ACP and PacMags in ACCC hot water over dodgy mobile ads
The ACCC has obtained undertakings from publishers ACP and Pacific Magazines regarding their future conduct over ads for premium mobile phone services carried in their titles.
The revelation came from Graeme Samuel, chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission in a speech to the Australian Telecommunications Users Group.
He said the ACCC had instituted legal proceedings against two advertisers “for alleged misleading and deceptive advertisements for mobile premium services in the youth magazines Dolly, Girlfriend and TV Hits.” Dolly is published by ACP, while PacMags publishes Girlfriend and TV Hits.
He added: “Publishers should also note: they too may be liable for running ads which they know are misleading or deceptive. The ACCC recently obtained enforceable undertakings from Pacific Magazines and ACP Magazines who publish these youth magazines.”
It would be great if the ACCC actually did something to address this issue. This has been an ongoing problem for a long time, catching many unsuspecting people out and costing them hundreds of dollars. A few years ago when I worked in a Telstra Shop it was surprising to come across so many people who had been charged substantial fees from these things. They would complain to Telstra because they had no idea who was charging them. There should be greater transparency for these businesses that generate profit from subscription services.
I’ve been stung twice by these. My daughter has inadvertently subscribed thinking she was entering a contest to win an iphone. Apparently she signed up for I Q Tests which is ridiculous as she has no interest. Disputing the bill with the scum-bag companies running the comps is nigh-on impossible. They should be illegal.
What about the TV ads? None of them show the terms and conditions clearly or for long enough. You’d need to pause the TV and sit in front of it with a magnifying glass to read and understand them fully.
I asked Free TV Australia how these advertisers could get away with advertising to kids (eg. the ring tone that’s too high pitched for adults to hear) during such shows as Video Hits on Saturday afternoon, and was told this was fine because the timeslot wasn’t C classified. Come on! Video Hits clearly has a high youth audience!