EE fined £2.7m for ‘careless’ billing mistakes

MOBILE phone firm EE has been fined £2.7 million by Ofcom for overcharging tens of thousands of customers.

The communications regulator found that the company twice broke a “fundamental billing rule”, resulting in nearly 40,000 customers being overcharged around £250,000.

An investigation by Ofcom accused EE of “carelessness or negligence”, adding that while it did not set out to make money from its billing mistake, the company decided not to reimburse the majority of affected customers until the watchdog intervened.

Lindsey Fussell, Ofcom’s consumer group director, said: “EE didn’t take enough care to ensure its customers were billed accurately.

“We monitor how phone companies bill their customers, and will not tolerate careless mistakes. Any company that breaks Ofcom’s rules should expect similar consequences.”

EE is owned by telecoms giant BT, which acquired the mobile operator last year in a £12.5 billion deal.

EE customers who called the 150 customer services number while roaming in the EU were incorrectly charged as if they had called the US.

Ofcom said the mistake saw customers charged £1.20 per minute, instead of 19p per minute. At least 32,145 customers were overcharged around £245,700 in total.

In another breach, despite making it free to call or text the 150 number from within the EU from November 18 2015, EE continued to bill 7,674 customers until January 11 last year.

These customers were overcharged a total of £2,203.33, although EE issued full refunds to those affected.