Ben Dewhurst (Case reference: 195457)
| Published date | 20 July 2023 |
| Year | 2023 |
| Case Number | 195457 |
| Procedure Type | Prohibition (Phone-Paid Services Authority) |
| Adjudicated Party | Ben Dewhurst |
1
Tribunal meeting number299
Case reference:195457
Case:Prohibition of an associated individual
This case was brought against an associated individual under paragraph 5.8.12 of the 15th
edition of the Code of Practice (“the Code”).
The Tribunal was asked to consider imposing a prohibition against MrBen Dewhurst
pursuant to paragraph 5.8.5(g) of the Code.
Background
1.The case related to a previous adjudication againstConnect You Limited(the
“Merchant provider”) (case reference188306). The caserelated toan Information,
Connection and Signposting Service (“ICSS”) provided by the Merchant (“the Service”)
and was adjudicated on 17 March 2023. The Tribunal that considered the case on 17
March 2023 recommended consideration of a prohibition of Mr Dewhurst, a director
of the Merchant provider and contact on the Phone-paid Services Authority’s (“PSA”)
Registration Scheme for the Merchant providersince it registered on 16 December
2019.
2.The Merchant provider operated a Type 1 ICSS which connects consumers to 29
different organisations, including HMRC, DVLA, British Gas, O2 and Apple. The calls
to the Service cost £3.60 per minute plus the network’s access charge.The PSA
received 408 complaints regarding the Service. The first complaint was received on 6
August 2020. The main complaint period was between September 2020 and May
2021. However, the most recent complaint was received on 11 October 2022.
3.The complainants alleged that they did not see pricing on the promotional material
and landing page for the Service. They also alleged that they thought they were
contacting the advertised organisation directly.
4.The Merchant has been registered withthe PSA since 16 December 2019. The
terminating Network operator for the service is Telecom 2 Limited (“Telecom 2”),
who have been registered with the PSA since 20 July 2011.The Service was
advertised through Google Ads and could be accessed via searching for one of the 29
organisations the Service connects to. The Service was registered with the PSA on 18
December 2019. The Service commenced operating on 2 January 2020.
5.On 17 March 2023 the Tribunal considered whether the Service operated by the
Merchant provider breached the Code. The Tribunal upheld the following breaches:
•Rule 2.2.7 (Code 14) and 3.2.1 (Code 15) – Pricing
•Rule 2.3.2 (Code 14) and 3.3.2 (Code15) – Misleading
•ICSS special condition 3, under Code 14 and requirement 3.2.2 (g) under
Code 15 - failure to clearly and prominently state that the information was
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