Organisation calls for 'fair play' for prem SMS comps

Link: New Program Sets to Protect the Public from Premium Rate Phone In Competition ‘Rip Off’s’

Premium Rate expert Richard Howard has called for an independent accreditation program to monitor competitions run via premium SMS and voice services in the UK.

“No doubt the last few weeks have certainly been some of the darkest in Premium Rate History. I’ve been disgusted by the number of high profile phone-in services that haven’t been giving users an equal chance to win and believe that the overwhelming amount of negative coverage regarding competitions via phone and SMS is in danger of permanently scaring such services with a “rip off” stamp where as in reality only a fraction of such services are deliberately run against ICSTIS’s Code of Practice.”

“I have long believed that the public have been crying out for a recognizable & trusted stamp that validates competitions run by Premium Rate, a scheme that independently confirms the cost per entry, the prize, who runs the promotion & explains how the winner is selected. And so due to public demand I will be leading the launch of such a program.”

The scheme called “Fair Play Competitions” is the first of its kind will encourage premium rate competition promoters to join to verify that their competition operates not only to ICSTIS guidelines but also to the Fair Play Competitions program’s strict moral code.

You can find out more about the proposed scheme at www.fairplaycompetitions.co.uk