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The Competition Appeal Tribunal heard arguments from a telecoms consultant and BT Telecom Thursday in a proposed £589 million class action lawsuit accusing the telecommunications giant of overcharging for landlines.
Millions of customers overpaid for their landlines provided by BT Telecom, contended the lead plaintiff and should be able to certify a Class to hold the company responsible. Lawyers representing the lead plaintiff, Justin Le Patourel, told the tribunal, that the telecommunications company “unfairly exploited” mainly elderly customers, using its virtual monopoly in the landline market to drive up fees.
“BT used its extensive market power over each of these customer groups, and which market power itself weakens the scope of price competition, to extract unlawfully excessive rates from them,” one of the plaintiff’s lawyers said, reports Law360.
Lawyers representing BT Telecom contended that the plaintiff, a telecom switching consultant, had not provided sufficient evidence supporting the class action lawsuit. They also argued that Le Patourel had not addressed BT Telecom’s defenses, including demonstrating how proposed Class Members would mitigate their damages and how rates were reflected in the wider market.
BT Telecom lawyers also took issue with the current Class Member opt-out form, arguing that an opt-in procedure should be used, despite the availability of contact information that can be provided by the company.
“The central barrier to the practicability of opt-in proceedings — namely, the difficulty of identifying and reaching out to the persons who have suffered the alleged detriment — does not exist,” pointed out BT Telecomm’s lawyers.
BT Telecom was hit with the collective action earlier this year. Lead plaintiff, Justin Le Patourel, claimed that elderly BT customers have been subjected to £600 million ($813 million) in overcharges by the company as a part of an excessive pricing scheme.
Le Patourel, according to his legal representative in the class action lawsuit, is “a leading telecoms switching expert and consumer champion who previously held various consumer policy roles at Ofcom.” Reportedly, Ofcom, or The Office of Communications, cited BT for overcharging for its landlines in 2017.
According to the industry watchdog, the practice had been going on since at least 2009. In its 2017 review, Ofcom reportedly charged BT Telecom with raising prices on landlines that were a “poor value.”
Were you overcharged for a landline by BT Telecom? Tell us about your experience in the comment section below.
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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