Industry watchdog Ofcom has fined Vodafone over £4.6m following two investigations that uncovered mis-selling, inaccurate billing and poor complaints handling procedures. One investigation found that 10,452 pay-as-you-go customers lost out when Vodafone failed to credit their accounts after they paid to top-up their mobile phone credit. The affected customers collectively lost £150k over a 17 month period.
According to Ofcom, Vodafone didn't act quickly enough to identify or address these problems, which stemmed from the company transferring to a new billing system.
Vodafone also breached Ofcom's billing rules because the top-ups that consumers had bought were not reflected in their credit balances.
In a second investigation, the regulator found that Vodafone did not comply with its rules on handling customer complaints.
The money, which must be paid to Ofcom within 20 working days, will be passed on to HM Treasury.
Lindsey Fussell, Ofcom Consumer Group Director, said: "Vodafone's failings were serious and unacceptable, and these fines send a clear warning to all telecoms companies.
"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."
