Heres another article regarding premium rate competitions…

By Nicola Methven, Tv Editor And Jan Disley 23/04/2007 of The Mirror.

GMTV viewers have been conned out of an astonishing £40million in a new phone-in scam, an investigation claims. It says thousands of people who rang premium-rate competition phones lines had no chance of a prize because a short list of winners had been drawn up hours earlier.

The alleged scandal by GMTV’s phone-in operator Opera Interactive Technology is said to have been going on since 2003 - and raking in at least £10million a year. Advertisement And an Opera boss who discovered what was going on warned staff not to let GMTV know, according to a report on BBC1’s Panorama tonight.

It is claimed Mark Nuttall insisted that GMTV bosses must not learn that lists of competition winners were being drawn up hours before the premium-rate phone lines closed. Nuttall, sales director of phone-in operator Opera Interactive Technology, reportedly sent an email to his team that said: “Make sure they never find out you are picking the winners early!” The email was also copied to his company chairman Gary Corbett, according to an investigation. It claims that Opera has been drawing up a daily shortlist of potential winners long before the competition lines close since 2003. For the first two years viewers were sometimes encouraged to call in on-screen three hours after a shortlist of potential winners had allegedly already been finalised.

And after 2005 the volume of callers increased. Up to 75,000 viewers ring GMTV’s quiz lines each day - paying £1.80 per call. But according to the investigation by the BBC’s Panorama team, around half had no chance of winning. They have calculated that around £45,000 was being fraudulently raked in every day, more than £10million a year But investigators say that is a “conservative estimate” and the true figure could be even higher. Panorama will tonight claim that Nuttall discovered what was going on in 2003 - but rather than order an inquiry, he ordered a cover up. Regular GMTV competition players were yesterday furious when they were told about the alleged scam.

Norma Senior from Hackney, East London, said she had spent more than £500 on the competitions. She said: “I’m very angry and I feel cheated. I’ve entered GMTV competitions in good faith because I trust GMTV. I feel robbed. It’s as if I’ve just opened a window and thrown my money out. Well, my trust’s gone out of the window too.” Samantha Pedder, from Saffron Walden, Essex, added: “I’ve spent near on a thousand pounds - and I want my money back. It makes us look like idiots.” Grandmother Christine Kielczki, of Reading, said: “I usually play two to three times in a week, maybe more. I feel let down and disappointed to think that you’re playing these games, with no hope of actually winning.” Panorama’s Luke Mendham said: “It is clear from the paperwork we have in our hands that, for four years, viewers have been fleeced.

“We have details of winner shortlists and timings, the number of callers and revenue created going back to 2003.” Last night, GMTV said it knew nothing of the alleged scandal. It said: “The Panorama investigation has uncovered certain irregularities in the way Opera has been managing GMTV interactive services in the past. GMTV were not aware of these various irregularities.” GMTV also said a review of its procedures carried out in the wake of a spate of TV phone-in scandals involving other broadcasters had given it and Opera a clean bill of health.

Opera denied any scam had taken place. It said: “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 claims are the latest in a series of accusations about premium phone-ins that have severely embarrassed broadcasters. Among the shows implicated have been Richard and Judy, The X Factor, Saturday Kitchen, Brainteaser - and even children’s favourite Blue Peter. Phone regulator ICSTIS is used to receiving complaints about Opera.

The Birmingham-based firm, which has a turnover of £90million, has been criticised for services involving pornographic texts and mobile ringtones. [END OF ARTICLE]

It’s incredable how many high profile cases have been investigated over Premium Rate Phone and SMS based services.