3 July 2008

INVESTIGATION INTO COMPLAINTS RECEIVED REGARDING SERVICES USING AUTOMATED CALLING EQUIPMENT TO PROMOTE, AND ENCOURAGE CALLS TO, 070 PREFIXED NUMBERS CHARGED AT 50 PENCE PER MINUTE.

PhonepayPlus, the phone-paid services regulator, has launched an investigation following numerous complaints from members of the public.  Having contacted the network operator through whose network the service operates, PhonepayPlus considers the service provider responsible under the PhonepayPlus Code of Practice to be ‘Jack Barnard Telecom Services Limited'.

Due to the very serious nature of the alleged breaches of its Code of Practice, PhonepayPlus has invoked its emergency procedure to bar access to numbers associated with the service with immediate effect.

The bar on access applies to all numbers on which the service has been operating. In addition, all revenue payable to the service provider has been withheld by the network operator pending the outcome of the investigation.

PhonepayPlus regulates premium rate service providers, which are defined in paragraph 11.3.6 of the PhonepayPlus Code of Practice (Eleventh Edition Amended April 2008).

Background

The service is charged at 50 pence per minute at all times. Complaints received indicate that calls are made to landlines and mobile phones which appear to be from automated calling equipment playing a recording of a voice asking "Hello, hello, can you hear me?" (or similar) before terminating at the service end.  The CLI (Caller Line Identification) is available when the recipient of the call either views the incoming CLI display or calls ‘1471' to find out the number of the caller. It also remains displayed on mobile phone handsets.  The specific CLI numbers vary but originate from a 070365 prefixed number range.  PhonepayPlus has received 35 complaints regarding this service.

Our concerns

Our investigation initially focuses on the following paragraphs of the PhonepayPlus Code of Practice (11th Edition Amended April 2008):

• Legality (Paragraph 5.2) - due to the apparent use of ACE (Automated Calling Equipment) contrary to the PECR (Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003).
• Fairness - Misleading (Paragraph 5.4.1a) - due to the misleading nature of the call and the similarity of the CLI with a standard mobile phone number.
• Pricing Information - Cost (Paragraph 5.7.1) - due to the apparent lack of pricing information within the promotion of the service.

Next steps

We have written to Jack Barnard Telecom Services Limited setting out our concerns and, under paragraph 8.3.3 of the Code of Practice, we have also requested further information from them to assist our investigation. They have until 8 July 2008 to respond.

We aim to adjudicate on all investigations dealt with under the emergency procedure within 10 working days of the service provider's response to the alleged breaches raised. However, this timeframe may vary depending on the complexity of the case and on whether there is a need to request more information.