Consumer complaints about mobile phone services in the UK have fallen by more than 60% since a crackdown on website scams, the sector's watchdog has said. PhonepayPlus, the phone-paid services regulator, announced a 62% fall in grievances about mobile phone-paid services between July last year and last month - from 1,981 to 746. The change is the result of an EU-wide "sweep" of websites under the spotlight for misleading customers about sales of ringtones, "wallpapers" and other mobile phone services. More than 300 websites were investigated by national enforcement authorities as part of a co-ordinated EU campaign, including 43 UK websites. Of the 43, 39 "were found to need further investigation", said a PhonepayPlus statement. Working with the Office of Fair Trading - the UK cross-border authority - PhonepayPlus probed the websites and found many were no longer operating, while others deemed to be offering misleading information were dealt with by its enforcement powers or through "informal" approaches to service providers. In a few cases, investigations are also still ongoing. "PhonepayPlus is confident that its strategic policy work, backed up by its enforcement powers, will continue to cut down on bad practice in this area" said the statement. In Brussels EU Consumer Commissioner Meglena Kuneva announced that 70% of websites under investigation for "mis-selling" mobile phone services had been corrected or closed. The main problems had been the issues raised by the EU including unclear pricing information, lack of contact information, hidden terms and conditions, and the word 'free' being used to mislead consumers into long-term contracts. She said: "Young people should not have to fall victim to scams like misleading advertising that lure them into ringtone subscriptions they thought were free. "And parents should not find any nasty surprises in their phone bill, when their children by accident have signed up to more than they had bargained for."
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