Beeline subscribers lost 1 billion soums due to unreliable mailing 

As a result of false advertising (“Win and Gain” campaign), LLC ViaMobi misled subscribers of Beeline Uzbekistan mobile operator, the Consumer Protection Agency reported.

As part of the campaign, income worth 1 billion soums was received from 749 thousand subscribers in March.

According to the agency, SMS messages of the following content were sent to phone numbers of the campaigners: “Your number has been CHOSEN AS A WINNER of the auction with a super-win of 100 million soums. Send an SMS with the number 3 to 6767. The cost of subscribing is 1999 soums per day”.

After studying the facts, the Consumer Protection Agency established that LLC ViaMobi sent SMS to a selected group of subscribers in order to draw attention to participation in the aforementioned campaign. 

However, when translating the text, the meaning of the message was changed. As a result, the subscribers received an incorrect text: instead of the words “you can become a winner” they sent out “your number has been chosen as the winner of the auction”.

“In this regard, a case has been opened against the advertiser represented by LLC ViaMobi on the grounds of violating the Laws “On protection of consumer rights” and “On advertising”. According to the Law “On protection of consumer rights”, losses caused to a consumer by a product (work, service) acquired as a result of unfair advertising are subject to full compensation by the manufacturer (contractor, seller),” the agency noted.