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Alleged Fair Trading Act breaches relating to phone text promotions on New Zealand television are being investigated by the Commerce Commission.
The promotion, run by Australian-based company TMG Asia Pacific, asks entrants to send text messages to be in to win prizes including televisions, DVD players and video game consoles.
Once an initial text is sent, several texts are sent back which cost the receiver another $3 each, adding up to $15 a month.
Advice about the costs appear to be either unclear or are buried in the advertisement.
The commission said today the company had been spoken to about the promotions in the past and this time has been given three days to respond.
Commission fair trading director Deborah Battell said nearly 180 complaints had been received from the public about charges on their mobile phones when entering the promotions.
"This is an exceptionally high number of complaints for a single issue," she said.
"Complaints suggest consumers were not aware that they were both entering a promotion and subscribing to a service when they texted to 8555.
"They appear not to have known that they would be charged $3 for each subsequent text they receive... "
Ms Battell said the commission was investigating whether the disclosure of the terms and conditions of the promotions was adequate.
The commission initially raised concerns with TMG Asia Pacific about the promotions last November.
"The company has been made well aware of our concerns. The commission has now asked the company to respond by 4pm, Thursday, January 16," Ms Battell said.
She said the commission was still interested in receiving complaints from any consumers affected by the promotion.
Consumers wanting to exit the service in question can do so by texting 'STOP' to 8555.
- NZPA
