Fewer Complaints About Mobile Content Services in the UK

Published on: 1st Jan 1970: 1:33am

The UK has seen a 62% drop in complaints about premium rated mobile phone services over the past year, reports the industry regulator, PhonepayPlus. This is on the same day that the EU published an update on the success of its 2008 Europe-wide clampdown on misleading websites offering mobile phone services, such as ringtones and wallpapers.

The EU's update follows on from last year's 'sweep', announced in July 2008, where the EU selected a number of problem websites to undergo further investigation. The issues raised by the EU included unclear pricing information, lack of contact information, hidden terms and conditions, and the word 'free' being is used to mislead consumers into a long-term contracts.

Of the 43 UK websites checked, 39 were found to need further investigation, and five were potential cross-border cases, i.e. when the business, consumer and enforcement agency are not all based in the UK.

Working with the Office of Fair Trading - the statutory UK cross-border authority - PhonepayPlus examined the websites highlighted in the 'sweep'. Many of the websites that appeared suspect transpired to be for services that were no longer in operation and hadn't been updated in line with the current regulations. The remaining sites were dealt with through PhonepayPlus' enforcement powers, including informal action with providers and formal PhonepayPlus adjudications; a few investigations are also still ongoing.

In addition, PhonepayPlus introduced new rules for mobile phone-paid services in January 2009. These measures aim to protect the public from a range of practices in the mobile premium content market which were causing complaints and undermining consumers' trust.

 

Tags: [phonepayplus]  [office of fair trading]  [UK]