PhonepayPlus sets out to build high consumer confidence in phone-paid services

ICSTIS, the phone-paid services regulator, has today become PhonepayPlus and has set itself the task of boosting public awareness about how to use services safely and how it can help people who encounter problems.

Phone-paid services – the goods and services that we can buy by charging the cost to our phone bills and mobile pre-pay accounts – have moved from a niche market to become a mainstream part of everyday life. The list of services available is as long as the range of information and entertainment on offer is wide, with the public spending a staggering £1 billion a year on services such as helplines, voting, competitions, downloads, news alerts, charitable giving and interactive games.

Although the vast majority of services are run responsibly and enjoyed by thousands of people, consumer confidence in the industry has taken a knock following this year’s high profile problems involving TV phone-in competitions. According to research published by PhonepayPlus today, almost two-thirds of the UK population have a distinct distrust of phone-in competitions, while 60% admit to having little faith in chat and entertainment services. The research also showed that 76% of people would not consider using a phone-paid service in the next 12 months.

Commenting on the findings, Sir Alistair Graham, Chairman of PhonepayPlus, 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. As well as knowing that there is an organisation out there making sure services are being operated fairly, consumers need to know where to go if they need advice or have a specific problem. “The first step in this process for us has been to change our name. Changes in the services we regulate and the way in which we do it brought us to the point where re-branding was essential. ICSTIS was no longer an accurate description of our organisation. As our research showed, the name had low awareness among the public and was a significant barrier in terms of people 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 for consumers.”

PhonepayPlus will focus on pre-empting and preventing problems – the key, it believes, to effective longterm consumer protection. It wants to have the right measures in place to build an industry-wide culture of compliance where services are offered responsibly and consumers get a fair deal. PhonepayPlus will seek to pre-empt problems through research, sensible rules and by working with the industry on safeguards. It will seek to prevent problems by giving the industry practical advice on compliance with its Code of Practice, and by working with others to give equally practical help and guidance to the public so that they can use services knowledgeably and safely. Finally, it will always be ready to use its enforcement powers to protect the public from irresponsible conduct or worse.

In addition to its existing activities, PhonepayPlus will be offering a full range of support initiatives for consumers and the industry over the coming months:

www.phonepayplus.org.uk will be revamped to make it easier for both the public and the industry to find the information they want.

• www.phonebrain.org.uk, PhonepayPlus’ successful, interactive children’s website, will be refreshed and promoted throughout the UK.
• A new leaflet, helping consumers to understand how phone-paid services work, how to recognise them and what to look out for, has been published and will be distributed throughout the UK. Copies of the leaflet can be downloaded here here.
• A new SMS text service will be launched to allow the public to report problems at their convenience using their mobile phones.
• A programme of ongoing, active collaboration with other regulators and relevant protection bodies will begin. Consumers need to know where to go with a problem and need to be properly advised about who will be dealing with their issue. Material has already been produced to help phone network customer service departments deal efficiently with their customers.
• A specialist Compliance Team has been set up to advise all those who provide phone-paid services to ensure that services comply with the regulator’s rules from the outset

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