EE on Friday was slapped with a £1 million fine by Ofcom for mishandling customer complaints.
An investigation carried out by the U.K. telco between 22 July 2011 and 8 April 2014 found that EE failed to provide certain customers with accurate or adequate information about their right to escalate their issue to an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) scheme.
"Ofcom imp oses strict rules on how providers must handle complaints and treats any breach of these rules very seriously. 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," said Claudio Pollack, director of Ofcom’s consumer and content group, in a statement.
ADR is used as a means of settling disputes before they end up in court. In some cases, a neutral third party acts as a mediator.
Communication service providers offering services to individuals or small businesses with up to 10 employees are required to be a member of one of two approved ADR schemes.
Access to ADR is free for customers, and a complaint can be taken to ADR if it remains unresolved after eight weeks or if a deadlock is reached.
"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," said Ofcom, in a statement. "EE also failed to state in its customer complaints code that, where relevant, customers could access its ADR scheme by requesting a ‘deadlock letter’."
Ofcom said EE has since amended its customer complaints code accordingly, and amended information included on its paper bills to ensure that customers are aware of their right to ADR free of charge.
Nevertheless, Ofcom imposed a £1 million fine on EE, which will have to be paid within 20 working days.
