Crackdown on ‘legal rip-off’ text messages

THE Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) has launched a crackdown on companies involved in sending people unsolicited premium text messages.

The Consumers’ Association of Ireland (CAI) has described the practice, in which people are charged for receiving text messages they never sought, as a “legal rip-off”.

Gary Davis, DPC deputy commissioner, said: “Last year we received 76 complaints from consumers. In the two months this year, and we’re not at the end of February, we’ve received 48 complaints.

“We decided in the last few weeks, based on the number of complaints coming in, that we’re going to target the sector using our strong investigative powers, which allows us to take information, and to enter a premises if necessary and take away what we need in order to support the investigation.”

RegTel, the body regulating premium phone services, said there had been an “unprecedented and dramatic” rise in complaints from people in 2005, to 13,321 complaints.

In its 2006 annual report, RegTel said 94% of the complaints were to do with subscription services, such as unsolicited text messages.

A report on RTÉ’s Prime Time said there were 370 companies authorised to send text messages in Ireland. These companies use network operators like Vodafone, O2 and Meteor to deliver the messages.

In many cases they go through service providers, or middle-men, who have contracts with the networks to send messages to their subscribers.

“If you haven’t requested receipt of a marketing message as determined, then you shouldn’t get it. The very fact of receiving it is an offence,” said Mr Davis.

“If anyone has received a text message without asking for it, a premium rated one that is offering to sell them a service, they need to complain to our office. We have the powers to prosecute the players in the sector.”

CAI chairman Michael Kilcoyne said: “Those who are being most affected are children and elderly people.

We believe it’s a legalised rip-off and the way to sort it out is to make the network carriers responsible for what they carry.”

Tom Higgins of Realm Communications Ltd said “confusion” could arise among consumers as to how to respond to or unsubscribe from text messages but that this was because companies were not given space under regulations to fully explain their offer.