Summary
 Mobile phone-paid services and their marketing ( 57kb)
Citizens Advice wholeheartedly supports Phonepayplus’ proposals to ensure that consumers receive fewer and more targeted promotional text messages, are better able to make informed decisions about purchasing services via their mobile phone and find it simple and straightforward to stop mobile subscription services.
Evidence reported by our bureaux demonstrates that current rules are not working adequately. As a result CAB clients, including vulnerable customers such as children and those for whom English is a second language, are suffering financial detriment and are caused considerable stress and aggravation in attempting to resolve difficulties caused by a range of mobile phone-paid services. In some cases it appears as though vulnerable members of society may be explicitly targeted and preyed upon by these practices. Particular problems reported by bureaux include:
- Clients receiving reverse-billed text messages which they have not requested and which they don’t know how to stop;
- The failure of information providers to act promptly, or at all, to stop receipt of such messages when requested to do so; and
- The lack of clarity over the nature of services purchased when the customer signs up to a subscription service for which regular payments will be collected.
The proposals put forward by Phonepayplus are, in our opinion, a proportionate response to problems which currently beset the mobile phone market and should help to make paid-for services accessed by mobile phone more transparent for all consumers. A key part of this is ensuring that those who opt for such services are fully informed about (i) what they are signing up for; (ii) the costs of doing so; and (iii) how to cancel any subscription services.
It would seem clear to us that an industry interested in customer satisfaction and a sustainable expansion of this market should have a strong interest in supporting these proposals.
Mobile phone-paid services and their marketing ( 57kb)
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