During its 46th plenary meeting (11-12 March 2021) the Board of Regulators approved the draft BEREC Report on the handling of third-party payment charges on mobile phone bills.

In many European countries, mobile operators allow third-party providers to charge their customers via their mobile phone bills for goods or services. Such charges usually apply to:

• services offered by phone call or via text message known as Premium Rate Services (PRS) as they are usually charged at higher rates than those normally applied to phone calls and text messages; and
• the purchase of goods and services by Direct Carrier Billing (DCB): a system of charging a mobile phone user for a good or service via their mobile phone bill.

To draft this Report, BEREC says that it collected useful information by means of an ad hoc questionnaire circulated to National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs) in September-October 2020.

The Report aims to serve as a useful information tool in the search of the legal status of third party services, the responsibilities of NRAs/competent authorities and the scope of the present legal/regulatory obligations, as well as on current consumer protection measures and complaints in this regard.

The draft Report is open for consultation until 17.00 on 16 April 2021. To access the Report and the consultation, click here.