By Max Pearson
The communications regulator Ofcom has fined BT £42m after it cut compensation payments for delays in connecting high-speed business lines.
BT is supposed to deliver the service within 30 working days through their Openreach network arm.
If BT fails to bring this facility within the allocated time, customers are due compensation.
Clive Selley, chief executive of Openreach, said: “We apologise wholeheartedly for the mistakes Openreach made in the past when processing orders for a number of high-speed business connections.“This shouldn’t have happened and we fully accept Ofcom’s findings.”
As well as the £42m fine, BT will also pay compensation of around £300m to the affected parties who have been undercompensated.
Gaucho Rasmussen, Ofcom’s Investigations Director, said: “These high-speed lines are a vital part of this country’s digital backbone. Millions of people rely on BT’s network for the phone and broadband services they use every day.
“We found BT broke our rules by failing to pay other telecoms companies proper compensation when these services were not provided on time. The size of our fine reflects how important these rules are to protect competition and, ultimately, consumers and businesses. Our message is clear – we will not tolerate this sort of behaviour.”
Have you been affected by BT’s underpayment? Let us know by commenting or tweeting us @dmujourno1.
