LONDON (Reuters) -BT on Thursday defeated a 1.3 billion pound ($1.64 billion) lawsuit brought against the British telecoms company that alleged it had overcharged millions of customers for fixed telephone lines. The Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) in London ruled in favour of BT in a case which accused the former telecoms monopoly of excessively increasing prices.
“Overall, we considered that, whether taken by itself or in comparison with other prices, BT’s prices were not unfair, and therefore there was no abuse of dominant position,” the CAT said in a written summary of its ruling.
BT said: “We take our responsibilities to all of our customers very seriously and welcome today’s ruling.”
Justin Le Patourel, who led the lawsuit on behalf of around 3.7 million BT customers, said he was disappointed with the ruling and was considering whether to bring an appeal.
Shares in the blue chip company moved higher after the news, before trading 0.5% down by 1248 GMT.
The claimants alleged BT charged unfairly high prices to customers who took a standalone fixed voice connection between 2009 and 2017, when regulator Ofcom said the company should reduce its charges, which BT did the following year.
BT, however, said the lawsuit was “profoundly flawed” and ignored basic economic principles and market practices by arguing the company’s prices were excessive.
The claimants’ lawyer Ronit Kreisberger argued at the start of the trial in January that BT had exploited its loyal fixed-line customers, many of whom were older and not technically minded, to drive prices above competitive levels.
She said the declining market segment was ripe for market abuse because it was not targeted by competitors, allowing BT to make “hay while the sun still shines”.
But BT’s lawyer Daniel Beard said large numbers of people frequently switched providers, with internal BT documents revealing concerns about losing landline customers.
He also argued that the case failed to take account of the value customers place on the BT brand and its service quality.
($1 = 0.7904 pounds)
(Reporting by Sam TobinAdditional reporting by Muvija MEditing by Kate Holton and Jane Merriman)
