Ofcom fines O2 £150,000 for providing inaccurate and incomplete information
Ofcom has fined O2 £150,000 for failing to provide accurate and complete information to Ofcom when they were investigating whether it had overcharged its customers.
Ofcom regularly request information from companies that it regulates. This is an important part of their work to protect consumers, because the information is vital to help them make their decisions. So, it is essential that companies respond to the requests on time, and with accurate and complete information. If they fail to do this, Ofcom can take action against them.
Earlier this year, Ofcom fined O2 £10.5m for overcharging thousands of its customers. As part of this investigation, they requested information from O2, but it provided incorrect and incomplete responses. This contributed to the investigation taking longer to complete than necessary.
O2 has failed to provide accurate and complete information to Ofcom on previous occasions, and demonstrated a level of carelessness in responding to their information requests.
Ofcom have said they take these failings seriously, so have decided to fine O2 £150,000. The penalty includes a 25% reduction from the penalty they would otherwise have imposed, as a result of O2 accepting liability and entering into a settlement.
They have also told O2 to review its processes and systems for responding to information requests in future.
The money raised from this fine will be paid to HM Treasury.
Duncan is a technology professional with over 20 years experience of working in various IT roles. He has a interest in cyber security, and has a wide range of other skills in radio, electronics and telecommunications.