BT: £18m refund to EE, Plusnet customers after broadband internet and phone rule breach - check if you're owed
You could be owed cash if you left your contract early 💷
- BT has refunded £18 million to EE, Plusnet and BT customers after breaking contract rules
- Ofcom found over 1.3 million sales were made without clear pre-contract information
- At least 1.1 million customers may have been wrongly charged early exit fees
- Affected customers have been contacted, but some may still be owed money
- Where refunds weren’t possible, BT donated £440,000 to 17 UK charities
More than a million customers of multiple phone and internet providers could be due money back after a telecoms giant was forced to refund a massive £18 million — and you might be one of them.
The payout to customers of EE, Plusnet and BT could follows an Ofcom investigation which found the latter broke consumer protection rules by failing to give customers key information about their contracts before signing up.
Since June 2022, telecom firms must provide clear details upfront — including contract length, speed, cost, and early exit fees — but BT failed to do so in at least 1.3 million sales.
BT, which owns EE and Plusnet, was fined £2.8 million by Ofcom last year after breaching regulations designed to protect consumers and small businesses.
At least 1.1 million customers were affected — and many may have been charged early exit fees unfairly after leaving contracts they never properly agreed to.
The regulator demanded BT refund any customers who had paid such fees. Where refunds weren't possible — such as where the customer couldn’t be contacted — BT was ordered to donate the equivalent to charity. So far, £440,000 has been given to 17 UK charities.
A spokesperson for BT said: “We’re sorry that pre-contract information and contract summary documents were not available to some of our customers in a timely manner.
“We have proactively contacted affected customers and refunded them where appropriate.”
BT added that it has worked with Ofcom to fix its sales processes and ensure compliance going forward.
How to find out if you’re owed a refund
If you were an EE or Plusnet customer between June 2022 and early 2023 — and left your contract early — you could be due a refund. BT says it has proactively contacted those affected, but if you think you’ve been missed:
- Contact your provider directly (BT, EE or Plusnet)
- Check past bank statements for early termination charges
- Ask for written confirmation of whether your contract met the legal requirements
If you’ve since switched providers or changed contact details, it’s especially worth following up, as BT may have struggled to reach you.
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