Originally published January 20 2006
Victims of Crazy Frog ringtones may get refunds
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
MBlox, the service provider behind the ringtone, has been ordered to give a refund to the 338 people who complained directly. Customers were not informed that texting to receive the ringtone signed them up for a series reverse-charge texts.
Watchdog Icstis has ordered MBlox, the service provider behind the ringtone, to refund the 338 people who complained directly to it.
But it is confident that others affected by the service will also get a goodwill refund as long as they can provide the appropriate evidence.
But the Crazy Frog character was actually the brainchild of ringtone-maker Jamba.
Although they found there was no fraudulent or malicious intent behind the service, the companies concerned showed a careless disregard and unprofessional attitude to consumers in failing to be clear on the exact nature of the service George Kidd, Icstis It was a huge hit during the summer and was the first ringtone to make it to the top of the UK singles charts.
It netted an estimated �10m for Jamba and MBlox but thousands of customers found themselves with inflated bills.
Many were unaware that by texting a number to receive the ringtone, they were also signing up for a series of at premium rate reverse-charge texts from Jamba.
The ruling from premium rate services regulator, Icstis, found that while a great deal of thought had been put into producing the Crazy Frog advertisements, the same could not be said about the terms and conditions.
"The Hearing Panel has made clear that consumers should not be made to work to find out what any premium rate services involves or costs," said Icstis director George Kidd.
MBlox, which was fined �2,000 in April for a promotion that involved unsolicited text messages, has argued that Icstis should in future go after the content providers directly.
"In future the regulatory framework should make the people who create and promote mobile content accountable for the content transmitted to consumers and the marketing practices they adopt," said the company in a statement.
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