The communications regulator has imposed a £1m fine on EE, Britain’s biggest mobile phone operator, for misleading customers who made complaints.
Ofcom said that between July 2011 and April 2014 EE had failed to give certain dissatisfied customers correct or adequate information about their rights.
The £1m fine is one of Ofcom’s biggest and will be passed on to the Treasury.
The company, which is being bought by BT, did not tell some of its 27m customers that their complaint could be decided by an independent adjudicator.
EE, whose brands include Orange and T-Mobile, sent letters to customers that did not inform them of their right to take a complaint to alternative dispute resolution (ADR) after eight weeks.
If mobile phone customers are unhappy with the way their operator is handling a complaint earlier than eight weeks into the dispute they can write a “deadlock letter” giving notice that they intend to seek an independent judgment.
EE’s customer complaints code did not say customers could go to ADR by requesting the deadlock letter. Some customers who asked for the letter either did not receive them or were told by EE that it did not issue such letters.
The company also failed to tell customers they could use its ADR scheme for free.
Claudio Pollack, Ofcom’s consumer and content group director, said: “It’s vital that customers can access all the information they need when they’re pursuing a complaint.
“Ofcom imposes strict rules on how providers must handle complaints and treats any breach of these rules very seriously. The fine imposed against EE takes account of the serious failings that occurred in the company’s complaints handling, and the extended period over which these took place.”
Ofcom has been trying to crack down on lax complaints handling by mobile phone operators. The watchdog said its investigation of EE was part of a wider review. It fined the operator Three £250,000 last year over the way it dealt with unsatisfied customers.
The regulator said EE had made necessary changes to the information it gives customers.
BT agreed to buy EE from Deutsche Telekom and Orange for £12.5bn in February. Consumer groups and rivals have complained the deal will stifle competition. The Competition and Markets Authority is expected to decide by early next year whether to allow the deal to go ahead and whether or not to impose changes.
