News
UK clamps down on ringtone rip-offs. Again.
Stuart O'Brien Jul 17 2008, 12:46pm
Comments (6)
Premium telephony watchdog PhonePayPlus introduces new rules to curb customer complaints.
PhonePlayPlus this morning confirmed that any company not allowing customers to stop a mobile content subscription quickly and easily will be barred from operation with immediate effect.
It's like 2004 all over again in the UK off-deck mobile content industry (worth £460m in 2007/08) as rising complaints against 'rip off' ringtone providers have forced the premium telephony regulator to take action.
PhonePayPlus says it received more than 8,000 mobile-related complaints in 2007/8, a 108 per cent increase on the previous year. In the first three months of 2008 alone, PhonepayPlus received more than 4,500 complaints.
The regular maintains there is also anecdotal evidence of consumers, including young people, being charged several thousand pounds as a result of bad practice by content and service providers.
Additional measures, which PhonePayPlus says will come into affect by winter, will ensure consumers: "receive fewer and more targeted promotional text messages; are able to make informed purchase decisions; and find it as easy to leave a subscription service as it was to join".
In 2007 PhonepayPlus adjudged 33 mobile services to be in breach and imposed fines of more than £360,000. In the first six months of 2008, we have already adjudicated on 25 mobile phone-paid services with total fines in excess of £390,000.
Comments
“Victims of theft are not 'consumers'”
Posted by: Alistair - Jul 17, 2:36pm
The main complaint PhonePayPlus receives are from members of the public claiming they have been billed for services they have not requested or agreed to pay for.
These complaints relate to laws concerning criminal theft and PayPhonePlus should be reporting them to the police.
Why aren't they?
“Re: Victims of theft are not 'consumers'”
Posted by: Worried from Pinner - Jul 17, 2:47pm
Err - what happened to STOP? Wasn't that pretty clear cut?
“Re: Re: Victims of theft are not 'consumers'”
Posted by: tanwar - Jul 17, 4:58pm
people shouldnt complaint as they know what they are getting in to, there is nothing free in this world.
why dont people complaint against mobile, internet or landline telpehone companies where you are bound to a subscription for a period of time even though you are not happy with the service. double standards nothing else.
“Re: Re: Re: Victims of theft are not 'consumers'”
Posted by: Alistair - Jul 17, 9:19pm
Many of the people complaining to PhonePayPlus are adults who have had 'nuffink' to do with silly ringtone websites or any other aspect of this "premium rate industry".
They are victims of unsolicited reverse billed sms that they never requested nor agreed to pay for.
“Re: Re: Re: Re: Victims of theft are not 'consumers'”
Posted by: Worried from Pinner - Jul 18, 8:43am
But what i don't understand is why have complaints suddenly shot up? What has changed?
“Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Victims of theft are not 'consumers'”
Posted by: Content creator - Jul 18, 9:58am
Who are these companies? As a content creator my concern is that my work may be being used by these cowboys. Let's face it, they aren't going to tell me that they are using dodgy practices - content creators generally are the last people to be told what's happening to their IP - but that's a separate gripe. Where can we find out who the sharks are? Let's name and shame them.