Most of the time, you are charged a correct price for using telephone services. However, some service providers take advantage of your inattention via premium-rate numbers.

Ringtone offers attract mostly minors. They think that they are ordering a ringtone of their choice. In fact, they do not realise that by placing an order, they are subscribing to a service which sends numbers regularly, sometimes many per week, and will be charged via their telephone operator for each text message sent as well as received through this service.

Several examples

Certain adverts promise to predict your future, solve your money problems or help you win the lottery. All you have to do is phone a premium-rate number which starts with, for example, 0903, 0907 or 0909. In reality, the goal is not to provide you with a service but to keep you on the telephone for as long as possible. And you are left with nothing in the end, except for a high telephone bill.

Or, you might receive a message on your mobile phone inviting you to participate in a “contest” to win an iPhone, a mobile phone, money, etc. You answer a simple question and in fact you have subscribed to a service which frequently sends questions and charges you for each text message received, even if you have not opened your messages or if you don't respond. All of a sudden, you have received a large charge on your mobile phone bill or subscription without having won anything at all.

Another example: You would like to obtain a new ringtone for your mobile phone, but you didn’t realise that by choosing the ringtone of your choice, you signed up for a service which regularly sends and charges you for messages offering you new ringtones.

Codes of conduct

The DGEM has encouraged mobile telephone operators to draw up a code of conduct to regulate all service providers (located in Belgium or not) as soon as they offer their services to consumers on the Belgian network (GOF Directives).

The GOF Directives have been updated recently in order to implement a “double opt-in” system (double confirmation) for text message subscription services. Since 15 March 2008, consumers must confirm twice if they would like to subscribe to a proposed service. This new measure helps ensure that at the time the order is placed, the consumer is perfectly informed that he is about to enter into an agreement which involves a regular exchange of text messages which will cost money each time they are sent or received. Furthermore, since 1^st June 2008, short numbers (four figures) which sign up consumers for a service must begin with the number 9. This measure also helps the consumer understand that if he orders a service by sending a message to such a number, he is in fact signing up for a subscription service.

Similarly, the DGEM has encouraged fixed-line telephone operators to draft a code of conduct for fixed telephony for 0900-type services. This code provides rules to follow for the adverts for proposed services as well as for the content of these adverts.

How to denounce these practices

First, we advise you to contact your telephone operator in order to file a complaint and attempt to find an amicable solution to your problem.

Next, you should file a complaint with the DGEM.

The goal of the DGEM’s intervention is to stop the unfair business practice that you have denounced in the general interest of all consumers. It is therefore important to denounce this practice to the DGEM because it will be able to use the resources necessary to stop this unfair practice using the concrete evidence gathered from other users in the same situation.

Concretely, once the DGEM notices an infringement of the code of conduct, it alerts mobile telephone operators so that they can implement the contractually-required punishment: suspension of the contentious number, remunerations to all victims (and not only those who filed a complaint), ensuring the service complies with rules.

Disputes and complaints

• for non-solicited text messages: contact your mobile telephone operator;
• for 0900-type services: contact your fixed-line telephone operator;Litiges et plaintes 

You may also file a complaint whith the DGEM, or report any misuse on the site www.ecops.be .