October 9, 2004
Jamba In A Stew
Ringtone company Jamba has had its service turned off in Denmark following consumer complaints, reports Mike Grenville for 160characters.org.
"Following many complaints from consumers about confusing terms and conditions, Danish consumer watchdog Kontant is carrying out an investigation on the company's practices. Similar complaints are also being voiced in Sweden and Finland.
As a result Danish mobile operators have put pressure on Jamba's gatway provider to turn the service off until it can resubmit the service and come into compliance.
The complaints stem from TV ads that give the impression of low cost ringtones at just 50 pence while in fact the customewr is signed up for a minimum three months contact at 30 Danish Kr a month. This is made worse by the dificulty in unsubscribing from the service where a correctly spelt SMS is required.
Related A ringtone company has been forced to change adverts for its products by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) – after one complaint.
The complaint centred around an advert placed by Design Direct for its kooltones.com website in Sugar, a magazine aimed at teenage girls. Among ringtones listed were pop songs by 50 Cent called Pimp and another by Eamon called F**k It."
The Permanent Link to this page is: http://www.textually.org/ringtonia/archives/2004/10/005628.htm