Paul Whiteing responds to my email regarding Spread Media

I asked Paul (the new CEO at PhonepayPlus) about what conclusions the regulator had come to regarding Spread Media's dodgy unsolicited texts in August 2008.  Below is his response...

This investigation has been ongoing since September 2008, and whilst this has been delayed for various reasons, the consumer harm was minimized by the suspension of the service by mBlox Limited prior to 9^th September 2008.

 

The investigation identified a number of potential breaches of the PhonepayPlus Code of Practice 11^th Edition (amended April 2008), and these were raised as against the service provider within a formal breach letter on 27^th January 2009. One aspect of the investigation leading to the delay was the need to appreciate precisely which company operated the service at the time of issuance of MT messages in August 2008. In light of your entry for “Subject” of this email, it is worth noting that PhonepayPlus has never at any stage dealt with Spread Media Limited in relation to this investigation. The Tribunal will consider which companies form the value chain as part of its decision.

 

mBlox have co-operated fully with this investigation. This case will be presented at the next available hearing, which is 2^nd April 2009. This is due to other cases being heard at the next Tribunal, which is sitting on 19^th March 2009.

What does one make of that?  Hmm, still digesting it.  Spread Media isn't part of the investigation, yet mBlox puts the blame on them, claiming that they themsleves are just another innocent party in all of this.  PhonepayPlus are putting all the blame on mBlox yet Paul makes it known that mBlox have co-operated fully.

Oh and what are 'MT messages' anyway?