THE CASE

Hundreds of cases reported by users to the Authority - which is considering whether to open an investigation - and the organizations representing the interests of users: with Flycell you will find yourself unconsciously subscribers to a service at least 5 pounds per week, which quickly dries the credit. "And you can not turn it off," the complaint adic. The company's response ALESSANDRO LONGO

ROME - Back to the risk of being drained to recharge the phone to ring because of undesired. The alarm, broke these days, who arrived on the desks of Antitrust, apparently to Repubblica.it, will look for a possible investigation. The reports concern the service "Flycell", Italy's Acotel, listed on the Stock Exchange and one of the leading companies.

Reports. "We have received hundreds of complaints by users, with a crescendo in the last few days," explains Charles Garofolini, president of the Consumer Defense (adic). "So it is, as we say, users, often young, receive a text message, click on a link inside and then unwittingly subscribe to a service that costs 5, 10 or 15 euros per week," he continues. "Typically - Garofolini continues - we call the parents with their children could not understand why the credit was running out so fast. As usual we put a little 'of weeks before realizing it and lose money in the meantime. And Flycell cashing them. It must also be careful not to open the sms received from Flycell (and which contain the ringtones apply): often just read others are charged 3 euros ".

The response of Acotel. The company denies that the user can activate the service in an unconscious way, "is a procedure to be done via the web, our activation does not work via text message."

"Flycell send SMS only in cases provided by law as a result of activation of the subscription service via the web confirmed by placing the web of a single password received via SMS. And 'the procedure of law and is strictly observed. " "Flycell serves thousands of users every day and some complaints about these numbers is inevitable," they still know the company. "Finally (and especially) the cost of the service is by law and without fail € 5 per week divided into 3 and a message from a message from 2 euros."

The users on the forum: how to disable the service? Certainly, apart adic, many have complained about Flycell sites and forums in the last month. "I want to completely disable Flycell, I have requested this service nor other. I'm going crazy to figure out how. All numbers provided by these sons of (bleep) are not active, "it said, for example on community Teschassistance.it.

The tones and the description of the problem are common to many other messages: "Yes, people get mad because they not only lose money, but also because then they can not disable the service," says Garofolini. Apparently it's easy, though: just send a sms to 48008 with the word STOP, you read the Flycell website. If you fail in this way, adic recommended to contact your telephone operator, to ask the service is deactivated. "Not always, however, the intervention is timely: many consumers have complained to the Association a kind of inertia on the part of telephone companies, which pass several days before you act on the demands of their customers," reads a note adic. It would be convenient to disable these upstream services: ask the operator to stop receiving SMS fee (a bit 'like you can on your desk phone, with calls to numbers 899 and 144). But it is not officially an option offered by operators, which in fact derive a percentage of these services. And in fact one of the companies fined by the Antitrust Authority for these services are also suppliers and mobile operators.

In 2010 it happened to Flycell: 120 000 euro fine (against which the company has to TAR of Lazio and has not yet paid, the judgment is expected in the coming days). The reason is "unfair trade practices", ie it uses the user's inattention to attivargli a paid service. In the case of 2010, Flycell did do a test of intelligence on the web, at the end, asking the user to enter a mobile number to receive a text message, without explaining that it involved the signing of a contract of subscription to Flycell Club. The Antitrust Authority had found that "the information about the features and costs of service are placed only in the following pages and methods of activation are likely to get you to misunderstand the real nature of the test." Now the Antitrust must find out whether these recent cases the user has been misled. He has received twenty reports, by users and by consumers.

A falling market. In fact it was a bit 'that the danger would not develop unwanted ringtones in Italy, so it was thought buried once and for all. But he came back. According to the analysis of the Politecnico di Milano, the market for ringtones has dropped dramatically in recent years, killed by unfair trade practices of many suppliers. So has lost 9% of sales in 2010 and 20% in 2009 (a decline of 200 million euros compared to the golden age, 2008). They run a lot less money for a time, in fact. But apparently the desire to make it in various ways, is the same.