ICSTIS, the UK regulatory body for premium rate telecoms
services, fined Polo Ltd. following its investigation on the back
of 143 consumer complaints.
The promotional text messages were referring to each recipient
as a "valued customer". This, according to ICSTIS, created the
impression that the messages were sent by the recipients' own
mobile networks, when this was not the case. ICSTIS considered that
this may have given an air of validity to the promotion.
The messages also failed to indicate the likely additional cost
of calling the service from a mobile phone, and they did not give
any information on the total cost and duration of the service.
In addition, the messages did not give an adequate description
of the "£150 prize", and used the word "win" to describe an item
that all recipients appeared eligible to claim.
ICSTIS did not reveal whether any consumers received a prize of
any kind but stated that it found that the messages were misleading
and in breach of its own Code of Practice.
Polo, which did not respond to the allegations, was fined
£15,000 and access to its service has been banned for one year.
According to the latest ICSTIS report, the regulatory body is
concerned about the number of complaints being received in relation
to reverse-billed premium rate text messages.
This involves service providers sending promotional text
messages, usually telling the recipients they have won a prize. If
the recipients respond, a premium rate service is triggered and
they receive premium rate text messages charged at up to £1.50 per
message.
ICSTIS also expresses concerns that certain service providers
have been advertising text chat services in publications aimed at
children under the age of 16.
Under the body's guidelines, non-adult chat services are only
allowed to be offered to the 16-17 year-old age group on condition
that they must be advertised in publications where the target
readership is not below 16 years of age.
The ICSTIS report for February 2003 is available
here.
The 26-page ICSTIS Code of Practice is available
here.
