BT accused of breaking distance selling regulations

BT has denied the Which? allegations

BT may be breaking distance selling regulations by not giving users enough rights when it comes to cancelling broadband contracts, according to a report from Which?.

The consumer group said that a series of anonymous phone calls to BT had revealed serious shortcomings in the provision of information about termination clauses.

BT is supposed to send customers written notification of renewal rules, but Which? claims that the company often does so when it is too late for customers to cancel.

Which? said that three out of 10 BT sales reps did not tell the anonymous callers that the contract is renewable until they were prompted to do so specifically, and that "only one BT sales rep gave details of early termination charges". Which? has passed its findings to Ofcom.

"We think BT is pulling a fast one by not ensuring that some customers get written notice of a cooling-off period, and we are encouraging BT to formally add appropriate cancellation rights to its contracts as soon as possible," said Peter Vicary-Smith, chief executive at Which?.

BT has issued a statement denying the claims, and insisting that it adheres to the law.

"BT fully complies with the EU Distance Selling Directive. We have made the Office of Fair Trading, Trading Standards and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills fully aware of how we do so," the firm said.

"But to improve matters further we are going to introduce an early termination right for our customers so that they can cancel within the statutory period without suffering early termination charges."

BT added that it is not always possible to give written notification of the information required by the UK regulations before the service starts.

"We make this clear to customers before they complete their order with us, and ensure that they accept this before proceeding," said the company.