Czech MPs push mobile operators to tackle unwanted premium SMS subscriptions

Czech lawmakers have called on mobile operators to prevent customers from unknowingly activating paid subscriptions through premium SMS services, following complaints about unexpected recurring charges.

The Chamber of Deputies’ consumer protection subcommittee also wants operators to propose compensation for customers who recently lost money through breaches of industry rules, its chairman Patrik Nacher said Tuesday.

The Association of Mobile Network Operators, known as APMS, said operators would prepare a solution aimed at cutting off dishonest service providers. However, the association questioned how far operators should be responsible for reimbursing customers.

The subcommittee examined services highlighted by journalist Janek Rubeš of the YouTube channel Kluci z Prahy, known internationally as Honest Guide.

His reporting on premium SMS charges drew attention to cases in which customers unknowingly activated repeat payments through their phones and remained unaware of the subscriptions.

Premium SMS is also used for legitimate purchases, including public transport tickets, parking, television voting and digital content.

The underlying service is generally supplied by a third party through a payment intermediary, known as an aggregator. The mobile operator processes the payment and adds it to the customer’s bill.

That arrangement is central to the dispute over responsibility. The subcommittee noted that customers must direct complaints to service providers even though operators bill them and collect the money.

APMS president Jiří Grund said the operator was not the provider of the purchased service and therefore was not necessarily responsible for it.

Customers should first challenge a transaction with the service provider, he said. If that fails, the operator becomes involved.

Grund said the association was reviewing whether its code governing these services should be amended to prevent similar cases.

Operators had already begun blocking some services using premium SMS from the start of October in response to customer complaints, he added.

He cautioned against abolishing premium SMS altogether, saying that doing so would also remove established uses such as text-message voting in Czech Television’s StarDance.

The parliamentary request therefore leaves operators to propose how to distinguish legitimate payments from services exploiting customers.

No compensation scheme or new mandatory safeguard was announced Tuesday. The subcommittee has asked for proposals covering both prevention and redress for customers affected by violations of APMS rules.

Customers trying to identify the company responsible for a charge can consult the association’s Plat mobilem website, which provides information on where to direct a complaint.

The dispute concerns unwanted subscriptions and recurring charges, rather than every transaction paid through premium SMS.