Expert alerts EE, Three and Vodafone customers that they could be eligible for £1000 payout
Money expert Martin Lewis informs the public that they could be due a payout of more than £1000 without having to do anything.
Although it sounds like a straight-up scam, Lewis announced on The Martin Lewis Money Show Live of 2023 that a lawsuit has been filed against the four biggest mobile networks in the UK.
Martin told the STV viewers: 'EE, O2, Three and Vodafone customers may, in the future, get a £1,000 payout. This is a new group legal case for those who were overcharged on their contracts between 2007 to 2023.'
If the legal case succeeds, customers could receive a hefty compensation.
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He added: 'I’ve talked about this for years, many people signed up to a mobile, got a handset, paid off the handset over a couple of years and then once the handset was paid off, the price stayed the same, even though you were paying off the handset when it should have dropped to the same price as a cheap SIM.'
The financial journalist said that customers should 'move onto a different contract' and 'get a cheaper SIM', but many people didn't.
The Loyalty Penalty Claim alleges that the mobile network operators failed to reduce the amount charged once the minimum contractual term expired, resulting in existing customers being charged more than they would if they were a new customer on a SIM only deal. Firms should have taken the costs down automatically, instead they delivered a 'loyalty penalty'.
Justin Gutmann and the law firm Charles Lyndon announced that class action proceedings have been launched against Vodafone, EE, Three, and O2 earlier this month.
Gutmann said: 'I'm launching this class action because I believe these four mobile phone companies have systematically exploited millions of loyal customers across the UK through loyalty penalties - taking over £3 billion out of the pockets of hard working people and their families. These companies kept taking advantage of customers despite the financial crisis of 2008, Covid and now the cost of living crisis. It's time they were held to account.'
Good news for money! But bad news if you though this potentially extra cash would help towards Christmas. The catch is you'll probably have to wait until 2026 to receive the payout.
Lewis said: 'I don’t see this materialising until 2026 at the earliest, it’s a long time away but keep your eye on it.'
It's still early days and nothing is guaranteed, but we can at least cross our fingers!