ITV became embroiled in the widening phone-in television scandal yesterday after admitting that viewers who voted in The X Factor were overcharged by £200,000.
Viewers voting via their remote control “red button” during the last series of the Saturday night talent search were charged 50p a vote instead of 35p, the broadcaster admitted. The overcharge went undiscovered throughout the top-rated series — including the final in which 8 million viewers voted — generating a £2.8 million windfall.
ITV said that the error came to light last week when it received the latest red button revenue statement for the operation of the last series. This statement showed a surplus to ITV of £200,000.
The broadcaster vowed to repay the 15p collected from every vote to any