PhonepayPlus received 90 complaints about a text chat service, from which recipients claimed to have received unsolicited, reverse billed, promotional SMS messages. The messages varied in content, examples of which are as follows:

"Hi my name is Kate, I would love to chat, just text KATE to 6888 to start chat or text STOP opt out. Text chat CS 08715249055. SP; szazzy "1.50 / msg 18+" or

"Hi I'm Tracey and I'm new to this Sarah said you were a lot of fun Fancy a chat? To chat to me reply TRACEY Opt-out txt STOP £1.50/msg SpreadMobile 08715249055".

The recipients of the messages were charged £1.50 for each message received.

The following breaches of the 11^th Edition of the PhonepayPlus Code of Practice were raised:

• § Paragraph 5.2 - Legality
• § Paragraph 5.4.1a - Fairness (Misleading)
• § Paragraph 5.4.1b - Fairness (Unfair Advantage)
• § Paragraph 5.7.1 - Pricing Information (Cost)
• § Paragraph 5.12 - Inappropriate promotion

The Tribunal upheld breaches of paragraphs 5.2, 5.4.1a, 5.4.1b, 5.7.1and 5.12 of the Code. The Tribunal considered the case to be serious, issued Spread Media Limited with a formal reprimand and a fine of £20,000 in respect of the breaches upheld.  The Tribunal also ordered a 6 month bar on premium rate services promoted by reverse billed SMS or by any other "electronic mail" (within the meaning of the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003) other than email.

Planet Talk

PhonepayPlus received one complaint from an industry member, regarding an international calling card service called ‘Planet Talk'.  The service was advertised in various publications, on TV, radio, and via Google Pay Per Click.

The promotional card/leaflet stated "'Happy Onam' Call India including Mobiles - 2p per min!" The service advertised cheap international tariffs which could be deducted from a credit amount, paid for by reverse-billed messages to a mobile phone. When a customer's credits fell below £1, another reverse-billed message was sent to the mobile automatically to "top up" the credit.   

The service in question required prior permission from PhonepayPlus before it could operate.  The complaint received by PhonepayPlus related to the service operating without the requisite prior permission.

The following breach of the 11^th Edition of the PhonepayPlus Code of Practice was raised:

• § Paragraph 6.1.1 - Permission requirements

The Tribunal upheld a breach of paragraph 6.1.1 of the Code. The Tribunal considered the case to be minor and ordered that the service provider apply for the requisite permission from PhonepayPlus within fourteen days of publication of the full written adjudication.

Chat

PhonepayPlus received ten complaints concerning the following promotional marketing text message for a chat and date service:

Free msg: Single? Find a partner in your area! 1000s of real people are waiting to chat now! Send CHAT to 62220 Send STOP to opt out VIP 08717890890 £1.50/msg

Complainants stated that the promotional marketing text was unsolicited. Following an investigation, the case was put before an Adjudication Panel on the 13 March 2008, which upheld a breach of paragraph 5.2 (legality) of the 11^th Edition of the PhonepayPlus Code of Practice.  The Adjudication Panel issued VIP Texting Ltd (now Twist Mobile Limited) with a fine of £5,000 and a formal reprimand.

Following this decision, the information provider requested that the decision and the sanctions imposed be reviewed.

The Review Tribunal held:

The Review Tribunal considered the new information provided by the information provider but concluded there was nothing in the additional information, nor the arguments put forward by the information provider, which would lead it to change the original adjudication nor the sanctions which had been imposed.  The Review Tribunal therefore upheld the original breaches and sanctions.