Public support helps ICO punish nuisance callers
20 May 2014 11:38 AM
Two companies have been warned
that they are set to face fines totalling £140,000 for breaching
electronic marketing rules.
A Yorkshire direct marketing
firm was linked to thousands of nuisance marketing calls by the ICO. The
company was identified after members of the public made over 630 reports to the
ICO and the Telephone Preference Service after receiving calls, despite opting
out of receiving marketing calls.
Meanwhile, a Devon PPI Claims
company faces a similar penalty for prompting over 600 reports from the
public.
The two companies have one month
to provide evidence proving they were not responsible for making, or
initiating, the calls. If no evidence is provided, the final penalties will be
served and the companies’ details, along with information about their
illicit activities, will be released.
ICO Head of Enforcement, Stephen
Eckersley, said:
“Quite simply,
today’s action would not have been possible without the support of the
general public. By raising their concerns with us they have provided the ICO
with important leads that we have then been able to investigate and pursue,
leading to today’s action.
“We believe we have a
strong case against both companies, but the law requires them to be given the
opportunity to reply to the evidence we have presented. If they are unable to
prove that they were not responsible for pestering the public with unwanted
calls, then they will face the consequences of their
actions.”
Under the Privacy and Electronic
Communications Regulations, companies carrying out marketing calls must not
ring a person registered with the Telephone Preference Service unless they have
subsequently provided their consent. They should also not contact anyone who
has previously told the company not to contact them.
The ICO advises anyone who
continues to receive calls after this time, to report the matter to the Telephone Preference Service,
or directly to the ICO using its online reporting tool. The information provided is used to identify
and punish those companies responsible for breaching the
regulations.
The ICO has also
published detailed guidance for companies carrying out
marketing explaining their legal requirements under the Data
Protection Act and Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations. The
guidance covers the circumstances in which organisations are able to carry out
marketing over the phone, by text, by email, by post or by
fax.
The ICO’s Director of
Operations, Simon Entwisle, published a blog yesterday providing the latest update on the
ICO’s work to tackle nuisance calls and spam texts.
Notes to
Editors
1. The Information
Commissioner’s Office upholds information rights in the public interest,
promoting openness by public bodies and data privacy for individuals.
2. The ICO has specific responsibilities set out in the Data Protection
Act 1998, the Freedom of Information Act 2000, Environmental Information
Regulations 2004 and Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations
2003.
3. The ICO is on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, and produces a
monthly e-newsletter. Our press office page provides more
information for journalists.
4. Anyone who processes personal
information must comply with eight principles of the Data Protection Act, which
make sure that personal information is:
Fairly and lawfully processed
Processed for limited purposes
Adequate, relevant and not excessive
Accurate and up to date
Not kept for longer than is necessary
Processed in line with your rights
Secure
Not transferred to other countries without adequate protection