Ofcom UK Launch Probe of EE’s Early Termination Charges

Mobile and broadband provider EE has today become subject to a new probe by the national telecoms regulator. Ofcom intends to examine whether the operator’s Early Termination Charges (ETC) comply with its obligations. ETCs apply to customers that choose to exit their contract early.

The two General Conditions (GC) in question are GC9.3 and GC9.2. The GC9.3 rule is designed to “ensure that the conditions which apply if you terminate your contract don’t disincentivise you from changing to a new provider, e.g. through excessive early termination charges,” while GC9.2 requires providers to make the terms for their ETCs “clear, comprehensive and easily accessible.”

Regulator’s Statement

The investigation will examine EE’s compliance with GC9.2 and GC9.3, in particular whether:

— its early termination charges (ETCs) were set out in a clear, comprehensive and easily accessible form; and
— by not accounting for discounts given to customers on their monthly retail price in its conditions and procedures for calculating ETCs, these ETCs acted as disincentives to customers against changing provider.

At this stage Ofcom are only gathering evidence (until August 2018) and will announce their preliminary findings later this year.