Back in November, Tiscali and Talk Talk were summoned to the Ofcom's office for a firm telling off after breaching rules that are in place to protect consumers. And now the financial implications their misbehaviours have been disclose - and it's a definite "ouch" for the communication companies' pockets.

£2.5 million in refunds and good will payments have been handed out by the naughty twosome after thousands of consumers were incorrectly billed for cancelled services.

The move followed more than 1,000 complaints from customers and, although both Tiscali and Talk Talk have now taken "significant steps" to fix the problem, the investigation is continuing as Ofcom is still receiving complaints from customers.

In one case a customer who complained to Ofcom that he had cancelled his broadband account with Tiscali UK in 2008, but was still being billed 2 years later and was contacted by a debt collection company saying he owed £353.99.

Ofcom doesn't currently have the power to impose a financial penalty but the Government is looking into law changes that would give the communications watchdog more legal clout and these changes could be in place by 25 May 2011.

If you've been affected by Talk Talk or Tiscali in this issue then you can call the companies directly on their dedicated hotline - 0800 5428 073 - or take the Alternative Dispute Resolution path.