Tiscali sues BT for ‘malicious’ advertising

Broadband provider Tiscali is taking legal action against British Telecom for ‘defamation and malicious falsehood’.

BT sent a letter to thousands of Tiscali customers warning them of Tiscali’s immanent closure and encouraging them to switch broadband providers.

The letter from BT was headlined ‘Tiscali chief plots sell-off’.

It continued: ‘We can understand why you’re wondering what might happen to your Tiscali broadband service.

‘And because no one really knows the answer just yet, it could be a good time to look for an alternative broadband service.’

Tiscali’s plans to sell its British businesses have been widely publicised.

However, Tiscali claims that the letter was misleading.

Tiscali have issued a statement on the matter, which read: ‘In a letter to us, BT has disputed the claim.

‘The next stage is for us to file a further court document and we will then learn the terms on which BT intends to defend the claim, if at all.’

A BT spokesperson responded by saying that the marketing action undertaken by the company was a ‘legitimate and reasonable business tactic’.

BT also denies illegally acquiring the data of Tiscali customers, saying that it only uses ‘reputable external sources’.