Heres some of the articles surrounding the recent Premium Rate Competitions investigations…

Dan Bell, Monday April 23, 2007 The Guardian

GMTV viewers who called the breakfast show’s premium rate phone-in competition line have been cheated out of an estimated £10m a year because shortlists of potential winners were finalised “long before” phone lines closed, according to a BBC investigation. BBC’s Panorama series alleges that the shortlists meant some viewers called and texted with no chance of winning.

The programme also alleges the sales director of the company that runs GMTV’s phone-in competitions, which are thought to bring in £45,000 a day, had known since 2003 what was going on but had told staff to keep quiet. GMTV admitted that Panorama, which is broadcast on BBC1 tonight, had revealed “certain irregularities” in the management of the phone competitions. But GMTV also insisted it was “confident” none of telecoms regulator Ofcom’s or premium rate watchdog Icstis’s codes had been broken.

The company that runs GMTV’s interactive competitions, Opera Interactive Technology, told the documentary’s makers there was “not a shred of truth” to the allegations. Panorama said the documentary had triggered a formal investigation into the complaints against GMTV and Opera, but Ofcom has not confirmed whether their investigation is dealing with the same issue.

In a statement, GMTV said: “The Panorama investigation has uncovered certain irregularities in the way Opera has been managing GMTV interactive services in the past. GMTV was not aware of these irregularities. “GMTV is very concerned to ensure that its competitions are fair and comply with the respective Icstis and Ofcom codes and for that reason, more than a month ago, we instructed Deloitte to carry out an independent review of both GMTV’s and Opera’s current interactive systems and processes. “Deloitte has now completed its review and we received their report last Thursday.

On the basis of information available and Deloitte’s findings, we are confident that our competitions are being operated in accordance with Ofcom and Icstis codes.” Panorama said Opera told it: “Opera has undertaken a preliminary investigation of these various allegations. The conclusion is that there is not a shred of truth in any of the allegations.” The programme also made a number of allegations against the Richard & Judy show on Channel 4 and Blue Peter on BBC1.

They are the latest in a string of controversies to have rocked premium-rate phone lines in recent months.

Whats your thoughts on these allegations? Its so sad that all SMS and Phone In Comps seem to be painted with the same brush.

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