Tell Them What You Think ^beta

1.1 Premium Rate Services ('PRS') offer a convenient way to buy and enjoy products spontaneously. They typically offer some form of content that is charged to a customer's phone bill or pre-pay account. Most PRS are for 'impulse' purchases and can be characterised by a relatively low expenditure. PRS are a simple means of purchasing a service because consumers can, for example, make the purchase using their telephone or mobile handset and need not provide any further authentication information. This makes PRS a good payment mechanism for buying relatively low expenditure content services or for participating in competitions or voting.

1.2 Consumers value PRS because of the simplicity of the payment mechanism and the attractiveness of the services that can be purchased using this method. However, some of the characteristics that make PRS so convenient for consumers can also give rise to consumer harm. As a result, it has always been recognised that separate provision should be made for the regulation of PRS. The current rules in place to regulate PRS are based on the definition of PRS in section 120 of the Communications Act 2003. The services are regulated by PhonepayPlus on a day-to-day basis, with Ofcom retaining overall responsibility for PRS.

1.3 However, the market for PRS has been the subject of significant change over the last ten years. We believe the three main relevant changes are:

Here are the documents we were able to locate that relate to this consultation: