The three Belgian mobile operators have agreed on a code to regulate the use of commercial SMS, MMS and location-based services in order to protect consumers.

Over the past few years, mobile phone users have complained about the problems generated by commercial SMS: difficulty to unsubscribe from a paying service, unclear invoices or identity of the service provider, unwanted and expensive SMS services… Turning to Mobistar, Proximus or Base proved useless: the operators objected they were not to blame. But consumer association believed that the operator, as the intermediary, has to bear some part of the responsability.

On October 1, a “graphic chart” for the SMS or MMS adverts will be implemented to provide essential and clear information such as the cost of the service, the identity and contact number of the service provider, the steps to follow in order to desactivate a subscription, etc.

Found in Le Soir (in French)