I am immensely cheered by the news that one of the worst perpetrators of cold calling has been fined a record amount for making almost 100 million nuisance calls.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has issued its highest ever penalty of £400,000 to Keurboom Communications after more than 1,000 people complained about recorded – also known as automated – calls.
The calls, made over an 18 month period, related to a wide range of subjects, including all the old chestnuts of road traffic accident claims and PPI compensation. Some people received repeat calls, sometimes on the same day and during unsociable hours. The company also hid its identity, making it harder for people to lodge a grievance.
The law states that companies can only make automated marketing calls to people if they have their specific consent. Unsurprisingly, Keurboom did not have people’s permission (I mean, does anyone give consent to cold calls?).
Steve Eckerlsey, head of enforcement at the ICO said: ‘Keurboom showed scant regard for the rules, causing upset and distress to people unfortunate enough to be on the receiving end of one its 100 million calls. The unprecedented scale of its campaign and Keurboom’s failure to co-operate with our investigation has resulted in the largest fine issued by the Information Commissioner for nuisance calls.’
He added: ‘These calls have now stopped – as has Keurboom – but our work has not. We’ll continue to track down companies that blight people’s lives with nuisance calls, texts and emails.’
During the investigation, the ICO issued seven information notices ordering the company, which is registered in Dunstable, Bedfordshire, to provide information to the regulator. When it failed to comply, Keurboom Communications Ltd and its director, Gregory Rudd, were prosecuted and fined at Luton Magistrates’ Court in April 2016. It has now been placed in voluntary liquidation. Nevertheless, the ICO says it is committed to recovering the fine by working with the liquidator and insolvency practitioners.
To my mind, cold-callers are the lowest of the low, especially the ones who prey on the old and vulnerable – those people least likely to fend off endless phone calls and persistent hard-sellers. And it’s a serious, UK-wide problem. According to the ICO, it had its busiest year for nuisance calls in 2016/17, issuing 23 companies a total of £1.923 million for nuisance marketing.
James Dalton, director of general insurance policy at the Association of British Insurers, said: ‘People are sick of being bombarded by nuisance calls that are stoking the compensation culture. This record fine sends the clear message that nuisance cold calling is totally unacceptable. It is absurd that those responsible for these calls may be able to avoid the fine by shutting down their company and starting another one. Tightening up the loopholes exploited by the compensation cowboys cannot happen soon enough.’
Prior to today’s charge against Keurboom, the previous record nuisance call fine was in February 2016, when the ICO fined Prodial, a lead generation company, £350,000 for making 46 million nuisance calls. Helen Nugent is Online Money Editor of The Spectator
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