Millions of BT customers owed compensation

If you're a BT, EE or Plusnet customer, you might be owed hundreds in compensation after industry regulator Ofcom fined the telecoms giant £2.8 million for misleading customers.

Ofcom found that BT's budget brands - EE and Plusnet - failed to give over a million customers key details about their contracts before they signed up. This means they broke Ofcom rules designed to make it easier for households to compare deals and switch providers.

The regulator found that since June last year, EE and Plusnet made over 1.3 million sales without providing customers with the required contract summary and information. At least 1.1 million people were left in the dark about things like the price, length, and exit fees of their deal.

The company even knew back in January 2022 that some of its sales channels wouldn't be ready in time, but it chose not to comply with the new rules straight away.

As a result, BT will now have to refund any customers who were charged exit fees for leaving their contract early. And it has to contact the rest of the affected customers to offer them their contract info and the chance to cancel without charge.

Ian Strawhorne from Ofcom summed it up best: "It's unacceptable that BT couldn't get its act together in time." Couldn't agree more. Looks like the customer is firmly in the driving seat on this one.

How will I know if I’ve been affected?

BT is writing to all affected customers. If you’re one of them, you will receive a letter in the post.

What compensation will I get?

Those who were charged early exit fees will have this repaid. The amount of compensation on top of this is yet to be confirmed. Existing customers will also be able to exit their contract without facing a financial penalty.