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Vodafone fined £4.6m by Ofcom for breaking customer rules Vodafone fined £4.6m by Ofcom for breaking customer rules
(about 1 hour later)
Telecoms operator Vodafone has been fined £4.6m by Ofcom for "serious and sustained breaches of consumer protection rules".Telecoms operator Vodafone has been fined £4.6m by Ofcom for "serious and sustained breaches of consumer protection rules".
It follows an earlier investigation that found Vodafone had misled pay-as-you-go customers over top-up payments. The regulator said Vodafone had misled pay-as-you-go customers, charging them for top-up credit but "providing nothing in return".
The regulator also said Vodafone had broken the rules on handling customer complaints. It also found Vodafone had broken the rules on handling customer complaints.
Vodafone offered its "profound apologies" for the failures. Vodafone offered its "profound apologies" for the failures said it was "determined to put everything right".
The fines stem from two investigations into Vodafone, which has 20 million mobile customers in the UK. Lack of guidance
The fines stem from two earlier investigations into Vodafone, which has 20 million mobile customers in the UK.
One found that 10,452 pay-as-you-go customers lost out when Vodafone failed to credit their accounts after they paid to top-up their mobile phone credit.One found that 10,452 pay-as-you-go customers lost out when Vodafone failed to credit their accounts after they paid to top-up their mobile phone credit.
The affected customers collectively lost £150,000 over a 17-month period, Ofcom said.The affected customers collectively lost £150,000 over a 17-month period, Ofcom said.
"Vodafone also failed to act quickly enough to identify or address these problems," it added. The problems were caused by IT issues linked to the company's move to a new billing system.
Customers refunded However, Vodafone "failed to act quickly enough to identify or address these problems" and only moved to fix the issue after Ofcom intervened, the regulator said.
A second investigation found that Vodafone had failed to handle customer complaints properly. A second investigation found that Vodafone's customer service agents were not given "sufficiently clear guidance" on what constituted a customer complaint.
The firm's customer service agents were not given "sufficiently clear guidance" on what constituted a complaint, while poor processes meant some complaints were not handled "in a fair, timely manner". Moreover, poor processes meant some complaints were not handled "in a fair, timely manner".
In a statement, Vodafone blamed the issues under investigation on errors linked to a "complex IT migration" which involved more than 28.5 million of its customer accounts. The firm also failed to ensure customers were told, in writing, of their right to take an unresolved complaint to a third-party resolution scheme after eight weeks.
The company added it had "fully refunded or re-credited" 10,422 pay-as-you-go customers out of the 10,452 affected. It said it was unable to track down the remaining 30 affected. 'Unacceptable' failings
"Everyone who works for us is expected to do their utmost to meet our customers' needs," Vodafone said. In a statement, Vodafone said it had "fully refunded or re-credited" 10,422 pay-as-you-go customers out of the 10,452 affected. It said it was unable to track down the remaining 30 affected.
It also said it had invested in better customer service and training.
"Everyone who works for us is expected to do their utmost to meet our customers' needs," it said.
"It is clear from Ofcom's findings that we did not do that often enough or well enough on a number of occasions. We offer our profound apologies to anyone affected by these errors.""It is clear from Ofcom's findings that we did not do that often enough or well enough on a number of occasions. We offer our profound apologies to anyone affected by these errors."
Lindsey Fussell, Ofcom Consumer Group director, said: "Vodafone's failings were serious and unacceptable, and these fines send a clear warning to all telecoms companies.
"Phone services are a vital part of people's lives, and we expect all customers to be treated fairly and in good faith."