Four major phone networks face £1.1bn lawsuit in UK

O2, Vodafone, EE and Three are facing a immense people enactment suit successful the UK implicit claims millions of loyal customers person been overcharged.

Named the loyalty punishment claim, the lawsuit alleges that companies were charging long-standing customers for their handsets beyond their contractual term.

It claims up to 10.9 cardinal telephone contracts were affected betwixt 1 October 2015 and 31 March this year.

The suit seeks damages of astatine slightest £1.141bn. If it is successful, each idiosyncratic affected could beryllium entitled to up to £104 for each declaration they took retired with the operators.

Many customers are expected to person claims against much than 1 mobile operator.

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All qualifying customers volition beryllium automatically included successful the assertion for escaped unless they travel circumstantial steps to opt out.

The ineligible challenge, brought by user rights adept Justin Gutmann, was approved to spell to proceedings by the Competition Appeal Tribunal.

It is being brought connected behalf of consumers who purchased mobile contracts made up of a mobile telephone and airtime services specified arsenic data, minutes and calls.

When these contracts are agreed, the terms during the minimum word of the declaration includes some the mobile and the usage of airtime services.

The assertion alleges that operators failed to trim the magnitude charged erstwhile the minimum contractual word expired, contempt the information that customers had already paid for their handsets.

This resulted successful existing customers being charged much than a caller lawsuit would beryllium if they were conscionable paying for airtime services.

"For acold excessively agelong the telephone companies person been taking vantage of their loyal customers," Gutmann said. "That's wherefore it's clip to halt the immoral signifier of loyalty penalties."

Originally, Gutmann wanted the assertion to spell backmost to contracts starting successful 2007, but the Competition Appeal Tribunal reduced the scope to contracts taken retired betwixt October 2015 and 31 March 2025.

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An O2 spokesperson told Money: "At this aboriginal constituent successful the proceedings, we invited the Competition Appeal Tribunal's ruling that the bulk of the assertion has nary ground to beryllium brought, importantly reducing its scope.

"We support that determination is nary merit to Mr Gutmann's lawsuit for the remaining play and volition proceed to robustly support our presumption arsenic it proceeds."

An EE spokesperson said: "We bash not judge the substantive allegations of the claim. Our precedence is, and ever volition be, to supply a large acquisition for our customers."

VodafoneThree said: "We are disappointed with the Tribunal's determination to certify the claim. We volition reappraisal the judgement successful item earlier considering adjacent steps. We volition proceed to robustly support this claim."

Money has contacted the different mobile web operators for comment.