2nd March 2010

Premium rate complaints to industry regulator PhonepayPlus show sharp decline

- AIME led initiatives and collaboration with regulator contribute to positive quarter

London 2nd March, 2010 – Premium rate industry regulator PhonepayPlus has released its quarterly report on how well the interactive industry fared during the last three months of 2009. The report highlights a sharp decline in the amount of complaints that the regulator processed during this time period:

Complaints to PhonepayPlus dropped by 60% for Q3 2009/10 compared to Q3 2008/9 (2,132 vs 5,442)
This gives a complaint ratio of one complaint per 100,000 premium rate transactions; down from three complaints per 100,000 in 2007

Alongside other performance indicators such as the last quarter of 2009 being the highest ever in terms of volume for participation TV voting transactions and the continued growth of charity donations using mobile interactive platforms, the report clearly signals that there are signs of confidence returning to the interactive industry.

AIME and its members are currently driving several top level initiatives to improve trust, and encourage further mainstream applications.

Edward Boddington, AIME Chairman said: “Complaints about premium rate services have been steadily reducing for some time and now stand at slightly above one complaint for every 100,000 transactions. This is testament to the success of industry initiatives such AIME’s industry best practice guides, together with some of the special interest groups set up to address particular areas, a recent example being The Interactive Broadcast Forum. I am also pleased with the progress made in industry and regulator working closely together in a collaborative way. At the end of the day, we will only be able to judge ourselves against an industry that grows and 2009 continued to see a decline in revenues. The only way we will see growth is to restore consumer trust and this will require investment at all levels of the industry.”