Wireless Information Network Limited (Case reference: 01840)
| Case Number | 01840 |
| Published date | 17 January 2008 |
| Year | 2008 |
| Adjudicated Party | Wireless Information Network Limited |
| Procedure Type | Review (Phone-Paid Services Authority) |
ADJUDICATION PANEL MEETING OF PHONEPAYPLUS
(FORMERLY ICSTIS) (NO. 618)
Thursday 17 January 2008
REVIEW ADJUDICATION
APPENDIX 5
Case Reference: 702783/GL
Service provider & area: Wireless Information Network Limited (WIN), High
Wycombe
Information provider & area: SMS.ac Inc, San Diego, USA
Type of service: Reverse-billed text messages
Service description: A social networking service which used reverse-billed
text messages
Background
The Executive received complaints for the SMS.ac service and its promotion.
Complaints were received from the mobile network operators and consumers
regarding reverse-billed SMS. Complaints reported that consumers had not
consented or requested to receive text messages of this nature.
An extract from the SMS.ac terms and conditions describes the SMS.ac service as:
…an entertainment service that enables users to create unique profiles
(which are made available on the Web and/or mobile devices) and provides
users with access to a collection of services and resources, including various
communications tools, content, applications, and programming offered from
time to time through its network of properties (the “Service”).
The profile information will be publicly available for viewing…One benefit of
the service is to enable users to meet and interact with others. To promote
community, we facilitate user interaction and communication by using
SMS.ac’s proprietary community technology (“community technology”).
The purpose of the community technology is to ease the progression for
newer community users to become active community participants and to
continuously engage all users to user the service. One of the features of the
community technology is that it may bring non-participants back to the service
or to the forefront of user searches…significantly enhancing the chance of
less active users being discovered by other community users, as well as
receiving communications. Please note that such users are charged on their
mobile phone accounts for many such services and communications.
The Executive found that many of the complainants had either:
• signed up to the SMS.ac service up to 2-3 years ago (or more) and in the
intervening period between signing up and suddenly receiving reverse billed
SMS in 2007, did not use SMS.ac, never received reverse-billed SMS from
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