Watchdog To Crack Down On Unsolicited Text Message Ads
The number of complaints relating to unsolicited text messages has shot up eight fold in the past year, according to new figures from The Independent Committee for the Supervision of Standards of Telephone Information Services (Icstis).
The industry regulator, which monitors premium rate calls and text messages, said that 90% of the 3,500 complaints it received this year related to spam messages for premium rate phone lines.
The text messages often attempt to lure mobile phone users into ringing premium rate 090 numbers, which can cost up to £15 each time. Icstis spokesman, Rob Dwight, said: “The considerable harm these messages do is made worse because they are sent out in their millions.”
However, Ictsis is cracking down on these nuisance ads and since the bulk of the promotions started appearing last September, the watchdog has investigated more than 50 service providers and fined some companies up to £50,000.
The watchdog’s director, George Kidd, said: “We will not allow widespread public trust in premium rate charging across the mobile and other sectors to be damaged in this way and we will continue to take whatever action is necessary against those responsible.”
The increase in complaints comes hand in hand with the growing popularity of text messages and the latest figures from the Mobile Data Association show that an average of 55 million person to person text messages sent across the four UK GSM networks each day during June (see Text Continues To Shine In June).
Icstis: 020 7940 7474 www.icstis.org.uk
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