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Watchdog promises to clean up dodgy downloads

Apparently, the UK’s premium downloads market is in need of a clean-up. The regulator formerly known as ICSTIS – PhonepayPlus – is launching a probe of mobile premium services including ringtones and games, saying there’s “evidence of significant consumer harm”.

Such evidence includes 4,500 complaints made in the first three months of this year, up 40 percent on last year), and 33 mobile services with total fines in excess of £360,000 in the first three months of the year.
PhonepayPlus will now be targeting unsolicited promotions, especially text messages; Price transparency and the use of words that indicate content is ‘free’ and subscription services like ringtones and the use of the STOP command. The results are out in July – hopefully the threat of coming under the regulator’s microscope will get all the cowboys to smarten up a bit.

3 COMMENTS

  1. I've recently been a victim of one of a premium rate SMS scam. It wouldn't have annoyed me half as much had I subscribed to the service, but I didn't and never would've. They just sent me messages unsolicited and took money from me for the priviledge!

    I've posted a whole bunch about the company in question on my blog. Including how useless the watchdog is. PhonepayPlus has told me I need to give the company more money in order to get a refund and prevent them from taking more money from me! How messed up is that?!

  2. I've recently been a victim of one of a premium rate SMS scam. It wouldn't have annoyed me half as much had I subscribed to the service, but I didn't and never would've. They just sent me messages unsolicited and took money from me for the priviledge!

    I've posted a whole bunch about the company in question on my blog. Including how useless the watchdog is. PhonepayPlus has told me I need to give the company more money in order to get a refund and prevent them from taking more money from me! How messed up is that?!

  3. I've recently been a victim of one of a premium rate SMS scam. It wouldn't have annoyed me half as much had I subscribed to the service, but I didn't and never would've. They just sent me messages unsolicited and took money from me for the priviledge!

    I've posted a whole bunch about the company in question on my blog. Including how useless the watchdog is. PhonepayPlus has told me I need to give the company more money in order to get a refund and prevent them from taking more money from me! How messed up is that?!

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