ICSTIS rebrands in wake of scandals

The industry-funded regulatory body for premium-rate phone services, known as ICSTIS, has rebranded in the wake of a procession of high-profile scandals.

The body, which has relaunched under the name PhonepayPlus, has investigated the alleged premium phone-line misdemeanours of a number of established TV shows recently, including Blue Peter, Richard and Judy and The X Factor.

The chairman of PhonepayPlus, Sir Alistair Graham, wants a clean start to help rebuild consumer confidence in the industry after the regulator found that 76% of people would not consider using a phone-paid service in the next 12 months.

He said: 'After the headlines of recent months, there is no doubt that the public's trust in phone-paid services has been dented. While we don't underestimate the size of the task ahead, we are confident that confidence in phone-paid services can be restored.'

The previous name ICSTIS, which stood for the Independent Committee for the Supervision of Standards of Telephone Information Services, had become inaccurate and cumbersome, according to Graham.

He added: 'The name was a significant barrier in terms of the industry and consumers knowing who we were and what we did. We needed a name that gives a real sense of what we do. PhonepayPlus – coupled with our "Regulating to build consumer trust in phone-paid services" strapline – is much more meaningful and memorable.'

PhonepayPlus will focus on pre-empting and preventing problems, and will offer a range of support initiatives for the industry and consumers over the coming months.

The UK public currently spends around £1bn per year on services such as helplines, voting, competitions and downloads.

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