Call for inputs - 'Unexpectedly high bills'

Issued 10 June 2011

Introduction 

We share Ofcom’s concerns for consumer protection and understand the impact an unexpectedly high bill may have on a consumer.

We are aware unexpectedly high bills may cause distress and concern so we have many checks in place to make sure instances of this are rare. In our experience, an unexpected high bill may be received for a number of reasons, rarely is a bill high because it is wrong.

We carry out a number of bill checks as part of our daily processing to make sure our bills are accurate. These include checking bill value increases that are considerably above average. This is done before sending the bill to the customer. We also proactively monitor traffic for unusual calling behaviours and liaise with the customer to ensure it is legitimate use.

Overall, we are not seeing an increase in our complaint volumes due to bill shock. However, we note in your paper, complaints Ofcom receive direct from consumers, MPs and via media reporting are usually in relation to mobile phone bills. We are aware a broad range of issues can cause bill shock and we would find it useful to understand the detail of any concerns.

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BT welcomes comments, which should be sent by email to susan.young@bt.com