Approval of the PhonepayPlus Code of Practice (fourteenth edition)

Start: 14 March 2016
Status: Statement published
End: 25 April 2016

There are a whole range of interactive services that consumers can access via their landline and mobile phones, computers and digital TV.

Where these services are charged for via the customer’s telephone bill or pre-pay account, they are known as premium rate services. They can range from receiving a daily horoscope, following football scores, voting in television programmes, making charity text donations or downloading the latest ringtone. While these services are valued by those that use them, they can sometimes give rise to consumer harm.

Ofcom has overall responsibility to make sure that consumers are protected by ensuring appropriate rules are in place and enforced. To achieve this, we have designated PhonepayPlus to carry out the day-to-day regulation of premium rate services.

PhonepayPlus does this through a Code of Practice that establishes certain standards for the operation of premium rate services in the UK. From time to time, PhonepayPlus revises the Code to ensure it continues to operate in consumers’ best interests and provides a fair and proportionate regulatory regime for industry. We have powers to approve the Code provided it meets certain legal tests.

Following consultation and consideration of responses received, this document sets out Ofcom’s decision to approve PhonepayPlus’ 14^th Code of Practice. The Code will come into effect on 12 July 2016.