The agreement is in response to recommendations made in the Ofcom Review of the Regulation of Premium Rate Services, which was launched following thousands of complaints from consumers over unexpectedly high telephone bills, sometimes caused by fraudulent internet charges.
The review recommended that the rules governing premium rate 090 telephone services be tightened and that the maximum fine available to the premium rate watchdog, ICSTIS, be increased. It also obliged the telecommunications providers to share information about suspected premium rate abuses between themselves and with ICSTIS.
As a result, 12 telcos have now signed up to a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), which is intended to strengthen consumer protection against premium rate misuse.
The signatories are: 3, BT, Carphone Warehouse, Kingston Communications, ntl, O2, Onetel, Orange, T-Mobile, Telewest, Vodafone and Your Communications.
Under the terms of the MOU, the telecommunications providers will alert each other immediately to any complaints about premium rate numbers that are suspected of being used in breach of the ICSTIS Code.
They will also inform ICSTIS, which will investigate and, if appropriate, invoke emergency procedures.
If a Code breach is confirmed, calls to the relevant premium rate number will be blocked and settlement payments suspended. The objective is that any serious code breaches can be detected and stopped within hours of the first reports being received.
"The vast majority of service providers operate legitimately under the ICSTIS Code," said Bryan Petch of Telewest, who convened the group. "Unfortunately a few rotten apples have found ways of exploiting PRS for their own ends. In publishing this MOU, the communications providers involved are expressing their determination to stamp out abuses and allow consumers to continue to receive the benefits from genuine premium rate services."
E-Commerce Minister Alun Michael added:
"This sends a strong signal from some of the leading telecoms companies that premium rate scams will not be tolerated. This approach is essential to restore public confidence in the industry and the Government is full square behind it. A more effective early warning system will help the industry to spot scams and take quicker action against rogue companies and to prevent the distress and inconvenience they cause for consumers."
