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BT Telecom Landline Class Action Lawsuit Overview:
- Who: The Competition Appeal Tribunal has rejected BT Telecom’s bid to appeal a decision in a class action lawsuit claiming the company overcharged for landlines.
- Why: BT was fighting a decision made by the body last month to let the class action lawsuit, which would provide £500 apiece to more than two million customers, proceed.
- Where: The class action lawsuit covers consumers across the UK.
The Competition Appeal Tribunal has rejected BT Telecom’s application for permission to appeal a September 27 judgment that a class action lawsuit could proceed. It will now have to escalate the matter to the Court of Appeal.
If the case is successful, 2.32 million customers could receive £500 apiece in compensation.
The class action lawsuit alleges the company overcharged its landline customers for years.
Plaintiff Justin Le Patourel claims BT Telecom took advantage of elderly customers and the virtual monopoly it has on the landline market to drive up prices.
Le Patourel, who is the founder of the Collective Action on Land Lines, says many of the customers involved are vulnerable and deserve to be given refunds for the overpayments.
Investigation Into Landline Service Reveals Excessive Charges
A 2017 investigation by Ofcom found that BT Telecom had been overcharging its landline customers since 2009, despite a 25 percent decrease in wholesale costs.
BT Telecom responded to the Ofcom review and subsequent criticism by reducing the price of its landlines from £18.99 to £11.99 a month in 2018.
The company, while assessed a £42 million fine for a separate violation Ofcom discovered, was not ordered to pay back any of its customers for the overcharges.
The class consists of consumers who were “voice-only customers” who had landline service with BT Telecom between October 2015 and April 2018 without a broadband service and “split purchase customers” who had both landline and broadband services that were not bundled together on or after October 2015.
Do you believe BT Telecom overcharged you for its landline service? Let us know in the comments!
The plaintiff is represented by Ronit Kreisberger QC, Nikolaus Grubeck and Jack Williams of Monckton Chambers and Nicholas Bacon QC of 4 New Square, instructed by Mishcon de Reya LLP.
The BT Telecom Class Action Lawsuit is Justin Le Patourel v. BT Group PLC, Case No. 1381/7/7/21, in the Competition Appeal Tribunal.
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