Vodafone hit by multimillion pound fine over litany of failures

Vodafone is to be hit with a multimillion pound fine for a litany of failures in its UK business, including the way it handled complaints and its delivery of services to pay-as-you-go customers.

Sky News has learnt that Ofcom, the telecoms industry regulator, will announce on Wednesday the outcome of two probes into the communications giant, both of which have lasted nearly 18 months.

Sources said that the regulator had uncovered significant failings in both cases, reinforcing initial findings published earlier this year.

In one of the investigations, Vodafone, which has yet to shed its unwanted status as the UK's most complained-about mobile network, was accused by Ofcom of engaging "in conduct contrary to the relevant conditions when selling pre-paid mobile telephony (PAYG) services to its PAYG customers and rendering bills to such customers that did not represent the true extent of the service actually provided to them".

The other inquiry is focused on whether Vodafone has met its obligation to "have and comply with complaints handling procedures that are transparent, accessible, effective, facilitate access to alternative dispute resolution and provide for appropriate record keeping", according to an Ofcom update provided earlier this year.

The exact size of the fine to be meted out to Vodafone was unclear on Tuesday night.

It is said to be in the millions of pounds although will not be material to a company with a market capitalisation of nearly £60bn.

Vodafone's poor customer service record in the UK stems partly from attempts launched in 2011 to migrate from seven billing systems to just one, a transition involving the records of approximately 28m customers.

Sources said it was one of the largest such projects in Vodafone's history, and that it had rapidly become clear that it was more complex than expected.

Sky plc (LSE: BSY.L - news) , the owner of Sky News, confirmed this month that it plans to launch mobile phone services using its own brand and O2's network, and will begin registering customers shortly.

Vodafone and Ofcom both declined to comment on Tuesday night.