Regtel, the regulator of premium rate telecommunications, has temporarily suspended a scheme that encouraged thousands of people to ring a high-cost phone line to arrange for the collection of an "overseas package".
It is believed a firm called Parcel Plus sent some 10,000 postcards to householders around the country over the last week stating that an overseas parcel was awaiting collection. Recipients were directed to call an 1850 premium rate phone line, costing €1.90 a minute, to arrange collection.
Irate callers to RTÉ's Liveline programme yesterday expressed their anger at the service and told how the phone call lasted up to seven minutes. They were then directed to a warehouse in the Naas Road Business Centre in Dublin, where on arrival they received a parcel containing a DVD and marketing information containing some discount vouchers.
Mr Pat Breen, the regulator of premium rate telecommunications, yesterday suspended the controversial Parcel Plus phone line following complaints and began an investigation, which is expected to be complete within a week.
Mr Breen said the venture "did not seem to comply" with his agency's code of practice.
"Wording on the postcard could be misleading because it seemed to indicate the parcel was from overseas, from a friend or family member. Nothing could be further from the truth."
He also stated that the green colouring on the postcard could lead people to think it was from An Post.
Although the premium phone line has been suspended, Mr Breen confirmed that the last batch of postcards still in the postal system would still be delivered. He advised anyone who receives the postcards to "put them in the bin".
"A lot of people went to a lot of effort to retrieve these parcels. It has upset many people," he added.
A spokeswoman for An Post stated they had delivered the postcards on behalf of this company and confirmed that hundreds of queries from the public had been received at postal centres around the country. However, she said, the service had "absolutely nothing to do" with An Post.
"The postcards were delivered as a piece of advertised post mail. Once post fulfils a number of criteria we cannot legally refuse it, and while we may have particular opinions about the mail, we cannot make the decision not to deliver it."
When the postcard was first submitted to An Post in advance of delivery, concerns had been raised about the design of the card and An Post insisted that an extra sentence, indicating that the card was "not from An Post" was inserted, she added.
The spokeswoman said that an increase in the number of mail shots encouraging people to ring phone lines had been noted in recent years, but added it was "not up to An Post to give guidelines on such matters".
The spokeswoman stated that An Post would have charged in the region of €3,000 for a mail campaign of that size and type.