comes to RT One and RT Player

All 8 episodes of Season 1 of 1923 will be available on RT Player from Tuesday ...

30/06/2025

Thales 2025 Global Cloud Security Study Reveals Organizations Struggle to Secure Expanding, AI-Driven Cloud Environments

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn 52% report AI security spending is displacing tr...

30/06/2025

Thales Alenia Space to develop SOLiS very-high-throughput laser communications demonstrator

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Cannes, June 30th, 2025 - Thales Alenia Space, t...

29/06/2025

Roland introduce the Mood Pan

Handpan-inspired instrument announced Roland have announced the launch of the Mood Pan, a unique electronic hand percussion instrument that has been designe...

29/06/2025

A Secret Society, Ritualistic Killings, and a Century-Old Curse Netflix and YRF Entertainment's 'Mandala Murders' Premieres July 25

Back to All News A Secret Society, Ritualistic Killings, and a Century-Old Curs...

28/06/2025

Press Release: NFVF Marks Youth Month by Empowering Future Creatives Through Film & TV Bursaries

Johannesburg, 27 June 2025 - As the nation commemorates Youth Month 2025, the N...

28/06/2025

FCC Chair Brendan Carr Promises Very, Very Busy, Productive Summer

WASHINGTON In a press conference following the Federal Communications Commission's May Open Meeting, Chair Brendan Carr promised the agency would move rapid...

28/06/2025

Spectrum Awards $1.1 Million in 2025 Spectrum Digital Education Grants

STAMFORD, Conn. Charter Communications has awarded $1.1 million in Spectrum Digital Education grants to 55 nonprofit organizations that work to expand access to...

28/06/2025

Sonnet Announces Echo 20 Thunderbolt 4 SuperDock Now Veri...

LAKE FOREST, Calif. June 19, 2025 What's New: Sonnet Technologies today announced the certification of its Echo 20 Thunderbolt 4 SuperDock as an Engin...

28/06/2025

IDC Names MASV One of Three Most Innovative Companies in...

MASV (massive.io), the fastest and most reliable large file transfer platform for media professionals, has been named an IDC Innovator in the IDC Innovators: Me...

28/06/2025

TV SKYLINE Expands Live Production Capabilities with Late...

Grass Valley today announced that TV SKYLINE GmbH, one of Europe's top mobile production providers, has expanded its camera inventory with 30 LDX 135 UHD/HD...

28/06/2025

AgileTV has been selected to develop and implement LIWEST...

AgileTV, a European leader in TV and video technology solutions, signed an agreement with Austrian telco LIWEST to develop and implement its TV service in Austr...

28/06/2025

Scaler 3.1 update from Scaler Music

Music theory plug-in updated Three months on from the release of the latest version of their renowned music theory plug in, Scaler Music have launched an up...

28/06/2025

The 48th Annual Indian National Finals Rodeo Shot with Blackmagic PYXIS 6K

The 48th Annual Indian National Finals Rodeo Shot with Blackmagic PYXIS 6K Brie Clayton June 27, 2025 0 Comments Filmmaker Cameron Mackey relied on Bl...

28/06/2025

Social, Streaming Don't Compete, They Compliment

Social, Streaming Don't Compete, They Compliment Andy Marken June 27, 2025 0 Comments I think we've all arrived at a very special place. Spir...

28/06/2025

Blackmagic Design Captures Filipino Rock Band Drama Singtala

Blackmagic Design Captures Filipino Rock Band Drama Singtala Brie Clayton June 27, 2025 0 Comments Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro 12K and DaVinci Resolve St...

28/06/2025

Enhance Videos Faster with Aiarty Video Enhancer - Offline, Sharp, and Natural

Enhance Videos Faster with Aiarty Video Enhancer - Offline, Sharp, and Natural Brie Clayton June 27, 2025 0 Comments If you've used AI video tools...

27/06/2025

Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know Eva Victor, the Writer-Director Behind Sorry, Baby

By Jessica Herndon One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Fest...