Mobile Premium Services

A mobile premium service is one through which customers can access content, such as horoscopes, mobile ring tones, wallpapers, weather information and chat services, with their mobile phone. While fees for these services are charged by the customer’s mobile provider on their mobile or telephone account, usually at higher rates than normal calls or messages, the premium services themselves are generally provided by a separate content provider.

Mobile premium services operate on their own number ranges and typically start with the following prefixes: 191, 193, 194, 195, 196, 197 or 199. Services that operate on these ranges are regulated under rules devised by ACMA, set out in the Telecommunications Service Provider (Mobile Premium Services) Determination 2005 (No.1) (Cth).

Under the Determination, mobile carriage service providers and content service providers were required to develop a self-regulatory scheme that established clear rules about what information must be provided to users of premium mobile services. These rules include providing users with clear and transparent information about the costs and terms and conditions on which mobile premium services are offered and about handling of complaints about mobile premium services.

The Mobile Premium Services Industry Scheme (MPSI Scheme)

The TIO, as the nominated escalated complaints handling body under the MPSI scheme, began recording mobile premium services complaints on 1 December 2006. As the TIO’s power to investigate MPSI complaints comes from the MPSI scheme rather than the TIO scheme, we record and report on MPSI complaints separately to other types of complaints. This financial year is the second and final full year of the MPSI scheme it was replaced on 1 July 2009 by the new Mobile Premium Services Code, an industry code issued by Communications Alliance.

MPSI complaints and complaint issues

This year, complaints recorded under the MPSI scheme increased by 12.6% compared to 2007/08. Complaint issues under the MPSI scheme increased by 28.7%.

Categories of MPSI complaint issues

This year, 61.3% of MPSI complaint issues (68.4% in 2007/08) were about disputed usage charges. These included claims by consumers that:

• the disputed usage charges were incurred for services not requested
• opt-out requests were either not followed up or refused
• the disputed charges related to services for which prices, terms and conditions were not disclosed.

There were several reasons for claims by consumers that they were charged for mobile premium services that they did not request. These included consumers believing that they requested a one-off service and not an ongoing subscription or where they denied any knowledge of requesting such a service.

A total 32.6% of MPSI complaint issues in 2008/09 (25.6% in 2007/08) were about claims of poor customer service or complaint handling. These included claims by consumers that service providers:

• failed to assist consumers to resolve their complaints
• failed to refer them to the TIO
• were unable to be contacted.

MPSI complaint issues by category
(The data for the MPSI Scheme during 2006/07 starts in December 2006)

MPSI Scheme Possible Issues and Confirmed Breaches

The TIO recorded a total of 22 283 issues against specific clauses of the MPSI Scheme in 2008/09.
This represents a 29.5 per cent increase on the number we recorded last year.

Of the 22 283 MPSI Scheme issues recorded, 91 were assessed at Level 3 or Level 4 and confirmed as actual breaches of the MPSI Scheme. The TIO did not formally investigate the remaining 22 192 MPSI Scheme possible issues as these related to Level 1 and Level 2 complaints.

The MPSI Scheme clauses most frequently identified in 2008/09 as giving rise to possible issues are Clauses 5.3.1 and 5.3.2. These clauses pertain to the provision and billing of mobile premium services where the consumer claims that they did not request these services. The TIO recorded 11 684 possible issues against these clauses in 2008/09, 29 of which were confirmed as breaches following formal investigation.

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