aimm and PhoneCharges.org launch education campaign in time for Christmas


Parent's Guide to setting up your child's new phone to keep them safe online. aimm and PhoneCharges.org have created this 8 step guide to setting up from the phone right from the start for peace of mind. Created by the aimm Consumer Education Working Group.

aimm Members have come together to contribute to the new consumer education campaign for phone-paid services and safer online mobile use.

With a focus on keeping children safe online, looking out for social engineering scenarios and providing guidance for seniors with setting up their phone, aimm Consumer Education Working Group members are working collaboratively across industry to help bring these important issues to light.

The Parents’ Guide to setting up your Child’s New Phone article has come in time for Christmas. This is to help provide a step by step guide to help educate parents and children about safe phone use and protect against unauthorised spending on phone bills. A new phone is an exciting time for a child, but to protect your child, it’s crucial to set up the phone securely from day one.

From topics such as how to set up a sim PIN, understanding what a phone-paid service is, to not clicking on suspicious links; this campaign aims to help educate on all things mobile.

You can get your copy of the guide from our PhoneCharges site, or download your full colour copy of the 8 step PDF guide to keep and refer back to.

Our Consumer Education Working Group has been set up to provide a better understanding about phone-paid services from a consumer view point. This will be by creating education campaigns and building consumer trust. It is attended by aimm Members from across the value chain, from mobile network operators, broadcasters and service providers, with an aim of raising awareness and knowledge. To learn more about our Consumer Education Working Group please contact the aimm team.

For more information about understanding phone-paid services and the charges on your mobile phone bill visit our PhoneCharges site:

Ofcom Premium Rate Service Checker is live

 

Ofcom have announced that their Premium Rate Service (PRS) checker site is now live and available for consumers to use.

This is in replacement of the PSA Service Checker that had been available as a consumer resource until the end of last year. You can now direct consumers to the site using the button below.

If a consumer has an unexpected charge on their phone bill and want to find out what it is for, they should contact their phone service provider (mobile network)  in the first instance for more information.

 

 

 

Further information about learning more about unexpected charges on phone bills can be found on aimm’s consumer facing site PhoneCharges.org

 

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/make-a-complaint/complain-about-premium-rate-services/premium-rate-service-checker

Refund Statement for phone-paid industry released

We are pleased to announce that after working closely with our membership across the value chain aimm have now produced our Refund Statement for use by industry.

This refund statement has been created and agreed by members of aimm who work across industry including the MNO’s to provide a template statement fit for purpose for those who may wish to use this within their business for customer refund queries. Created September 2021

View the Refund Statement on our website: https://aimm.co/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Refund-Statement-Sept21.pdf

aimm and PhoneCharges.org nominated for Meffy Award

 

We are very pleased to announce that aimm have been nominated in the Meffy Awards 2021. The nomination falls under the category of Protecting the Mobile Customer for the launch of PhoneCharges.org.  Voting starts for MEF members on the 11th Feb. Winner will be announced on the 23rd February.

We are delighted that the value of PhoneCharges.org has already been recognised in this way and we look forward to continuing to offer and evolve this free service, allowing consumers to investigate unknown phone charges, identify who has charged them and find out how they can resolve their queries.

aimm launches new consumer information site PhoneCharges.org

Today is a really great day, as we launch our brand new consumer-facing website PhoneCharges.org.

Consumers needed a better way to investigate unknown charges on their phone bill, identify who charged them, and resolve their query as quickly as possible, and this is why PhoneCharges.org was born. In its simplest form, the site will signpost consumers to their own network’s number checker or to the PSA’s service checker to quickly identify who has charged them and obtain their contact details. It also contains basic information around what phone-paid services are, why consumers may have been charged, when refunds may be due etc.

PhoneCharges.org will provide users with links to the relevant pages of their mobile networks’ website or to the Phone-paid Services Authority Number Checker so that they can find out quickly where any charges have come from. Additionally, it will provide easy-to-understand information about how phone-paid services work, why users may have charges on their bill and when a refund may be due. It will also provide topical news stories from within the industry which will help consumers understand the types of services that use charge-to-mobile billing.

The website is funded by aimm and its membership, but has been built free of charge by The Cute Group who have a wealth of experience in handling customer queries in this area.

Andrew Fisher, CEO of The Cute Group said ““When aimm approached The Cute Group with a concept to help consumers navigate the maze that is the phone-billed services industry, we knew immediately it had our name on it. As a leading UK player supporting digital services for brands, publishers and content owners, Cute has rich experience understanding the kinds of queries, frustrations and confusion consumers face – and how to resolve them helpfully, and with as little fuss as possible.  We are excited to partner with aimm to bring PhoneCharges.org to life, building the site itself and contributing our experience to support the project as a whole.”

Joanna Cox, General Manager of aimm said “More often than not, queries about phone-paid services are due to a lack of post-purchase information and consumers end up complaining to the regulator who are unable to resolve specific cases. PhoneCharges.org is there to help consumers get the information they need and solve their queries as quickly as possible.”

We hope this site can help consumers better resolve any issues they have, increase their confidence in phone-paid services and, ultimately, create the conditions for growth in our industry.