A claim on behalf of more than 3 million BT customers today became the first collective action under the 'opt-out' regime introduced by the Consumer Rights Act 2015 to go to trial. In Justin Le Patourel v BT Group plc, the Competition Appeal Tribunal will hear a claim for £1.3bn compensation for alleged overcharging of BT landline and broadband customers.

BT is contesting the claim on the grounds that it is based on a ‘technical’ issue resolved by the telecom regulator Ofcom in 2017.

The class representative, Justin Le Patourel, a former Ofcom official, said that Ofcom revealed that BT 'consistently increased its prices, even as its own costs were falling'.  Some 1.5m customers with landline phones were overcharged by up to £84 a year up to 2018, he said. Meanwhile 2 million customers with separate contracts for landline and broadband 'paid substantially more than those who took exactly the same services but bought them as a single discounted bundle.'

Le Patourel said ahead of the hearing: 'Time really is of the essence. More than 40% of our claimants are aged over 70, and over 150 of them are dying every day. It really is vital that BT should refund every one of them as soon as possible.'  

The trial, before Mr Justice Waksman and CAT members Eamonn Doran and Derek Ridyard at Salisbury Square House in London, is likely to last eight weeks. It is supported by Harbour Litigation Funding. 

In a statement, BT said: 'We take our responsibilities to our customers very seriously and are dedicated to keeping our customers connected, while helping those who need it most. This claim relates to a technical landline pricing issue which was resolved by Ofcom in 2017. We do not accept that our pricing was anti-competitive back then, and are committed to robustly defending our position at trial.'

 

This article is now closed for comment.