Record Fine For Richard & Judy Phone Quiz Operator
Premium-rate phone regulator Icstis has imposed its highest ever fine, of £150,000, on Eckoh, the service provider on Richard & Judy‘s ‘You Say, We Pay’ phone-in quiz.
Icstis ruled that Eckoh misled viewers by actively encouraging them to enter the competition after the potential winners had already been selected.
In addition to the fine, the regulator has also ordered Eckoh to provide refunds to all of the people affected.
Icstis has now referred the case to Ofcom, who could investigate the actions of the parties involved under the broadcasting code.
At the end of June, Ofcom handed out the largest financial penalty imposed on a public service broadcaster when it forced Five to pay £300,000 following breaches of the broadcasting code by its phone-in quiz Brainteaser (see Five Gets Record Fine For Brainteaser Blunders).
Sir Alistair Graham, Icstis chairman, said of the sanctions imposed today: “The size of the fine reflects the very serious nature of the breach of our code of practice. The hearing panel found clear evidence of fundamental failings in the winner selection process. Winners were being chosen before the competition closing deadline, whilst millions of additional viewers were still encouraged to phone in and pay to enter competition but were denied the opportunity of fair consideration.
“Such reckless disregard for viewers is unacceptable. In this case, viewers were not only ‘paying competition entrants’ but also consumers who enjoy a high degree of consumer protection already provided by Icstis.
“There is no doubt that the public thoroughly enjoys taking part in premium rate competitions and votes on television. However, as well as being entertaining and fun, services should be reliable and trustworthy. Consumer protection should be at the heart of television rather than a broadcasting philosophy of ‘the show must go on’. The public should be able to use these services with absolute confidence. Consumers must get a fair deal.”
In a statement, Channel 4 said: “We engaged Eckoh in good faith as a reputable and experienced service provider and we are very disappointed by their failure to ensure that all calls to the competition were handled properly.”
Channel 4 has already pledged to provide refunds for all affected viewers and to donate any profit from dodgy calls to charity, last month handing over £50,000 to Great Ormond Street Hospital (see Channel 4 Makes Richard & Judy Charity Payment).
The gambling commission recently published new guidelines which said that broadcasters could be forced to apply for licences for call TV quizzes under the new gambling act (see Broadcasters May Need To Apply For Call-TV Licences).
Ofcom’s Richard Ayre is currently heading an inquiry into the use of premium rate telephone services in television programmes, the findings of which will be published this summer (see Hanging On The Telephone).
At last week’s Westminster Media Forum, panellists and contributors agreed that improvements need to be made to the way phone-in services are regulated. Kate O’Rourke, a member of Ofcom’s consumer panel, said: “I think we now have to question whether [the current regulatory system] actually works for the benefit of the consumer, or whether a major change in the system is required to restore consumer confidence and to avoid continued consumer detriment.”
Icstis: www.icstis.org.uk