The ICO has fined three companies for a total of £415,000 due to nuisance marketing practices after receiving several complaints.
The ICO has fined three companies a total of £415,000 for nuisance marketing. Colour Car Sales Limited, Solarwave, and LTH Holdings were fined for various offenses including unsolicited calls and spam text messages. Many of the individuals receiving phone calls complained that they had been on the telephone preference service and should not have been receiving them. In all cases, the companies lacked the valid consent required in order to send direct marketing to customers. This is a violation of the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR). Under the PECR, the ICO has the power to impose a fine of up to £500,000 on a data controller for various violations of privacy rights in relation to electronic communications.
Colour Car Sales Ltd was found to have been sending spam text messages directing people to various car finance websites.
A credit intermediary for used car finance, Colour Car Sales Limited of Stroke-on-Trent was found to have sent several spam text messages between October 2018 and January 2020. These messages were sent to numerous people directing them to various car finance websites. Several complaints were made by the recipients of those text messages, to the ICO. This was a violation of regulation 22 of the PECR. Regulation 22 applies to the transmission of unsolicited communications via electronic mail to individual subscribers. This regulation prohibits the sending or initiating of unsolicited communications for the purposes of direct marketing by email. This form of communication is only allowed in instances where the contact information was received from the individual during the course of negotiations or a sale, and the recipient has been given a free and simple means of refusing the use of their contact details for those purposes.
Solarwave Ltd was fined for making unsolicited marketing calls about solar panel maintenance to people registered with the TPS.
Solarwave Limited, a Solar energy company in Grays, Essex was found to have made over 73,000 unsolicited marketing phone calls. These calls were made between January and October 2020. These calls were made to people who should not have been receiving phone calls at all, as they were all registered with the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) list. This list clearly outlines those individuals who have rightfully opted out of receiving unsolicited marketing calls and it is imperative to ensure that this list is adhered to, so as to avoid violating that right. Various complaints were made against the company, claiming that the company consistently called customers and even ignored stop requests. The company was found to have violated regulation 21 of the GDPR. This regulation applies to the making of unsolicited calls which can only be made if an individual has given their consent to that company to receive such calls, if the number is registered with the Telephone Preference Service.
Over the course of a year, LTH Holdings was found to have been making unsolicited calls selling funeral plans to people who are registered with the TPS.
1.4 million calls were made between May 2019 and May 2020 by LTH Holdings, a telephone marketing company from Cardiff. The ICO also received 41 complaints against this company and has reported that the company’s marketing techniques had become persuasive, aggressive and coercive which raised much concern. What was found to be of particular concern is the fact that the target market possibly included people who tend to have been more vulnerable. LTH holdings was also found to be in violation of regulation 21 of the PECR. The ICO commissioner maintains a list of registered numbers belonging to subscribers who have notified them that they do not wish to receive unsolicited calls at the moment, under regulation 26 of the PECR. The TPS is a limited company who operates on the commissioners behalf maintaining this register. Businesses a.m. to make direct marketing phone calls can subscribe to the TPS for a fee, and stay up-to-date on this list to ensure that they do so within regulation.
The companies were fined a total of £415,000 for the various offenses.
After receiving several complaints of misconduct against the three companies the ICO issued enforcement notices ordering them to stop marketing until consent has been obtained. A fine of 170,000 pounds was imposed on Colour Car Sales Limited for the spam text messages, while Solarwave and LTH Holdings were fined £100,000 and £145,000 respectively, for making unsolicited phone calls. This is a total of £415,000 which the ICO has fined and will be working to recover from the three companies. Under the PECR, the ICO has the power to impose a fine on a data controller of up to £500,000 on individual companies.
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