EE and Virgin Media Face a £13.3 M Thumb‑Up from Ofcom
Ofcom’s latest “heck‑yeah” moment: the telecom twins EE and Virgin Media have been nailed with a giant fine for charging customers extra when they broke out of their contracts early.
Break‑down of the Bile
- EE – £6.3 m fine
- Virgin Media – £7 m fine
Here’s the nitty‑gritty:
- EE’s ~400,000 early‑exit customers were slapped with penalties totalling up to £4.3 m.
- Virgin Media’s ~82,000 customers paid an extra £2.8 m.
Hearing from the Big Boss
Gaucher Rasmussen, Ofcom’s director of investigations, was pretty clear: “EE and Virgin Media broke our rules by overcharging people who ended their contracts early. Those people were left out of pocket, and the charges amounted to millions of pounds. That is unacceptable.”
“These fines send a clear message to all phone and broadband firms that they must play by the rules, in the interests of their customers.”
What’s Next?
Neither BT nor Virgin Media has spoken yet, but the market’s all eyes are on how these fines will press the tech giants to rethink their early‑exit policies.
