News - TV Cold Calling

TV cold-calling company fined £225,000 after thousands of nuisance calls uncovered

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has today issued two fines totalling £225,000 to two companies at the centre of the BBC Three programme ‘The Call Centre’. The fines include the first fine issued against a company linked to nuisance calls relating to Payment Protection Insurance (PPI).

Nationwide Energy Services has received a fine of £125,000, and We Claim You Gain £100,000 - both companies are part of Save Britain Money Ltd based in Swansea. The penalties were issued after the companies were found to be responsible for over 2,700 complaints to the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) or reports to the ICO using its online survey, between 26 May 2011 and end of December 2012.

Neither company carried out adequate checks to see whether the people they were calling had registered with the Telephone Preference Service (TPS), which is a legal requirement under the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations governing electronic marketing.

ICO Director of Operations, Simon Entwisle, said:

“The public have told us that they are fed up with the constant bombardment of nuisance calls. While the activities of Nev and his call centre employees have provided entertainment for many, they hide a bigger problem within the cold calling industry. People have the legal right not to receive marketing calls and these companies have paid the price for failing to respect people’s wishes.”

The ICO has now issued penalties totalling over three-quarters of a million pounds to companies who’ve breached the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations. A further 10 investigations are ongoing.

Simon Entwisle continued:

“While we’re pleased with our success to date, there is still more we can do, and we welcome discussions in the House of Commons last week around ways to improve the law around unwanted marketing calls and texts. We’d like to see it made easier for us to issue penalties to companies who are breaking the rules. Similarly, everyone involved seems to agree that the rules on how consumers give their consent to receive calls needs to be clearer.”