Receiving Unwanted Chargeable Texts

[AndreA]

Originally Posted by Intasun77

Effendi, what is the position in Italy with this form of scam? Does it happen?

Well, in Italy the operators are trying to solve the problem, they just wrote an autoregulation (see at Mondo3 | Annunciato il Codice di Condotta per i servizi premium )... our Antitrust Authority ( http://www.agcm.it/eng/index.htm ) is also working on that... see below:

THE AUTHORITY'S POWERS
Under the new rules the Competition Authority may investigate irregular commercial practices and misleading and comparative advertising acting on its own authority, that is to say, without having to wait for an external complaint to be submitted. It has investigative powers which give it the authority to access any relevant document, request information and documents of relevance to the investigation from any party whatsoever, impose penalties in the event of refusal or if untruthful information and documents are submitted, conduct inspections, use the offices of the Customs and Excise Police (Guardia di Finanza), and order expert testimony.
Once a violation has been ascertained, the Authority may the party to stop it, order rectifying statements to be published at the expense of the company found liable, and issue penalties of between €5,000 and €500,000. If the practice relates to hazardous products, that could, even indirectly, threaten the safety of children or adolescents, the minimum penalty is €50,000. In the event of non-compliance with the Authority's measures, the penalty can range from €10,000 to €150,000.
A system of undertakings has also been instituted: except for cases of manifest unfairness and gross violations, the Authority may waive the need to prove that a violation has been committed if the trader undertakes to remove the unlawful aspects from its commercial practices.