September 12, 2016

PhonepayPlus received 199 complaints in relation to the service which was operated by Treasure Media Ltd under the brand name “Glamour Teasers” on dedicated shortcode 78123, and shared shortcodes 80333, 82999, 88150 and 88881 at a cost of £3 per week. Complainants variously alleged that service charges were unsolicited.

The PhonepayPlus Tribunal upheld one breach of the Code in relation to failure to hold evidence of consumer consent before charging consumers. The Tribunal considered the case to be very serious and imposed a formal reprimand, a fine of £135,000, and a requirement that Treasure Media remedy the breach by ensuring that it has robust verification of each consumer’s consent to be charged before making any further charge to the consumer, including for existing subscribers to the service.  The Tribunal also imposed a requirement that Treasure Media must refund all consumers who claim a refund, for the full amount spent by them on the service, within 28 days of their claim, save where there is good cause to believe that such claims are not valid, and provide evidence to PhonepayPlus that such refunds have been made.  To read the PhonepayPlus Adjudication against Treasure Media Ltd, published on 30 August 2016, click here.