Not upheld: provision of misleading information regarding device plan discount; failure to honour alleged discount offer complaint against EE Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr V complained that EE failed to honour a promised £15 monthly discount on his Flex Pay device plan after he agreed to take out home broadband in January 2025. The agent on the call had told Mr V he would receive the discount, and a confirmation message stated the phone was 'reduced by £15'. However, EE explained that Mr V was ineligible for the discount because his device plan had already been established in December 2024, and discounts were only available for brand-new device plans. The ombudsman found that while EE gave conflicting information, Mr V would not have qualified for the discount regardless, making the £50 credit compensation already provided by EE fair and appropriate. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that while EE provided conflicting and misleading information about a £15 discount on the device plan, Mr V would not have been eligible for this discount regardless because the device plan had already been established in December 2024 before the January 2025 broadband call. Discounts were only available for brand-new device plans taken out after broadband setup. Therefore, the appropriate remedy was compensation for the upset caused by the misinformation rather than applying the discount. The £50 credit already provided by EE was deemed fair compensation for the disappointment and inconvenience.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website