TalkTalk to repay consumers for billing errors

UK-based competitive broadband provider TalkTalk must repay consumers $4.07 million in refunds and goodwill payments stemming from an Ofcom investigation that revealed 62,000 of its customers weren't billed correctly. Ofcom gave TalkTalk a formal warning in November 2010.

The regulator's investigation revealed that TalkTalk had violated UK telecom rules (General Condition 11.1), including sending bills to ex-users in addition to leveraging collection agencies to get service fees from subscribers that would not pay.

It appears that TalkTalk's issues were basically inherited from its acquisition of Tiscali in 2009, a service provider whose billing errors are well documented.

Ofcom said in a statement that even though TalkTalk has made efforts to resolve its issues, it "is still receiving some complaints from consumers," and that it "will continue its investigation into TalkTalk Group's compliance with GC11.1 by 2 December (and thereafter). If the investigation reveals that TalkTalk Group has continued to breach GC11.1, Ofcom will consider further enforcement action, which may include issuing a financial penalty."   

TalkTalk is taking some action to combat the problem, however. The service told ISPreview that it had "moved all of our customers to our single billing platform at the end of January and our focus on resolving any outstanding billing issues continues."

For more:
- ISPreview has this article

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