SMS SENT: WE'RE WATCHING

SMS sent: we're watching

Two out of three mobile-phone customers - in particular, parents - want to be able to better control spending on premium services such as ringtones, quizzes and games, according to a survey by the industry regulator.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority research also found four out of 10 people had received an unrequested premium SMS or MMS message in the past three months and nearly a third had difficulty stopping the unwanted service. On top of that, most had difficulty obtaining a refund.

The survey comes as the ACMA concludes public hearings in its Reconnecting the Customer inquiry into telecommunications companies' customer service, after substantial rises in complaints in recent years.

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And a day after the ACMA research was released, the regulator issued two ''direction to comply'' orders, one to Optus and the other to Storacall Technology, because of premium SMS ads. Shortly afterwards, the Nine Network and AO Australia Online Pty Ltd were also pinged for breaches.

A direction to comply is the strongest action available to the regulator for a breach of the industry code.

The ACMA found an ad for Storacall's TexTalk subscription service breached the code by not clearly stating it was a subscription - rather than a one-off - service and by not including a help-line number. Optus was found in breach of the code because an ad for the SMS Cosmo Optus Store Locator service didn't have highly visible pricing information. It didn't include a help-line number either.

Nine was reprimanded for not advising of a help-line for two competitions, while Australia Online ''breached numerous provisions of the code'', including failing to advertise the correct price and not telling people they were signing up for a subscription, not a one-off purchase.

The chairman of ACMA, Chris Chapman, said when announcing the orders: ''Industry is very aware that the ACMA is actively monitoring compliance with the Mobile Premium Services Code and will protect consumers' rights to receive accurate information about the prices, terms and conditions of these services.''

It seems to be having some impact. The ACMA says complaints about premium services fell 90 per cent in the two years between September 2008 and September this year.

The ACMA has also been ''encouraging'' mobile-phone carriers to come up with ways for customers to have more control over how much they spend on premium services.

Its survey indicates a quarter of Australians used at least one mobile premium service in the year to April. Usage is highest among people 18 to 34.

According to the survey, about 70 per cent of people have a self-imposed limit on their premium service spending, just 23 per cent had a limit imposed by their provider and about 11 per cent used a prepaid phone service to cap their spending. Prepaid services were popular with parents.

Parents said they'd like to limit a child's spending on premium services to $13-$14 a month if they were aged eight to 14, or $21 for older teenagers. It's estimated that a third of children aged 5 to 14 have their own mobile phone. As for unwanted messages, 30 per cent of people said they were difficult or very difficult to stop.

Nearly 70 per cent of those who'd taken steps against unwanted messages hadn't received a refund.

Consumers can text the word STOP in reply to any unwanted message and under the law the service must desist.

In its submission to the Reconnecting the Customer inquiry, consumer group the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network says the industry isn't adequately dealing with consumer protections such as handling complaints and credit management.

''We are also acutely aware that more challenges lie ahead, particularly with the development of the national broadband network [NBN], as more complex and converging products enter the marketplace,'' the ACCAN says.

The Mobile Premium Services User Survey 2010 report is available from the ACMA website (acma.gov.au). The survey took place in May and June and involved more than 1600 people.

Key points

Consumers would like to be able to better manage spending on premium services.

Parents in particular are interested in ways to limit costs.

Just one in four users has a limit imposed with the help of their service provider.