Customer Care Policy


This Customer Care Policy describes the level of service that Playbay B.V. ("Playbay", "we", "us") delivers to consumers who use its services in the United Kingdom. It covers all Playbay staff, contractors and third parties (including aggregators and mobile network operators) acting for us, and extends to every UK-facing subscription and phone-paid service operated under the Playbay name. It is intended to satisfy the expectations of the UK regulatory framework, including Ofcom's General Conditions of Entitlement and the Regulation of Premium Rate Services Order 2024 (SI 2024/1046), which took effect on 1 February 2025 and placed phone-paid services under Ofcom's direct regulation. Where a customer is recognised as being in vulnerable circumstances, our Vulnerable Customer Care Policy operates alongside this Policy, and its provisions prevail wherever there is any inconsistency.

1. Our customer care principles

Our approach to supporting UK customers rests on three core principles:

  • Behaving professionally at every point of interaction with a customer.
  • Placing the individual needs of each customer first, and honouring their right to accurate and timely information about our services.
  • Working consistently towards a clearly defined quality-of-service benchmark against which our performance can be assessed and improved.
Playbay is committed to delivering fair, transparent and effective support to every consumer who uses our services.

2. Customer support availability

Playbay provides customer support by telephone and by email, free of charge to UK customers or at no more than the basic call rate.

2.1 Telephone

Our UK Customer Care team makes best efforts to answer telephone enquiries and complaints between 09:00 and 17:00 UK time on working days. Calls are handled by a dedicated customer care representative or, where this is not immediately possible, a free callback is offered.

UK freephone number: 0800 029 4506

Where individual Playbay services run their own dedicated service numbers, those numbers are shown at the point of sale, in subscription confirmation messages and in any billing communication, and satisfy the same basic-call-rate or freephone standard.

2.2 Email

Every enquiry or complaint sent by email is acknowledged within five (5) working days of being received. The UK customer care email address is productsupport@goplaybay.com.

We make best efforts to look into and resolve enquiries fairly, efficiently and without unnecessary delay. Where a matter needs to be escalated, our aim is to resolve it within 24 hours of escalation. If a longer investigation is required, the customer is told the expected timescale and kept informed of progress.

3. Customer contact procedure

Playbay operates a customer contact procedure through which customers can raise any matter relating to our services. The procedure covers the following types of contact:

  • Enquiries about a service and how it works.
  • Cancellation of a subscription at the customer's request.
  • Requests for refunds.
  • Service-related issues, including technical problems or concerns about content.
  • Requests received from aggregators or mobile network operators concerning a service or subscription.

3.1 Enquiries about a service

Every enquiry receives a clear explanation of the service, the subscription cost, how the subscription was taken out, and the ways in which it can be cancelled. Where the customer holds an active subscription, the agent confirms its status and, if the customer asks, cancels the subscription straight away so that no further charges are made to the relevant number.

3.2 Subscription cancellations

When a customer wants to cancel a subscription, our agents action the request without delay. The customer is told which service they were subscribed to, the cancellation is confirmed in writing through the customer's preferred channel, and the customer is assured that no further charges will be made to the relevant number once cancellation has taken effect.

Where the contact concerns a subscription taken out by a minor (under 18), by an older adult who did not give consent, or by any other person in vulnerable circumstances, the cancellation is actioned immediately and the Vulnerable Customer Care Policy applies in addition to this section.

3.3 Refund requests

When a refund request is received, a proportionate investigation is carried out to establish the relevant facts. That investigation will normally look at:

  • Whether the subscription was properly initiated and whether the confirmation and subsequent service messages reached the customer.
  • Whether the customer was given accurate information at the point of subscription about the price, the billing frequency and the ways to cancel.
  • Whether the subscription remains active at the time of the request (if so, it is cancelled immediately).
Verification is performed against the telephone number on which the service was subscribed, whether the request comes to us by email or by phone.

We recognise that our services will not suit every customer and that some subscriptions may have been taken out unintentionally. Playbay therefore operates a refund policy under which refunds may be granted up to the full billed value of the most recent six (6) months of the subscription. Where customers have been given accurate information about the availability of the subscription, the charges involved and the methods of cancellation, refund decisions are taken case by case in light of those facts.

Refund requests linked to a subscription taken out by a minor, an older adult, or any other person in vulnerable circumstances are handled under the Vulnerable Customer Care Policy. In those cases a refund is the default outcome, subject to a careful assessment and sign-off by a supervisor.

3.4 Service-related issues and technical difficulties

Playbay considers every customer contact concerning subscription issues, content concerns, accessibility difficulties, misunderstandings about the service, and technical problems arising during use. The supporting agent gives a clear explanation of the service and the subscription price, checks the subscription status, and follows a suitable troubleshooting approach to resolve the matter. If the issue cannot be resolved on first contact, the customer is told the expected timescale and given a single point of contact for any follow-up.

3.5 Requests from aggregators and mobile network operators

Any request received from an aggregator or a mobile network operator is treated as urgent and given priority whatever its nature. Playbay investigates the subject matter of the request thoroughly, responds with accurate information, and co-operates fully with any consumer-protection measure requested. Our contracts with aggregators and operators require:

  • Prompt forwarding of any customer complaint, refund request or evidence of consumer harm, with enough information for us to take action.
  • Co-operation with our refund and cancellation processes, including where it cannot be evidenced that the original subscription was informed and consensual.
  • Implementation of opt-in, age-gating and spend-reminder controls consistent with Ofcom and PRS requirements.

4. Records and quality assurance

Playbay keeps appropriate written records of enquiries, complaints, investigations, determinations and resolutions for compliance and quality-assurance purposes. Records are retained in line with our Data Protection Policy and applicable UK data-protection requirements, and are made available to regulators on request.

Our performance against this Policy is monitored through call and case review. Customer-care performance is judged first and foremost on outcomes — whether the customer's need was met, whether the resolution was fair and timely, and whether the customer had to repeat themselves — rather than on handling time alone.

5. Complaints and escalation

A customer who is not satisfied with the response given by a Playbay agent may ask for the matter to be escalated to a supervisor. We aim to issue a final response to any complaint within a reasonable period and will, in any event, let the customer know if the matter needs a longer investigation.

If the customer remains dissatisfied after our final response, they may refer the matter to Ofcom, the UK regulator of phone-paid services from 1 February 2025, or to any applicable alternative dispute resolution scheme. Details of Ofcom's complaints process are provided to the customer on request.

6. Governing law

Playbay B.V. is established in the Netherlands. The contract between Playbay and its customers is governed by Dutch law in line with our Terms and Conditions. Nothing in this Policy or in our Terms and Conditions takes away the rights that UK consumers enjoy under the mandatory consumer-protection laws of the United Kingdom.

7. Review

This Policy is reviewed at least once a year, and earlier if there is a material change in the UK regulatory framework (including Ofcom guidance, the Regulation of Premium Rate Services Order 2024 or successor instruments), in our service portfolio, or in the issues raised by UK customers.

8. How to contact us

UK Customer Care: telephone 0800 029 4506 (freephone, 09:00–17:00 UK time on working days), or by email to productsupport@goplaybay.com.

Registered office: Playbay B.V., Hurksestraat 64, 5652 AL Eindhoven, The Netherlands.