A Manx-based company which billed consumers for subscriptions to X-rated digital content without their consent has been fined more than £1m.

Xplosion Ltd, incorporated in 2011 with a registered address in Victoria Road, Douglas, used a practice known as ’clickjacking’ where pop-up ads or play buttons hide subscription charges.

Unwitting customers had up to £4.50 a week added to their mobile bills for adult portal services including SexxyMob, Xcite and Xvidland.

Xplosion operated several mobile content services which charged consumers on a weekly basis for entry into competitions, or access to quizzes, games, and video content, via their phone bill.

But the Phone-paid Services Authority, appointed by Ofcom to regulate phone-paid services in the UK, found that Xplosion had failed to secure consumer consent for billing them.

It also found that it had failed to inform consumers about the cost and nature of the service before purchase.

The Phone-paid Services Authority said Xplosion had failed to treat consumers fairly by not providing them with access to a real service, and failed to disclose information to the regulator.

Considering the seriousness of these breaches, the PSA’s tribunal issued fines of £350,000 against the SexxyMob, Xcite and Xvidland services, which offered adult video content, £440,000 against the Games Unlimited and MobyApps services, which were gaming portals, and £250,000 against the QuizM8 quiz and competition service.

The company has been formally reprimanded and barred from all operation in the phone-paid services market for five years.

Those who unwittingly subscribed are eligible for a refund.

In total, the PSA received 252 complaints about the services operated by the company.

One consumer who found themselves subscribed to Sexxymob complained to the regulator: ’I never activate such thing.

’It popped up on my phone while browsing the net. I received a message. It said "press stop to cancel". I did, thinking that was the end - until I saw my phone bill this month.’

A second said: ’I was browsing a news website when a pornographic pop-up message popped up. I attempted to click the x in the corner and as I did this I received the message saying I had been billed £4.50. This is the second time this has happened.’

Another, who had been subscribed to the QuizM8 service, told the Phone-paid Services Authority: ’I did not authorise commencement on this service.

’I have no idea how or why my number became associated. I saw no promotion for the service and did not sign up for it. I was not made aware of charges until my phone bill failed to come from my account - I incurred bank charges as a result.’