Giffgaff fined £1.4m for overcharging mobile customers

Ofcom has fined Giffgaff £1.4m after an investigation found a billing error that led to the network overcharging 2.6m users over an eight-year period.

The communications regulator said the billing mistake was “unacceptable”and imposed a further £50,000 fine because Giffgaff failed to provide accurate information during its investigation.

“Getting bills right is a basic duty for every phone company. But Giffgaff made unacceptable mistakes, leaving millions of customers out of pocket,” Gaucho Rasmussen, the director of investigations and enforcement at Ofcom, said.

“This fine should serve as a warning to all communications providers: if they get bills wrong, we will step in to protect customers.”

Ofcom said the fine would have been £2m but the penalty was reduced by 30% after Giffgaff agreed to settle the case.

According to Ofcom, Giffgaff offered pre-payed bundles of voice minutes, texts and data but they were charged twice.

The mobile phone group has already refunded £2.1m to affected customers.

Ashley Schofield, the chief executive of Giffgaff, said in a post on the company’s customer community website: “On behalf of everyone at Giffgaff, I’d like to apologise again to all those members affected by this and thank you for your ongoing support.

“As a business, we have already begun – and will be fully – implementing the recommendations within Ofcom’s final decision.”