EU shuts down dodgy ringtone sites

The EC has been clamping down on the controversial area of mobile phone ringtone and wallpaper-scam web sites - sometimes you wish they'd go back to focusing on the curve of bananas.

Despite the seeming insignificance of this, Meglena Kuneva, the European Consumer Commissioner, said today that after 18 months of work the EC had achieved something, and has been enforcing its rules and powers with the vigour of a new headmaster.

Despite the initial cynicism, this is actually quite a big deal, particularly if you have ever foolishly signed up for some completely mis-sold, 36 month rolling, pointless update content, such as bleepy ringtones based on the songs from the shows.

"All of this work has been about tackling hidden charges and nasty surprises in the small print of websites that rip-off and cheat consumers. These days, people want to be careful about their spending and for that they need transparent prices. They need to be able to compare offers, shop around and find the best deal," said Kuneva.

"Today I am delighted to tell you that 70 per cent of the problems on websites investigated for mis-selling mobile services like ringtones to consumer law have been resolved. Over the last 18 months, 52 per cent of the websites investigated have been corrected and 17 per cent have closed. This is very good news for consumers."

Typical bad behaviour from the suspicious sites included unfair practices such as a severe round of hoop jumping before being able to cancel accounts, hidden fees and subscriptions, incomplete contact information and 'blatantly misleading' advertising.

We won't be shedding any tears for them.

17 Nov 2009