£750 Fine By UK Regulators For Mis-use Of 070 Numbers

In September 2009, www.phonepayplus.org.uk received an industry complaint from a Network Operator in relation to a range of nine 070 numbers operating the same service that contained the same recorded explicit adult content. Upon calling one of these 070 numbers, a recording of a female voice would play. The recording stated that she (the female voice) would provide her mobile number and email address later in the call, with a view to meeting and engaging in sexual activity at no charge.

During the course of its monitoring, www.phonepayplus.org.uk found the same recording occurred on various 070 numbers. The recording lasted 25 minutes, and a mobile number and email address were provided at the end of the recording. However, when www.phonepayplus.org.uk called the mobile number, it was connected to a voicemail and www.phonepayplus.org.uk was unable to speak to anyone. The Service Provider terminated the service within 11 days of its commencement on the basis of its own monitoring

www.phonepayplus.org.uk was concerned that this service was a misleading sexual entertainment service (SES), operating on an incorrect prefix and designed to keep consumers on the line for as long as possible. www.phonepayplus.org.uk believed that this service contravened the PhonepayPlus Code of Practice (11^th Edition Amended April 2008) (‘the Code’) and raised the following potential breaches under the Code:

• Paragraph 3.3.1 – Designated number range
• Paragraph 5.4.1a – Fairness (Misleading)
• Paragraph 5.4.2 – Undue delay
• Paragraph 7.11.5a-c – Sexual entertainment services – Introductory message

The Tribunal upheld all the breaches raised. The revenue generated by the service fell within the lower range of Band 6 (£1 – £5,000). The Tribunal considered the breaches to be serious, issued a Formal Reprimand and imposed a fine of £750. It also ordered that claims for refunds are to be paid by the Service Provider for the full amount spent by complainants, except where there is good cause to believe that such claims are not valid.