Ofcom to ban unfair and unclear extra charges
Ofcom is looking into unfair and unclear charges made by telecom and internet companies in a attempt to get them stopped.
This has come about due to complaints from consumers about additional charges for services because customers have paid by cash or cheque or becasue they’ve ended a contract early or paid a bill late. Ofcom say that any additional charges should be fair and clear to the customer.
If these charges are unclear Ofcom say that the companies should only be able to to charge for the cost of providing the service and not essentially ‘bolt-on’ these additional charges.
This can only be a good thing for UK consumers and it won’t come a minute too soon in my opinion! Companies should be open and honest when it comes to the fees and charges they make to their customers, after all with no customers there wouldn’t be a business for these companies in the first place. The industries Ofcom is looking at are home and mobile phone companies, broadband and pay TV.