Compliance ensures we work within the law, voluntary standards and regulatory guidelines

Compliance is vital to the integrity of our business, the reputation of our brand, our legal position and our financial sustainability.

The Telefónica Europe Board is responsible for compliance across Telefónica Europe and for ensuring that all O2 companies meet local legal and regulatory requirements.

Its members must also confirm compliance with our Business Principles every six months as part of the Corporate Governance Certification process.

Within Telefónica O2 UK compliance officers monitor training and investigate failures.

Competition law gives authorities and local regulators the power to stop unfair trading, and the right to impose fines of up to 10 per cent of our turnover. Failure to comply could leave us exposed to claims for damages from third parties.

The relevant government watchdogs are:

• The Office of Communications (Ofcom) – the regulation and competition authority for the UK communications industry.
• PhonepayPlus (formerly known as ICSTIS) is the regulatory body for the UK’s premium-rate telecommunications industry.
• Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) – the independent authority set up to promote access to official information and to protect personal information.

During 2007 Telefónica O2 UK had:

• no major competition law failures;
• no complaints upheld by Ofcom; and 
• 1 complaint upheld by the premium rate regulator PhonepayPlus.

In addition:

• The ICO brought 17 adverse assessments against our operations in the UK concerning failure to comply with the Data Protection Act; and
• no complaints were received by the Advertising Standards Authority (our business seeks to comply with voluntary advertising standards and guidelines and we would withdraw any advertising that is found misleading or inaccurate).

We investigate every regulatory complaint in accordance with our compliance procedures, which are endorsed by the Telefónica Europe Board.

During the year there was one action against Telefónica O2 UK relating to regulation and competition. The case was closed without any finding against O2.

Quality standards

We comply with tough international standards, which ensure that our product quality, health and safety procedures, and environmental management are of a high standard. This also helps us to keep our customer promise. 

We are accredited to:

• ISO 9001:2000 - the international quality management standard;
• ISO 14001:2004 - the international environmental management system; and 
• OHSAS 18001:1999 - health and safety management system.

Telefónica O2 UK is also registered to the Investors in Excellence standard and we comply with various quality and compliance standards set by regulators, such as the British Approvals Board for Telecommunications (BABT).