Cellon Limited

On 25 October 2012, a PhonepayPlus Tribunal upheld three breaches of the PhonepayPlus Code of Practice against M.E. Media Market Limited in relation to its Speedy Quiz service. Following a request for an Oral hearing by M.E. Media Market Limited, an Oral hearing Tribunal reconsidered the matter on 6 June 2013.

The Speedy Quiz service was a non-subscription quiz competition service, which charged consumers £5 per question received. PhonepayPlus received 181 complaints; some consumers stated that they had engaged with the service as a result of misleading promotional material on Facebook. In addition, PhonepayPlus raised concerns regarding the billing mechanic, which resulted in over 50% of users being charged £5, despite the fact they had not answered any questions, and therefore had no realistic chance of winning a prize. The Oral hearing Tribunal upheld three breaches of the Code in relation to the misleading promotion of the service, key terms not being accessible and clearly legible, and unfairness resulting from the billing mechanic. The Oral hearing Tribunal imposed a formal reprimand, a fine of £375,000 and a requirement that M.E.Media Market Limited must refund all complainants who claim a refund, for the full amount spent by them on the Service, within 28 days of their claim save where there is good cause to believe that such claims are not valid, and to provide evidence to PhonepayPlus that such refunds have been made.