Ofcom Probes UK ISP PlusNet’s Customer Billing Practices

Oh dear. Budget ISP PlusNet has put itself forward to be probed by the telecoms regulator after openly admitting to Ofcom that some of their customers might have been charged for a phone and broadband service that “was not live for a period of time between 2008 and 2015“.

In response Ofcom has decided to open an investigation, which will examine whether there are reasonable grounds to believe that Plusnet has failed to comply with its obligations under General Condition 11 (specifically 11.1).

GC11.1 states: “The Communications Provider shall not render any Bill to an End-User in respect of the provision of any Public Electronic Communications Services unless every amount stated in that Bill represents and does not exceed the true extent of any such service actually provided to the End-User in question.”

Plusnet has had a bit of a rocky ride over the past year, not least due to their removal of several key service features. The ISP has also seen their Ofcom recorded consumer complaints level rise (here) and thus the decision to put themselves forward to be probed is a wise one as it may help to mitigate any future penalty measures, should they be required.