About PhonepayPlus

Introduction to PhonepayPlus
Our vision
Our mission
Our values
Independence
Remit
Sanctions
Funding
This Code
General, compliance and media enquiries

Introduction to PhonepayPlus 

PhonepayPlus is the regulatory agency for premium rate services. The Board consists of up to 10 members, all appointed in their individual capacities ⁽¹⁾ . Up to three members of the Board have contemporary industry knowledge. PhonepayPlus is committed to a collaborative approach to regulation and works closely with the premium rate industry and with Ofcom to ensure that its operation meets the principles of good regulation and, wherever possible, draws on the support of industry in ensuring that compliance with this Code, along with our vision and mission, is achieved. PhonepayPlus is a non-profit making limited company. The Board is supported by a permanent Executive.

⁽¹⁾ Board members are recruited following an open recruitment and selection process.  For full details of the recruitment process and information on current Board members, please see www.phonepayplus.org.uk.

Mission Statement

Our vision

As the regulator for premium rate services, our vision is that anyone can use premium rate services with absolute confidence.

Our mission

In pursuit of our vision, we create a Code of Practice which sets appropriate standards for the promotion, content and overall operation of premium rate services, taking account of people, particularly children, who may be especially vulnerable. We promote compliance by giving advice on our Code to providers of premium rate services. If there are breaches of the Code, we promptly enforce its provisions in order to minimise consumer harm and encourage compliance in the future.

So that we can continue to protect and inform consumers faced with constantly changing technology, we regularly review our standards, consulting widely to obtain a cross-section of opinion.

Our values

In carrying out our mission, we are committed to the following:

• staying aware of, and responsive to, the ways in which consumers, or particular sets of consumers, may be vulnerable to harm when using premium rate services and striving to ensure that they receive the necessary protection,
• openness, fairness, even-handedness and impartiality when dealing with any individual or company involved in the provision of premium rate services,
• consistency when making decisions and imposing sanctions relating to breaches of our Code and having in place mechanisms to ensure that consistency,
• co-operative engagement with the constantly developing premium rate industry to secure its support for our work,
• working with legislators and other regulators to ensure that those who influence the operation of premium rate services fully understand and support our work,
• maintaining our understanding of relevant technological developments so that our regulation remains targeted and proportionate, and allows innovation and investment,
• being accessible to consumers and helping them understand how premium rate services work so that they can better protect themselves,
• acknowledging the important contribution made by all members of the organisation.

Independence

PhonepayPlus operates in a manner an entirely independent of the premium rate services industry. Apart from up to three members who are appointed on the basis of their contemporary industry knowledge, no member of the Board may have any commercial interest in the premium rate sector. Any Board member with such commercial interests will take no part in any adjudication process.

Remit

PhonepayPlus is responsible for carrying out the day to day operations on behalf of Ofcom for the regulation of premium rate services in the UK. Through this Code, PhonepayPlus regulates services in their entirety - their content, promotion and overall operation. Premium rate services offer some form of content, product or service that is charged to users' phone bills.

Premium rate services typically offer information and entertainment services via fixed or mobile phone, fax, PC (e-mail, internet, bulletin board), or interactive digital TV. There are many sorts of services, examples of which are:

• ringtones
• sports alerts
• TV voting
• competitions
• directory enquiries
• chat and business information.

They currently vary in cost from approximately 10 pence to £1.50 per call or minute (typically from a landline). Premium rate mobile services use short access codes - typically four or five-digit numbers, and will usually be shown on phone bills as ‘premium rate call' or ‘high premium rate service'. Premium rate charging for mobile content is generally on a per text message or per transaction basis, and includes services such as ringtones, logos, goal alerts and video clips.

UK-based landline premium rate services are normally carried on ‘09' dialling codes and directory enquiry (DQ) services on 118XXX codes.

PhonepayPlus carries out its duties through the imposition and enforcement of responsibilities on defined parties who are collectively termed providers of premium rate services. These are those who provide the networks which carry the services (network operators), those who provide the services which the networks then carry (service providers) and those who provide the content of the service if the service provider does not do that itself (information providers).

PhonepayPlus provides Help Notes which, although not part of the Code, do provide detailed advice on certain areas. These notes, together with a copy of the relevant legislation and other relevant material, are available on the PhonepayPlus website (www.phonepayplus.org.uk) and on request from PhonepayPlus.

Sanctions

PhonepayPlus investigates complaints and has the power to fine companies, bar access to services and order refunds. PhonepayPlus can also bar the individual person behind a company from running any premium rate services under any company name on any telephone network for a set period.

Funding
PhonepayPlus is funded by a levy on the industry and is committed to ensuring wherever possible that funding is supplemented by other sources of income from those who from time to time breach this Code, thus reducing the financial burden on the vast majority of legitimate providers of premium rate services. For further details, see our website (www.phonepayplus.org.uk).

This Code

In order to make this Code as accessible as possible, it consists of two parts.

Part 1. This contains information about the scope of the Code and how it can be changed. It goes on to set out the rules which apply directly to network operators and to service providers in setting up and operating their services. It then sets out the rules which apply to the content and promotion of services generally, and the rules which relate to certain specific kinds of service.

Part 2. Premium rate services exist in a complex world of statutes and regulations which apply to the fast-moving, technologically-advanced world of communications. It is necessary to have careful and formal definitions and procedures to ensure that the Code is legally comprehensible and enforceable. This part of the Code contains the definitions, the formal terms of reference of PhonepayPlus and the various procedures, including those which relate to Code breaches and the imposition of sanctions, appeal processes and the collection of money for funding PhonepayPlus.

General, compliance and media enquiries

Switchboard 020 7940 7474

Fax  020 7940 7456

Web www.phonepayplus.org.uk

Compliance Team 0845 026 1060   compliance@phonepayplus.org.uk
(BT callers charged 4p per min plus 6p set-up fee per call. Mobile and other providers' charges vary.)

Media Office 020 7940 7440  pressoffice@phonepayplus.org.uk