CRAZY FROG BUYERS - HAHAHAHAAAAAAAAA
Discussion
Still laughing ;)
From BBC.co.uk...
Ringtone ads face stiff controls
Consumers want clarity on how much they will pay
Rules on ringtone ads are being beefed up following a deluge of complaints to watchdog that regulates premium rate phone services in the UK.
Icstis has welcomed the new safeguards to protect consumers signing up for premium rate subscription services, such as ringtones and wallpapers.
It says misleading ads have meant many people have run up large bills because all costs are not spelled out.
More than 100 people complained to the watchdog about the Crazy Frog ringtone.
'Teenagers vulnerable'
The new rules were draw up by the UK's mobile phone operators to determine how premium rate subscription services are marketed by content providers.
The deadline for complying with them is 30 August.
Teenagers are particularly vulnerable as they do not always fully appreciate the conditions attached to such services
George Kidd, Icstis
The rules go as far as to dictate font sizes and how prices should be displayed in TV adverts.
In recent months, many people have mistakenly run up large bills by inadvertently subscribing to ringtone and text services when they thought they were just buying one tune.
The popularity of the Crazy Frog ringtone has led many people to download it to their phone without realising that it is only part of a bundle of tunes they will regularly be billed for.
"Teenagers are particularly vulnerable as they do not always fully appreciate the conditions attached to such services," said George Kidd, Icstis director.
The wildly popular Crazy Frog has made history by becoming the first ringtone to reach the top of the pop charts.
It is part of a package of ringtones created by mobile content company Jamster, and sold through a mobile service provider called MBlox.
Consumers who may think they are buying the Crazy Frog ringtone are signing up for a subscription plan.
[b]Each week, they receive a new text message for which they are charged £3, enabling them to download another ringtone. [/b]:hehe:
No small print
The new rules, drawn up by mobile operators and backed by premium service watchdog Icstis, will force content sellers to make it clear what people have bought and how much ongoing costs are.
They demand that details of prices and how often people are billed are prominent in adverts. For TV adverts, scrolling price banners and small fonts are outlawed.
The Crazy Frog tone also enjoyed chart success
In print, adverts prices and conditions must be in the main body of an advert rather than the small print.
They also stipulate that as soon as someone has signed up for a service they are sent a text message telling them what they are getting.
Customers must also get a reminder of how to unsubscribe every month or every time £20 is spent.
Mr Kidd said the rules built on the universal "stop" command that was introduced in 2004. This lets people unsubscribe by sending the word "stop" to the short code associated with the service they have signed up for.
Adrian Harris, founder of the Grumbletext website where people log problems with phone services, said he welcomed the new safeguards up to a point.
If all firms complied with the rules then consumers would definitely be better off, he said.
But, he said, the big problem was policing ringtone sellers. He called on Icstis to be more active in seeking out offending firms rather than just investigating on a case-by-case basis.
At the end of June the Department of Trade and Industry announced a big increase in fines for firms that break rules on the selling of premium rate phone services.
After the increase the maximum fine is £250,000 - more than double the previous upper limit of £100,000.
From BBC.co.uk...
Ringtone ads face stiff controls
Consumers want clarity on how much they will pay
Rules on ringtone ads are being beefed up following a deluge of complaints to watchdog that regulates premium rate phone services in the UK.
Icstis has welcomed the new safeguards to protect consumers signing up for premium rate subscription services, such as ringtones and wallpapers.
It says misleading ads have meant many people have run up large bills because all costs are not spelled out.
More than 100 people complained to the watchdog about the Crazy Frog ringtone.
'Teenagers vulnerable'
The new rules were draw up by the UK's mobile phone operators to determine how premium rate subscription services are marketed by content providers.
The deadline for complying with them is 30 August.
Teenagers are particularly vulnerable as they do not always fully appreciate the conditions attached to such services
George Kidd, Icstis
The rules go as far as to dictate font sizes and how prices should be displayed in TV adverts.
In recent months, many people have mistakenly run up large bills by inadvertently subscribing to ringtone and text services when they thought they were just buying one tune.
The popularity of the Crazy Frog ringtone has led many people to download it to their phone without realising that it is only part of a bundle of tunes they will regularly be billed for.
"Teenagers are particularly vulnerable as they do not always fully appreciate the conditions attached to such services," said George Kidd, Icstis director.
The wildly popular Crazy Frog has made history by becoming the first ringtone to reach the top of the pop charts.
It is part of a package of ringtones created by mobile content company Jamster, and sold through a mobile service provider called MBlox.
Consumers who may think they are buying the Crazy Frog ringtone are signing up for a subscription plan.
[b]Each week, they receive a new text message for which they are charged £3, enabling them to download another ringtone. [/b]:hehe:
No small print
The new rules, drawn up by mobile operators and backed by premium service watchdog Icstis, will force content sellers to make it clear what people have bought and how much ongoing costs are.
They demand that details of prices and how often people are billed are prominent in adverts. For TV adverts, scrolling price banners and small fonts are outlawed.
The Crazy Frog tone also enjoyed chart success
In print, adverts prices and conditions must be in the main body of an advert rather than the small print.
They also stipulate that as soon as someone has signed up for a service they are sent a text message telling them what they are getting.
Customers must also get a reminder of how to unsubscribe every month or every time £20 is spent.
Mr Kidd said the rules built on the universal "stop" command that was introduced in 2004. This lets people unsubscribe by sending the word "stop" to the short code associated with the service they have signed up for.
Adrian Harris, founder of the Grumbletext website where people log problems with phone services, said he welcomed the new safeguards up to a point.
If all firms complied with the rules then consumers would definitely be better off, he said.
But, he said, the big problem was policing ringtone sellers. He called on Icstis to be more active in seeking out offending firms rather than just investigating on a case-by-case basis.
At the end of June the Department of Trade and Industry announced a big increase in fines for firms that break rules on the selling of premium rate phone services.
After the increase the maximum fine is £250,000 - more than double the previous upper limit of £100,000.
I was doing a spyware cleanup on a home PC yesterday - an old lady and a half blind man. (Sorry, 'low vision') Anyway, he happened to mention that she'd got the crazy frog for a laugh and had been getting junk texts ever since - they had no idea why or how to stop them. In fact, when I told them the texts were costing *them* money he replied 'Oh, maybe thats where all the credit keeps going?'
I can't beleive these jokers are getting away with such misleading advertising, for so long. Loophole-tastic.
Neil
I can't beleive these jokers are getting away with such misleading advertising, for so long. Loophole-tastic.
Neil
john_p said:
Again, I have no sympathy for people who don't read the small print. I wonder what these people do when they sign contracts for things a little more serious than ringtones..
I agree when you have the small print in front of you to refer to as in a proper agreement. However these adverts flash on and off and you don't necessarily have the time/visual acuity to read it.
aldi said:
I was doing a spyware cleanup on a home PC yesterday - an old lady and a half blind man. (Sorry, 'low vision') Anyway, he happened to mention that she'd got the crazy frog for a laugh and had been getting junk texts ever since - they had no idea why or how to stop them. In fact, when I told them the texts were costing *them* money he replied 'Oh, maybe thats where all the credit keeps going?'
I can't beleive these jokers are getting away with such misleading advertising, for so long. Loophole-tastic.
Neil
i was talking to my local Vodafone shop and mentioned that I had got a junk text which had remove facilities - but didn't say if the remove text was free.
they simply brought it up on screen and you text the 80000 number with the word STOP and you are now on the black list. Strangely enough this was not the remove command in the text.
I wonder if this would stop Mbox sending you further subscription ringtone texts.
tinman0 said:
I wonder if this would stop Mbox sending you further subscription ringtone texts.
I just told them to watch the ad next time, the info about the subscription biz and the number to text 'STOP' to flies allong the bottom in tiny writing at mach 1. Maybe I'm being a bit soft and its just a case of buyer beware, like someone said they should have read the small print. But what chance have an old lady and a blid bloke got against this type of slick slight of hand advertising? Surely this is the kind of thing the ASA, trading stsandards or whatever exists to stop?
>> Edited by aldi on Saturday 23 July 16:15
Gruffy said:
My phone has been set to silently vibrate for about 5 years now. I can't wait for everybody else to follow suit. Bah humbug.
Gruffy
An old phone of mine ended up with a broken ringtone speaker. After having it set to vibrate for over a year, when I got my next phone I just couldnt stand the noise of a ringtone so its silent for me all the way
Ferg said:How do you do this? Does your 'phone need to be able to play MP3's (I guess so.)
Myself...? You can't beat an MP3 for a Ringtone
My (cheapo) Nokia will only play a certain file format for ringtones - and it's not MP3 (or wav or anything else I recognise), and I can't find a converter anywhere ...
Oli.
john_p said:
Again, I have no sympathy for people who don't read the small print.
The original Jamster website was incredibly bad for "small print".
I looked at dling the Crazy Frog tune 7 weeks ago as this all kicked off and what stopped me was the fact it was £3. I couldn't believe it was so expensive so I carried on reading through the whole of the website to discover that it was £3 per week subscription you were buying.
Obviously I didn't continue.
However, its very easy to say "Read the small print" but they are targetting children and children don't read the small print. You cannot target vulnerable consumers and stand behind small print.
Gruffy said:
My phone has been set to silently vibrate for about 5 years now. I can't wait for everybody else to follow suit. Bah humbug.
Gruffy
When will it stop?
Or are you enjoying it?
Surely the battery will have run out by now...........
And that's priveledged information, sunshine
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