Ofcom UK Probes Mobile Operator EE Over Billing Concerns

The UK telecoms regulator has launched a preliminary investigation to established whether or not mobile operator EE, which is imminently about to become a part of the BT Group, has once again broken its rules by failing to accurately bill their customers.

It’s fair to say that EE hasn’t yet recovered from last year’s rough ride, which began with an Ofcom fine of £1 million for shoddy customer complaints handling (here). After that followed exploding PowerBars (here), a botched email domain renewal (here) and then the regulator’s not especially complimentary update on consumer complaints (here).

In other words the last thing that EE needs right now is another snafu over customer service, but that’s exactly what could be on the horizon if Ofcom’s new investigation finds that their billing linked General Condition 11 (GC11) rule has been broken.

Ofcom Statement

Following consideration of information provided by EE in response to Ofcom’s enquiries, Ofcom has decided to open an investigation into EE’s compliance with GC 11. GC 11 places obligations upon all CPs to, amongst other things, ensure that every amount stated in the bill is accurate. GC 11.1 specifically states that:

“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.”

Apparently Ofcom has seen evidence to suggest that between 1st July 2014 – 20th July 2015 EE may have charged some of their customers US roaming rates, albeit while calling customer services using the “150” number from within the European Economic Area (EEA).