MPs slam "fraudulent" TV bosses for quiz scams
The phone quiz row has rumbled on for several weeks
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Thursday, 29, Mar 2007 01:00
MPs examining the controversy over premium rate calls made to some television quiz shows have branded those involved as "fraudulent" and declared themselves astonished by the widespread nature of the abuses.
A host of mainstream shows have come under scrutiny in recent weeks since it emerged that some programmes may be charging for premium rate telephone competitions when winners have already been announced or even soliciting calls when a competition is no longer open.
Popular programmes such as Richard and Judy and even Blue Peter have been criticised and today MPs did not hold back in discussing the problem.
John Whittingdale, who chairs the committee, said initially they had "little idea of the extent of abuse that would be subsequently revealed".
"The revelations of misleading and, in some cases fraudulent, practices on programmes aired by all of the terrestrial analogue broadcasters has been truly shocking.
"While we welcome the steps which Ofcom and Icstis are now taking to improve protection for consumers, we remain astonished that such practices were so pervasive and were able to continue for so long."
The comments follow the publication of a joint response by Ofcom and the regulator Icstis.
In the report released today Ofcom and Icstis - the Independent Committee for the Supervision of Standards of the Telephone Information Services - acknowledged the ongoing revelations had "seriously damaged the trust between the broadcaster and the audience".
The regulators say the "serious concerns" raised about consumer protection need to be addressed, with Ofcom mounting an investigation into how it can enforce compliance.
Among the recommendations outlined by the committee were calls for a third-party auditor to check proposals for new puzzles and also to make clear if games are not as simple as they appear.
"If there is continued evidence of abuse and significant numbers of complaints about games methodologies, Ofcom should consider making it obligatory for all broadcasters of call TV quiz shows to verify games with a third party and lodge solutions with them to prevent underhand changes being made while the show is on air," the report reads.
ITV has said those shows in which callers have continued to try to provide answers without knowing the winner has been decided have only applied to a very small number of people.
However, MPs have warned it is "unacceptable in principle" for this to happen and Icstis has now promised to investigate.
"We find it difficult to believe that there is no suitable way of preventing such calls from being charged, and we urge BT to assist in finding a solution," the report concluded.
It also called for those viewers who had attempted to contact the show in the mistaken belief the competition was open to be refunded.