Virgin and EE £13m penalty over charges

TELECOMS giants Virgin Media and EE have been fined a total of £13.3million for overcharging people who ended contracts early.

Regulator Ofcom found almost 500,000 Brits have been penalised for ripping up phone and broadband contracts ahead of time.

Ofcom said EE, fined £6.3million, and Virgin Media, £7million, flouted rules by not making earlyexit charges clear.

It said 400,000 EE users paid £4.3million too much and 82,000 with Virgin Media £2.8million.

Ofcom said yesterday: “These fines send a clear message to all phone and broadband firms that they must play by the rules.”