BT Facing Lawsuit for Alleged 'Over-Charging'

[Galant]

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-55699033

"In 2017, Ofcom said people who only had a landline telephone were "getting poor value for money in a market that is not serving them well enough".

As a result, BT reduced the price of its landlines by £7 a month.

But campaigners are unhappy that "loyal customers" have still not been compensated for previous overcharging.

"Ofcom made it very clear that BT had spent years overcharging landline customers, but did not order it to repay the money it made from this," said Justin Le Patourel, founder of consumer group Collective Action on Landlines (CALL) and a telecoms consultant who worked for Ofcom for 13 years.

"We think millions of BT's most loyal landline customers could be entitled to compensation of up to £500 each, and the filing of this claim starts that process.""

"Since 2009, the wholesale costs of providing landlines to consumers have been falling by at least 25%.

But in October 2017, Ofcom found that all major landline providers in the UK had increased the line rental charges by 28-41%.

Ofcom strongly criticised market leader BT for raising prices, saying that customers were being given "poor value" for money.

It added that many of the affected customers had "been with BT for decades" and were more likely to be old, on low incomes and vulnerable."


So, is that 'over charging' or is there no such thing? A service is a service and they agreed to the price?

[cheesemp]

This is not going to benefit those who deserve it most. Are you telling me the few people without broadband (Even near 90 year old relatives of mine have it) would even know to claim? Isn't the claim form on the internet? This just feels like a crash grab by lawyers. Ofcom should have just made BT pay back a bit when they decided it was far too high.

I think this is a real problem with society currently - you save a fortune on these sorts of services if you shop around. So many poorer/older customers do not know this. It doesn't feel fair. I know I've paid less than this for a line + basic FTTC service in the past.

[sammyc]

from CALL's website:
'CALL has instructed leading UK law firm Mishcon de Reya to advance the claim and is funded by Harbour, one of the world’s leading litigation funders, to fund the legal action.

BT's customers affected by BT's behaviour do not have to do anything to be part of the claim and will not have to pay and legal costs.

If you purchased an unbundled BT landline from 2015 onwards, it is very likely that you may have been subjected to unfair pricing (please see our FAQs section for more details). In order to protect your interests, Mr Le Patourel is seeking to automatically represent all BT customers who purchased an unbundled BT landline from 2015, unless they decide to opt-out. This means that if you purchased a BT unbundled landline from 2015 onwards, you will automatically become a class member in the claim.

If you or a family member is or was an unbundled BT landline customer we recommend that you register your interest here to be put on our mailing list and kept up to date with developments.'

So (happy to stand corrected as this was from a cursory glance), any elderly customers or anyone without internet wouldn't need to worry about online claim forms, necessarily..?

This is not going to benefit those who deserve it most. Are you telling me the few people without broadband (Even near 90 year old relatives of mine have it) would even know to claim? Isn't the claim form on the internet?

[cheesemp]

I got my info from here: https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.ph...mers-500m.html

I either missed the phone number or it was added later but I still think this will miss those who need/deserve it most. It should have been automatic.

[sammyc]

It wasn't so much about how to contact them/claim I meant, as the fact that you don't need to (unless you want to opt out) - you will automatically be included - what happens thereafter, I haven't gone into, but that was all I was getting at.

[cheesemp]

It wasn't so much about how to contact them/claim I meant, as the fact that you don't need to (unless you want to opt out) - you will automatically be included - what happens thereafter, I haven't gone into, but that was all I was getting at.

I stand corrected. Thanks for clarifying.

[sammyc]

Agreed on your overall point ofc that this should have been dealt with differently.