Internetq Poland, the organiser of a popular text message
lottery called "Empty Text Message", is the subject of
new proceedings by Polish Anti-Monopoly Office (UOKiK). UOKiK will
check whether the company has used unfair market practice by
sending to participants text messages suggesting that they are
certain to win a prize.
UOKiK is currently conducting proceedings in eight other similar
cases. These resulted from numerous complaints by consumers about
the lotteries, following which UOKiK looked at their terms &
conditions, text message templates, winners' lists and TV &
radio adverts.
UOKiK's opinion is that the adverts suggested that anybody
sending a text message would win a prize whereas, in fact, only a
few winners were drawn by the organiser. In many cases, it was also
unclear how much it would cost the consumer to send a text message
and take part in the lottery. UOKiK also monitors internet pages
offering tests such as IQ checks. In order to receive the results
of such tests, consumers have to send a text message whose cost is
often both high and unspecified.
UOKiK is clear that consumers should always receive information
that is reliable and not misleading about the terms of lotteries
(including the cost of text messages) and should also be told where
they can inspect the full terms & conditions. The
non-disclosure or withholding of this information is illegal and is
subject to a potential fine of up to 10% of the company's last
year's turnover.
This article was written for Law-Now, CMS Cameron McKenna's free online information service. To register for Law-Now, please go to www.law-now.com/law-now/mondaq
Law-Now information is for general purposes and guidance only. The information and opinions expressed in all Law-Now articles are not necessarily comprehensive and do not purport to give professional or legal advice. All Law-Now information relates to circumstances prevailing at the date of its original publication and may not have been updated to reflect subsequent developments.
The original publication date for this article was 05/11/2010.