Regulatory Update UK

Regulatory Update UK

087 Number Range

Key Dates

  • Prior registration required by 31st April 2009
  • New rules comes into effect from 1 August 2009

Number ranges affected

  • 0871, 0872 & 0873
  • Not 0870

Key Implications

  • 0871, 0872 & 0873 numbers come under PPP from 1/8/09
  • To operate a number you must pre-register
  • Some services require Prior Permission
  • Prices need to clear whatever services you advertise
  • While advertising material is being updated it is OK to include pricing information at the start of the call
  • If people are waiting in a call you must let them know where they are in the queue or how long they will have to wait.
  • You will need a customer services number
  • If you break the rules you could get fined / or the service barred

PhonepayPlus will take over day-to-day regulation of 0871 numbers on 1 August 2009, when numbers beginning 087 - with the exception of 0870 - will formally be recognised as Premium Rate Services (PRS), putting them under the remit of PhonepayPlus' Code of Practice.

PPP Changes on subscription prior permission

PhonepayPlus announced in April that they have changed the format of the free confirmation MT text that subscribers have to receive in order to opt-in to subscriptions that are over £4.50 in any seven day period.

  • Key change is adding the choice of using the word YES, YES + keyword or AGREE + keyword
  • Also "U have joined.....", becomes "U are about to join....."

Once consumers have selected a service by texting a keyword to a shortcode or by selecting a product on a website, they must be immediately provided with a free text message which states the following:

"U are about to join/subscribe to [name of service and optional description] for [cost of service in £s] per [billing frequency] until you send STOP to [originating service shortcode]. Helpline [UK standard rate or free helpline number]. To confirm text AGREE/ AGREE[+keyword]/ YES/ YES[+keyword] to this message/shortcode xxxxx."

Service providers should therefore note that unless consumers have texted AGREE, or AGREE[+keyword], or YES, or YES[+keyword] to the shortcode concerned, they should not be charged.

Guidance on web opt-in

PhonepayPlus has already had some consumer complaints which have highlighted the fact that, where a consumer selects a product costing over £4.50 on a website by entering their mobile subscriber ISDN number (MSISDN) into a data capture field, then there is the potential for the free confirmation mobile terminating (MT) message to be sent to the wrong MSISDN, or to someone who has never visited the website.

As a reminder, when PPP investigate a web opt-in complaint, they will expect to see robust evidence of the initial opt-in. An MO sent by the consumer to register with the site would be deemed acceptable, but an IP address is highly unlikely to be. Therefore, we would recommend use of a consumer mobile origination (MO) message to register with a website, even where the consumer subsequently has to agree a subscription service with another MO.