Having initially revealed its concerns in November's 'Consumer Experience 2007' report (here), Ofcom has now confirmed that it intends to investigate the "hidden" charges made by some UK ISP's and operators.

The regulator has seen a surge in complaints regarding surprise charges on itemised bills, non-Direct Debit payments and costly premium-rate support lines among others. Ofcom will launch a consultation during early 2008 that will seek to investigate whether such charges are "fair, transparent and justified".

Thetimes.co.uk uses an example taken from Orange, where customers are being charged £1.50 extra per month just for receiving an itemised paper bill. So called administration fees and or penalty charges, such as those made when customers attempt to exit from a contract, are among those to be investigated.