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The ICO has fined Elderly Aids Ltd (EAL) £190,000 for bombarding people with the very nuisance calls it claimed to protect them from. 

The company deliberately targeted elderly people to promote call-blocking devices, claiming they were trying to protect them from nuisance calls.  

EAL made 758,053 unsolicited direct marketing calls to people registered with the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) between May 2024 and February 2025, with 20 complaints made to the ICO and TPS during this period.  

The complaints revealed that EAL's callers were aggressive, misleading, and often failed to identify themselves. One complainant said: “overcharging for call blocking services that they aren’t authorised to sell – my father was persuaded to sign up to pay £139 upfront and a £6.99 monthly fee.”  

Throughout the ICO’s investigation, EAL repeatedly ignored requests for information and continued making unsolicited calls which let to further complaints. The company also attempted to strike itself off the Companies House register once it became aware it was under scrutiny and is now registered at a default address.  

Andy Curry, Head of Investigations at the ICO, yesterday said:

Not only did this company target vulnerable people who had explicitly asked not to be called – they harassed them to sell call-blocking devices. EAL showed a complete disregard for the law and the people they were hounding. This penalty should serve as a clear warning to any business that thinks the law does not apply to them - we will hold them to account for both exploiting people in this way and trying to avoid accountability.

Alongside the monetary penalty, the ICO also issued an enforcement notice ordering EAL to stop making unlawful marketing calls and to comply with caller identification requirements.

It is against the law to make a live marketing call to anyone who is registered with the TPS, unless the individual has informed the specific organisation that they do not object to receiving calls from them.

Russell Roach, Director of Preference Services at the Data & Marketing Association (DMA), yesterday said:

People register with the Telephone Preference Service because they want greater control over who can contact them. Cases like this demonstrate why those protections are so important.

Anyone making live marketing calls must respect the choices people have made about their privacy. When organisations ignore those preferences and contact individuals who have explicitly opted out of receiving unsolicited sales calls, particularly those who are most vulnerable, they undermine consumer trust and risk causing significant nuisance and distress.  

We encourage businesses that want to be seen as responsible marketers to screen their calling lists against the TPS and CTPS registers before carrying out sales and marketing campaigns. Doing so helps ensure they respect consumers' preferences, comply with the rules and avoid causing unnecessary harm or annoyance.  

Working alongside the ICO, we remain committed to helping protect consumers and ensuring that organisations comply with the rules designed to safeguard the public from nuisance calls.

Advice for the public

The ICO and TPS are both urging the public to take the following steps to protect themselves and loved ones from nuisance marketing:  

• Register with the TPS: you can add your landline or mobile number to the Telephone Preference Service  free of charge at www.tpsonline.org.uk and allow 28 days for it to take effect.
• If you continue to receive nuisance calls after registering, you can report them to the ICO using the online reporting tool.  
• Be wary of unsolicited calls offering call-blocking devices or services. Genuine call-blocking services will not need to cold-call you to sell their product, and legitimate callers must always provide their name and a way to contact them if asked. 

Rules on direct marketing calls  

Any organisation carrying out telephone marketing must comply with the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (PECR).  

The ICO's direct marketing guidance sets out the rules on making live calls and organisations can use the direct marketing advice generator to ensure they are complying with the law.   

If an organisation won’t pay the fine, the ICO can take formal action to recover the penalty amount, including seeking disqualification of directors. Find out more on the ICO’s work to recover fines.  

Find out more about how to prevent nuisance calls.