British 4G service provider EE is facing a fine of £1,000,000 for failing to comply with Ofcom’s rules on handling customer complaints.
Ofcom said its investigation found that EE did not provide accurate or adequate information about their right to take their complaint to an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) scheme — over the period investigated – from 22 July 2011 to 8 April 2014.
EE failed to send out written notifications to a number of customers that should have referenced their right to take their complaint to ADR eight weeks after they first raised their complaint.
Ofcom said EE also failed to state in its Customer Complaints Code that, where relevant, customers could access its ADR scheme by requesting a ‘deadlock letter’.
A number of customers who had requested a ‘deadlock letter’ during this time were not sent them as required, and in some cases customers were told by EE that letters of this type were not issued.
In addition, between July 2011 and February 2014, EE sent paper bills to Orange customers and written notifications to Orange, 4GEE and T-Mobile customers that did not reference that they can use its ADR scheme for free.
Claudio Pollack, Consumer and Content Group Director of Ofcom, said: “The fine imposed against EE takes account of the serious failings that occurred in the company’s complaints handling, and the extended period over which these took place.”
