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Shop Smart licence revocation

Ofcom has revoked the licence held by Shop Smart Television Ltd to provide the service Shop Smart Television (TLCS licence no.529) broadcasting as Shop Smart, a teleshopping channel, in accordance with section 238 of the Communications Act 2003 (the "Act"), for the following reasons:

1. Shop Smart ceased broadcasting in November 2004 and has failed to respond to enquiries from Ofcom since the service went off air.
2. In December 2004, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) referred Shop Smart to Ofcom for consideration of statutory sanctions (see http://www.asa.org.uk/asa/adjudications/broadcast/ ). The ASA had found Shop Smart in breach of the Advertising Standards Code ("the Code") and its licence conditions. Shop Smart had previously failed to respond to any enquiries made by the ASA in relation to the ASA's separate investigation into a number of complaints received from viewers. The ASA's subsequent adjudication into the complaints (which related to delivery delays and poor customer service) concluded that the Code had been breached, and that the failure of Shop Smart Television to respond to the ASA's enquiries was a direct breach of Shop Smart's licence conditions^(-1-);
3. Shop Smart failed to make any representations after being notified that Ofcom was minded to revoke the licence (for the reasons set out below).

Under section 238(4) of the Act, Ofcom may serve a notice to revoke the licence if it is satisfied that the holder has ceased to provide the licensed service and that it is appropriate to revoke the licence.

In view of Shop Smart's consistent failure to communicate with Ofcom, including its failure to respond to the notice of revocation and its failure to respond at any time to the ASA during the course of the ASA's investigation, Ofcom considered that it was appropriate to revoke Shop Smart's licence with effect from 9 February 2005.

Footnotes:

1.- Under section 27 of the Memorandum of Understanding between Ofcom and the ASA, if a licensee fails to comply or co-operate fully and promptly with decisions or reasonable requests made by the ASA, the ASA may refer the matter to Ofcom with a request that it consider the imposition of an appropriate sanction on the licensee. Such a referral was made by the ASA in relation to Shop Smart on 15 December 2004 in the light of the broadcaster's failure to reply to the Authority's requests.

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