BT makes Human Rights appeal on defecting users

Ben Carter

January 22, 2004

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BT makes Human Rights appeal on defecting users

BT is using the Human Rights Act to mount a legal challenge against a regulatory ruling that prevents it from launching last-ditch efforts to change the minds of its departing customers.

In the past week, BT lodged an appeal with the UK's top specialist competition court, the Competition Appeal Tribunal. In it, BT accuses the ruling by now-defunct telecoms regulator Oftel of contravening the freedom of information clause in the Human Rights Act. This protects the flow of information between BT and its customers.

Last year, Oftel banned BT from marketing directly to defecting customers following complaints from rivals, including Thus (Marketing, November 13 2003). But BT is also claiming the ruling should be reversed because it has to be informed when customers are switching, as it owns the infrastructure.

Ian El-Mokadem, managing director of One.Tel, has accused BT of "wasting the regulator's and the industry's time with pointless attempts at stopping fair competition".

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