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December 2008

PHONEPAYPLUS WARNS OF PHONE-PAID SERVICES SCAMS AT CHRISTMAS
24 December 2008

Phone-paid services regulator warns consumers to be extra watchful of scams during the festive season.

NOTICE TO INDUSTRY: NETWORK DUE DILIGENCE
19 December 2008

PhonepayPlus today published a Notice to Industry reminding all network operators involved in the provision of premium rate services of their due diligence responsibilties. This follows complaints to PhonepayPlus indicating concern among consumers over the increased abuse of 070 prefixed numbers.

PHONEPAYPLUS 2009/10 BUSINESS PLAN & BUDGET CONSULTATION
18 December 2008

PhonepayPlus today published its 2009/10 Business Plan & Budget consultation. All responses must be received by 29 January 2009.

EMERGENCY PROCEDURE INVESTIGATIONS
11 December 2008

Following complaints from members of the public relating to missed calls to both landlines and mobiles from 070 prefixed numbers, PhonepayPlus has invoked its emergency procedure against four separate service providers.

PHONEPAYPLUS' RESPONSE TO DECREASE IN VAT
01 December 2008

This week's announcement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer of a cut in the rate of VAT from 17.5 per cent to 15 per cent on December 1 has prompted a number of questions to PhonepayPlus. These centre upon two main issues; pricing information and the split of revenue between Networks and contracted parties.

November 2008

EMERGENCY PROCEDURE INVESTIGATION
26 November 2008

PhonepayPlus has invoked its emergency procedure to investigate complaints relating to a parcel delivery mailing which encourages recipients to call a premium rate number to re-arrange what the promotion states was a ‘missed delivery.'

PHONEPAYPLUS TAKES SAFETY TO THE TOP OF THE CLASS
18 November 2008

Industry regulator joins forces with Ministry of Sound, the Peter Jones Foundation and Make Your Mark to launch PhoneBrain - an innovative new schools programme.

October 2008

GEORGE KIDD RESIGNS AS CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF PHONEPAYPLUS
16 October 2008

The PhonepayPlus Board today accepted George Kidd's resignation from his post as Chief Executive, effective 31 October. He will be replaced on an interim basis by Paul Whiteing, currently Director of Policy and Innovation.

PHONEPAYPLUS BEGINS WORK ON NEXT CODE OF PRACTICE
15 October 2008

PhonepayPlus today announced the beginning of a consultation exercise to develop the next edition of its Code of Practice.

FIRST COMPANIES AWARDED PERMISSION TO PROVIDE PHONE-PAID BROADCAST SERVICES
09 October 2008

PhonepayPlus today announced the first companies to be granted permission to provide phone-paid interactive broadcast services.

September 2008

EMERGENCY PROCEDURE INVESTIGATION
19 September 2008

PhonepayPlus has today published a statement on its decision to use an emergency procedure to investigate an email which resembles an invoice for computer equipment. The email encourages recipients to call ‘070' prefixed numbers.

RESIGNATION FROM PHONEPAYPLUS BOARD
04 September 2008

Andrew Bud's resignation from the Board of PhonepayPlus...

OPERATION OF PREMIUM RATE SERVICES ON 070 PERSONAL NUMBERS
03 September 2008

Following a recent investigation into the use of Automated Calling Equipment to promote a premium rate service operating on a 070 number, PhonepayPlus today published a Notice to Industry stating that PhonepayPlus will, as a matter of course, use its Emergency Procedure to shut down such services pending a full investigation.

July 2008

PHONEPAYPLUS' RESPONSE TO THE BERR CALL FOR EVIDENCE: CONSUMER LAW REVIEW
30 July 2008

PhonepayPlus has today submitted a response to the Consumer Law Review: Call for Evidence issued by the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) in May 2008.

NEW MEASURES MEAN CLEARER PRICING IN MOBILE PREMIUM CONTENT SERVICES AND FEWER INTRUSIVE TEXT MESSAGES
17 July 2008

PhonepayPlus, the phone-paid services regulator, today proposed a series of measures to protect the public from harm in the mobile premium content market. With immediate effect, any subscription service that does not allow customers to stop it easily and quickly will be barred from operation.

June 2008

NOTICE TO INDUSTRY - THE PROMOTION OF PHONE-PAID SERVICES ON THE VIRTUAL CHAT / CHAT & DATING SERVICES OF COMPETITORS (VOICE BASED SERVICES, ONLY)
18 June 2008

PhonepayPlus has recently written to all service providers operating live 1-2-1 chat services and virtual chat / chat & dating services. The PhonepayPlus Executive expresses concerns surrounding employees and / or operators of service providers calling the services of their competitors and leaving promotional messages where a consumer would normally leave a genuine description of themselves.

MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN THE GAMBLING COMMISSION AND PHONEPAYPLUS
05 June 2008

PhonepayPlus today published a memorandum of understanding with the Gambling Commission. It provides a framework for the adoption of a common approach to resolving certain issues related to gambling and premium rate services (PRS) that might result in consumer harm.

'EMERGENCY PROCEDURE INVESTIGATION'
03 June 2008

PhonepayPlus has today published a statement on its decision to use an emergency procedure to investigate the use of automated calling equipment to promote, and encourage calls to, 070 prefixed numbers.

May 2008

NEW APPOINTMENTS TO PHONEPAYPLUS BOARD
28 May 2008

PhonepayPlus has today announced the appointments of Matti Alderson, Ruth Evans, Andrew Flanagan and Jeremy Hallsworth as non-executive Board members, effective 1 September 2008. George Kidd, Chief Executive of PhonepayPlus, also joins as an executive member, effective immediately.

REGULATORY REVIEW OF MOBILE PREMIUM RATE SERVICES MARKET
01 May 2008

PhonepayPlus has today announced a review of mobile premium services which in the UK are worth around £350 million annually, and include digital content such as music ringtones, games and other downloads. The review will provide an overview of mobile phone-paid services, and identify issues affecting UK consumers. Of particular interest are unsolicited promotions, especially text messages; price transparency and subscription services.

April 2008

TOUGH NEW ENFORCEMENT MEASURES IN PHONE-PAID SERVICES MARKET
28 April 2008

PhonepayPlus today announced a streamlined approach to enforcement with the creation of a new Code Compliance Panel. An updated Sanctions Guide, also published today, explains the approach the Panel will take when setting fines and other sanctions. Taken together, these represent a more transparent, proportionate and accountable approach to the regulation of phone-paid services.

CONSUMER PROTECTION FROM UNFAIR TRADING REGULATIONS
22 April 2008

PhonepayPlus today published a Fact Sheet to assist service providers and others in understanding the key implications arising from the implementation on 26 May 2008 of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations.

A REMINDER: RESPONSIBILITIES FOR NETWORK OPERATORS UNDER CODE
09 April 2008

PhonepayPlus today reminded all network operators involved in the provision of premium rate services that they are bound by the PhonepayPlus Code of Practice. It urges any network operator that is unsure of its responsibilities to contact the PhonepayPlus Compliance Team for advice and help.

March 2008

A REMINDER: DEFINITION OF PROMOTION UNDER THE PHONEPAYPLUS CODE OF PRACTICE
06 March 2008

PhonepayPlus has today reminded providers of phone-paid services that the PhonepayPlus Code of Practice covers the promotion of the service as well as the content promoted. Because of the variety of marketing tools now available, PhonepayPlus urges any provider in any doubt about the compliance of their marketing campaigns, particularly when this involves the creation of meta tags in online marketing activity, to contact the PhonepayPlus Executive for compliance advice.

PHONEPAYPLUS 2008/09 LEVY ANNOUCEMENT
05 March 2008

PhonepayPlus has today announced that its levy for 2008/09 will be 0.39%. The levy, which applies to all outpayments to service providers, has been set following extensive consultation with the industry and other stakeholders.

NOTICE ON ADMINISTRATION CHARGES
05 March 2008

PhonepayPlus has today published a Notice to the Industry informing it of Administrative Charges from 1 April 2008.

February 2008

NEW RESEARCH EXPLORES USAGE OF PHONE-PAID SERVICES
21 February 2008

PhonepayPlus (previously known as ICSTIS) today published research that shows the effect of new technology and changing consumer demand on the UK phone-paid services industry - a mature, sophisticated market which generated £1.08 billion in revenues in 2007.

NEW REGULATION FOR BROADCAST PREMIUM RATE SERVICE PROVIDERS
19 February 2008

PhonepayPlus (previously known as ICSTIS) today announced that service providers looking to provide premium rate services (PRS) to broadcasters must first seek its permission. Taken alongside tough new rules for broadcasters also announced today by Ofcom, it is expected the new regulatory regime will protect viewers from any possible harm when participating in broadcast PRS.

PHONEPAYPLUS LAUNCHES NEW LOOK, CONSUMER-FOCUSED WEBSITE
18 February 2008

PhonepayPlus, the phone-paid services regulator (formerly ICSTIS), today launched its new look website, www.phonepayplus.org.uk, designed specifically with consumers in mind.

RAW-CONTACTS.COM
08 February 2008

PhonepayPlus has today published a statement on its decision to use its emergency procedure to investigate the premium rate service used to access the website ‘Raw-Contacts.com.

OPERATION OF VOICE-BASED, TEXT-CHARGED SERVICES
05 February 2008

PhonepayPlus has today issued a notice to the industry advising that, with immediate effect, no voice-based, text-charged service may be provided unless prior permission in writing has been given by PhonepayPlus for the operation of that service.

January 2008

SMSus
31 January 2008

PhonepayPlus launches text message-based number-checking service.

DEMAND FOR COMPLIANCE ADVICE SOARS
23 January 2008

PhonepayPlus has today issued a notice to the industry outlining the success and benefits of the PhonepayPlus Compliance Team.