• news
  • THURSDAY JUNE 30 2005 2:00 AM

Crazy Frog, Crazy Prices

Submitted by JohnnyForeigner

Edited by SomeOneUK

mBlox, the parent company behind the abominable 'Crazy Frog' ringtone, are to be investigated following a slew of complaints. Large numbers of customers, who saw the ringtone advertised on prime time television, didn't realise that by ordering the tone they were actually signing up for a £3 per week subscription plan.

"If it's a subscription service, that has to be made perfectly clear," said a spokesman for the regulator, known as ICSTIS.

The regulator has the power to levy fines of up to 100,000 pounds ($182,200) and shut down services that do not comply with its guidelines. Crazy Frog may also face additional restrictions if it is found to be targeting children under the age of 16.

"Because it is a cartoon character, to us that seems arguably targeted at children," the ICSTIS spokesman said.

The BBC website includes comments made by disgruntled downloaders.

'Crazy Frog' made history this month, after a remix with the 'Axel F' theme from Beverly Hills Cop became the first ringtone to reach no. 1 in the UK singles chart and stayed there for 4 weeks.

  • PERMALINK
  • PRINT
  • Digg This
  • Email To A Friend
 

Previous

PAGE: 

1 | 2

Next

Comments
the_mekon

the_mekon

United Kingdom
November 2004

JUN 30, 2005 08:48 AM

Idjiit said:

SuicideBomb said:
'Crazy Frog' made history this month, after a remix with the 'Axel F' theme from Beverly Hills Cop became the first ringtone to reach no. 1 in the UK singles chart and stayed there for 4 weeks.



If this doesn't say enough about the current state of the music industry, I don't know what does.



ha! just wait till you hear the 'new one'..

puke

JohnnyForeigner

JohnnyForeigner

United Kingdom
July 2003

JUN 30, 2005 08:50 AM

KMFCM said:


good

get jamster next

i'm sick of them



Jamster are part of it, mBox is the parent company. Although they've said it's all Jamster's fault, and accept no responsibility

dem_z

dem_z

United Kingdom
June 2004

JUN 30, 2005 09:00 AM

StarBelliedBoy said:
Why do little kids have cell phones, anyway? I mean...Jeez. You'd think the type of parent that is willing to risk their kid running up a massive bill would expect this sort of thing to happen.


We have prepaid cards for some cell phone operators in the UK, so there's less risk of the children running up a huge bill.

I guess parents get a cell phone on contract, then upgrade the phone after a while and pass the old phone to the kids with a pre-paid card. This might encourage the children to keep in touch with the parents. I dunno.

freshprncebelair

freshprncebelair

Ellicott City, MD
June 2004

JUN 30, 2005 09:08 AM

bean said:

wickedmonkey said:
people are idiots if they don't read the fine print. whatever


Yeah, because expecting people to read and understand the "fine print" in a fraction of a second when they aren't expecting anything is perfectly reasonable.

[Edited on Jun 30, 2005 by bean]



Ive seen the US commercials, and the fine print is up for most of the commercial.

It is deceptive, and probably unethical, but i dont know if they can actually get any money out of the company or not.

Wren

Wren

SUICIDEGIRL

Minnesota, USA

JUN 30, 2005 09:29 AM

SuicideBomb said:
'Crazy Frog' made history this month, after a remix with the 'Axel F' theme from Beverly Hills Cop became the first ringtone to reach no. 1 in the UK singles chart and stayed there for 4 weeks.



Wow. That's just wrong.

The_Reverend

The_Reverend

United Kingdom
September 2004

JUN 30, 2005 09:31 AM

is right. The new one makes the Axel F May all who like the Frog have phone bills that cripple them financially.

tedmaul is right. The new one makes the Axel F version look like pure class. And i've had the advert inflicted on me EIGHT times today... and i've been near a TV for ONE hour.





'Rrrring-ding-ding-ding-dingdingdingding-'
*BLAM*
...
'About fucking time.'

dem_z

dem_z

United Kingdom
June 2004

JUN 30, 2005 09:39 AM

skankzor said:
Ive seen the US commercials, and the fine print is up for most of the commercial.


These are UK commercials, and we have different standards.

The watchdog's 2004 code says pricing information must be spoken on television adverts if maximum call costs can exceed £2.

The code also states that "textual pricing information must be easily legible, prominent... presented in a way that does not require close examination".



The advert seems to be aimed at children. How many people do you know could understand the Jamster T&Cs?

Does the Jamster website make it clear that people are not buying a single ringtone but subscribing to a service that'll cost them a lot more than they think?

neverender

neverender

Pleasanton, CA
January 2003

JUN 30, 2005 09:42 AM



Why do little kids have cell phones, anyway? I mean...Jeez. You'd think the type of parent that is willing to risk their kid running up a massive bill would expect this sort of thing to happen.



or it may just be the parent who wishes to keep in contact with their kid.
ya know, the cell phone IS a communication tool. sorry, you are right, my mom who wants to keep my little 14 yr old sister equipped with a cell phone for emergencies (especially with its built in GPS capabilities) should expect to get screwed over.

[Edited on Jun 30, 2005 by asinine]

StarBelliedBoy

StarBelliedBoy

Philadelphia, PA
December 2003

JUN 30, 2005 09:55 AM

asinine said:



Why do little kids have cell phones, anyway? I mean...Jeez. You'd think the type of parent that is willing to risk their kid running up a massive bill would expect this sort of thing to happen.



or it may just be the parent who wishes to keep in contact with their kid.
ya know, the cell phone IS a communication tool. sorry, you are right, my mom who wants to keep my little 14 yr old sister equipped with a cell phone for emergencies (especially with its built in GPS capabilities) should expect to get screwed over.

[Edited on Jun 30, 2005 by asinine]


C'mon, do you REALLY think it's necessary for a parent to give their kid a cell phone? I'm sure just about if not every one of us grew up without a cell phone. It's not a huge deal.

Edited to sound like less of a jerk.

[Edited on Jun 30, 2005 by StarBelliedBoy]

pingz

pingz

Richardson, TX
January 2003

JUN 30, 2005 10:41 AM

Man... anyone who actually bought that ringtone is a tool.

Okuma

Okuma

Pensacola, FL
June 2004

JUN 30, 2005 10:59 AM

There's really no reason whatsoever for a child to own a cell phone. "But, what if..." No, not even that. "But she's away at a friend's..." No, no reason at all. Watch your own fucking kids once in a while.

Thistle

Thistle

SUICIDEGIRL

California, USA

JUN 30, 2005 11:01 AM

StarBelliedBoy said:

asinine said:



Why do little kids have cell phones, anyway? I mean...Jeez. You'd think the type of parent that is willing to risk their kid running up a massive bill would expect this sort of thing to happen.



or it may just be the parent who wishes to keep in contact with their kid.
ya know, the cell phone IS a communication tool. sorry, you are right, my mom who wants to keep my little 14 yr old sister equipped with a cell phone for emergencies (especially with its built in GPS capabilities) should expect to get screwed over.

[Edited on Jun 30, 2005 by asinine]


C'mon, do you REALLY think it's necessary for a parent to give their kid a cell phone? I'm sure just about if not every one of us grew up without a cell phone. It's not a huge deal.

Edited to sound like less of a jerk.

[Edited on Jun 30, 2005 by StarBelliedBoy]



If you were a parent, would you prefer to be able to instantly contact your child at any time and for your child to be able to instantly contact you, or for your child to have to find a pay phone and happen to have a phone card or enough change to call you should there be an emergency?

It's a silly knee jerk reaction to think of all parents who give their kids cell phones as spoiling them.

neverender

neverender

Pleasanton, CA
January 2003

JUN 30, 2005 11:23 AM

Okuma said:
There's really no reason whatsoever for a child to own a cell phone. "But, what if..." No, not even that. "But she's away at a friend's..." No, no reason at all. Watch your own fucking kids once in a while.



wow. amazing.
it has nothing to do with watching your own fucking kids. did you know public pay phones are actually being remove due to the major decline in their usage. thats old technology.
there are plenty of things (and this applies to starbelliedboy also) that arent necessities in life, but some of them do improve living and make conditions safer.

if any of you had a nintendo or color tv or braces or bike reflectors or reading glasses or a microwave or action figures or....you are all equally guilty as these are things your parents gave to you.....simply, because they could.

the problem here is, that kids now own cell phones (regardless if you like it or not) and this company may be responsible for targeting kids in order to sign them up with a subscription plan unnoticed. the company should face more than a simple fine.

Olivia

Olivia

STAFF

Oakland, CA

JUN 30, 2005 12:23 PM

Okuma said:
There's really no reason whatsoever for a child to own a cell phone. "But, what if..." No, not even that. "But she's away at a friend's..." No, no reason at all. Watch your own fucking kids once in a while.



You sound like you don't have kids.

BlackHoleSun

BlackHoleSun

United Kingdom
June 2005

JUN 30, 2005 01:18 PM

Im seriously considering a massacre if I see many more of Jamsters commercials, they need to be drug out into the street and be given a damn good kick in!!

What the hell is the world coming too? mad

Previous

PAGE: 

1 | 2

Next

featured interviews