Thursday July 17, 10:09 AM
Mobile Ringtone Rip-Offs Probed
By Sky News
Dozens of British websites selling ringtones to children are under investigation for suspected abuses of consumer protection laws. A Europe-wide inquiry found that more than 90% of UK sites marketing mobile services - ringtones, "wallpaper",
chat service subscriptions, phone games and logos - were misleading and confusing.
The Office of Fair Trading, involved in the EU survey, has chosen not to name the 39 of the 43 sites that Brussels says will now be pursued.
The survey found youngsters were likely to download a ringtone thinking it was either free or just a one-off small payment.
But many found themselves locked into a long-term paid contract - or at least committed to paying for a new ringtone download every day.
About 80% of 558 sites checked in the continent-wide "sweep" may face legal action.
The sweep is a new kind of EU investigation which has already been used to weed out airline websites making misleading claims.
EU consumer commissioner Meglena Kuneva said the latest action was a response to hundreds of complaints from consumers.
"Far too many people are falling victim to costly surprises from mysterious charges, fees and ringtone subscriptions they learn about for the first time when they see their mobile phone bill," she said.
National authorities are expected to force websites to change their marketing claims and stop using the word "free" to dupe customers into signing up for services they do not want or cannot afford.
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