7IN BRIEF
TOMORROW’S
WORLDIf butter
fingers drop
everything
they try to
hold, banana
fingers
grip them
with authority and control.
It’s the name given to this
knitted pneumatic glove
by researchers at the
Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (MIT), who say
it can be used by people
with injured hands or limited
mobility. Watch at http://www.
snipca.com/41933.Issue 632 • 25 May – 7 June 2022Ex-Sky customers make biggest saving
cent) in customers leaving
after being notified, followed
by BT, EE and Virgin Media
(all 10 per cent).
Sky saw an increase of eight
per cent, while TalkTalk’s was
the smallest at three per cent.
The research follows a
report from Ofcom last
November which found that
1.3 million customers had
secured better deals as a
result of being notified about
their expiring contract.
It said that two-thirds of
customers sent a notification
recalled receiving one. Of
those, 90 per cent found it
helpful, while one fifth said it
prompted them into action
they wouldn’t have taken
otherwise.C
ustomers leaving Sky
Broadband for a new
provider save the biggest
amount in internet bills,
paying on average £9.26 a
month less.
The figure comes from
Ofcom, which calculated the
price difference in contracts
for customers who switched
as a result of receiving a
notification that their existing
contract would soon end.
Virgin Media customers
also ended up paying less
(£7.74 a month on average),
while both TalkTalk and
BT customers paid more
(£7.81 and £2.45 respectively).
The effect on customers
leaving EE and Plusnet was
“statistically insignificant”.Ofcom’s research (www.
snipca.com/41934) aims
to highlight the benefit of
providers contacting
customers several weeks
before their contract is due
to expire. The regulator
introduced this measure in
February 2020 in an attempt
to tackle the so-called ‘loyalty
penalty’ that sees long-term
customers get moved on to
worse deals than new customers.
The study also showed that
Plusnet saw the biggest
percentage-point rise (13 perT
he Court of Appeal has
dismissed BT’s call for
customers to ‘opt in’ to be
part of a mass compensation
claim, which could see the
company pay affected
individuals £500 each.
BT was appealing against
the decision in September
by the Competition Appeal
Tribunal (CAT) that gave the
green light for a legal bid to
seek compensation for
2.3 million customers who
have been “overcharged” for
their landline between 2015
and 2018.
The company argued that
customers must be contacted
and then sign up to the legal
action in order to be eligible
for a payout.
But Justin Le Patourel,
who’s leading the case against
BT as the head of Collective
Action on Land Lines (CALL,
http://www.callclaim.co.uk),
claimed that this would
greatly reduce the number of
people who would sign up,
making it “impossible” to getIt covers ‘voice-only’
customers, who had a BT
landline between October
2015 and April 2018, but not
a broadband service from BT
or any other provider; and
‘split-purchase’ customers,
who had a BT landline
alongside broadband from any
provider between October
2015 and now, but didn’t
‘bundle’ those services into a
single, discounted package.
BT said it “strongly disagrees
with the speculative claim
being brought against us”,
and that it will defend itself
against any allegation that it
doesn’t take seriously its
responsibilities to customers.compensation for many of
those affected.
He said: “Asking people to
sign up to legal process which
they don’t understand, and
which has an uncertain
outcome, would almost
certainly have led to low levels
of engagement”. He’s now
planning to “proceed to a
full trial”.
The case was prompted by
an Ofcom investigation in
2016 which found that,
although the wholesale costs
of providing landlines to
customers had fallen by at
least 25 per cent, BT had
actually increased its fees
by 28 to 41 per cent.BT loses ‘opt in’ appeal in
mass compensation claim
GET £250 FOR
SWITCHING TO THREE
Phone network Three will
give you up to £250 on a
prepaid Mastercard if you
join from another network
by 7 July. The amount you
get depends on the plan
you sign up to, with the
biggest cashback coming
for packages with Apple,
Samsung, Honor and Xiaomi
phones. The offer is also
available for its 24-month
unlimited SIM-only deal,
which gives you £100. For
details visit http://www.snipca.
com/41938.NEW SITE SHOWS QUEEN’S
HISTORICAL VISITS
You can see
historical
photos of the
Queen’s visits
across England
on a map
(www.snipca.
com/41940)
launched to
celebrate her Platinum Jubilee.
Made by Historic England,
the ‘Story Map’ shows the
Queen visiting 220 sites
(including unveiling the statue
of Eric Morecambe, pictured),
stretching back to 1932 when
she was just six years old.