OFCOM

Phone, broadband and pay-TV firms must give extra support to vulnerable customers – which could include payment holidays and tariff advice – under new guidance from communications watchdog Ofcom.

Some of the biggest broadband providers are set to cut costs for those loyal customers paying expensive out-of-contract prices by March 2020, under new measures announced by the telecoms regulator. Yet don't be fooled, the best deals will still be for switchers.

Mobile company Giffgaff has been fined £1.4 million today after an error in its billing system meant about 2.6 million customers were overcharged by almost £2.9 million.

The spending watchdog has said that the regulators for the financial services, energy, water and communications sectors are unable to prove they are offering enough protection for consumers.

Communications watchdog Ofcom has vowed to put a cap on "rip-off" 070 numbers which can cost consumers as much as £1.50 per minute.

Ofcom has stepped in to order mobile provider EE to give customers another 30-day window to leave penalty-free after it upped out-of-bundle call charges by as much as 100%.

Telecoms regulator Ofcom has called for a £3.10 price cap per 90 second call to 118 Directory Enquiries numbers in an effort to prevent "bill shock".

Virgin Media should not be charging customers exit fees of up to £240, regulator Ofcom has said – but it’s yet to order the company to change its ways.

Around 6.5 million customers in the UK are likely to be paying too much for their broadband and 1.5 million could be overpaying for their mobiles, according to figures from the telecoms regulator.