Ernest Doku, mobiles expert at Uswitch.com, commented: “For more than eight years a problem with O2’s billing system led to thousands of pay monthly customers being double-charged for certain items in their final bill.
“Being accurately billed is such a fundamental part of the agreement between customer and provider, so it’s very disappointing that a systemic problem should have been allowed to go on so long.
“Many customers spotted the error and rightly refused to pay. But not all did, and Ofcom estimates 140,000 people overpaid by a total of £2.4m.
“All of those who were not automatically refunded should now have received their money back from O2, as well as an additional 4% in compensation.
“The scale of the fine imposed on O2 shows how seriously Ofcom takes such matters, and the regulator’s decisive action sends a clear message to other mobile networks that errors with something as important as billing will not be tolerated.”
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Rory Stoves
Phone: 020 3872 5613
Email: rory.stoves@uswitch.com
Twitter: @UswitchPR
About Uswitch
Uswitch is one of the UK’s top comparison websites for home services switching, including energy, broadband and mobiles.
More people go to Uswitch to switch their energy, broadband and mobile than any other site, and we have saved consumers over £2.7 billion off their bills since we launched in September 2000.
Free mobile app Utrack also helps households manage their home energy usage and make potential savings.
Uswitch is part of RVU, a group of online brands with a mission to empower consumers to make more confident home services, insurance and financial decisions.
