Ofcom hits Vodafone with £4.6m fine

Vodafone has been fined £4.6m by the regulatory for "failing customers", with a Ofcom accusing the telecoms giant of mis-selling, inaccurate billing and poor handling of complaints.

After carrying out two investigations into the FTSE 100 group's operations, Ofcom said it had uncovered "serious and sustained breaches of consumer protection rules".

Vodafone, which has agreed to take a settlement in return for a 7.5% reduction in the penalty, must pay the fine to Ofcom within 20 working days, which will then be passed on to the Treasury.

The first investigation found that 10,452 pay-as-you-go customers had paid to top-up the credit on their phone but Vodafone had failed to credit their accounts, with the total £150,000 shortfall over 17 months not properly dealt with until Ofcom intervened.

The second investigation found Vodafone's customer service staff were unsure what actually constituted a complaint and that the process for escalating and dealing with complaints was insufficient.

“Vodafone’s failings were serious and unacceptable, and these fines send a clear warning to all telecoms companies," said Lindsey Fussell, Ofcom's consumer group director.

“Phone services are a vital part of people’s lives, and we expect all customers to be treated fairly and in good faith. We will not hesitate to investigate and fine those who break the rules.”