A company has been forced to change its use of pop-up
advertisements by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), which
investigated the company's practices under legislation protecting
consumers against unfair contracts.
Micro Bill Systems Ltd has agreed to reduce drastically its use
of pop-up advertisements in pursuit of payment from consumers. It
has also agreed to make it clearer to users of its services that
these adverts will appear.
Micro Bill Systems provides paid-for membership to websites
containing adult content. Its system flooded consumers' computer
screens with pop-up ads asking for payment if a new account was not
cancelled within three days.
The OFT said that the ads covered much of the screen and were
often locked open, meaning that the computer could not be used for
any other function.
When signing up, consumers download the software that serves the
pop up ads, but the OFT found that consumers were not always aware
that they were entering into a contract, and that they had agreed
to download the software.
The OFT said that the company had now agreed to "provide
information about how consumers can have the 'pop-up' generating
software uninstalled at any time … make it clear in the sign-up
process that the consumer is entering into a contract, and … make
it clear in the sign-up process that 'pop-up' bills will appear on
consumers' computers when payment becomes due or is
outstanding".
If Micro Bill Systems breaks the agreements it has made the OFT
can seek a court injunction against it, it said.
The company's terms and conditions told consumers what would
happen once they subscribed through its system, and pop up ads are
not in themselves illegal or unfair, said the OFT.
It investigated Micro Bill Systems, though, under the Unfair
Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations (UTCCRs), which say that a
term is 'unfair' if it heavily favours a company at the expense of
a consumer.
"The main issue considered by the OFT was the fairness of the
process by which consumers were signed up to the contract and the
effects of billing system and automated 'pop-ups'," said the
OFT.
Micro Bill Systems agreed to limit the number of pop ups served
on a consumer to 20, with no more than one appearing in any 24 hour
period; restrict the locked-open eriod of any ad to 60 seconds, and
inform consumers how they can uninstall the software that generates
the ads.
A new company, Platte International Limited, will now take
over Micro Bill's operations. The OFT said that the new company had
also given it undertakings.
