A marketing company has been fined £300,000 for making millions of nuisance calls.
Holmes Financial Solutions Ltd, based in Speke, Liverpool, has been the subject of dozens of complaints, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) said.
Members of the public said they felt anxious and “targeted” after being “hounded continually” by the company.
“It’s always a little worrying when you get an unexpected call from a number you don’t recognise. One tends to think something has happened to a friend or family member,” one complainant said.
Another stated: “This has been going on for months if not years. It causes me anxiety feeling targeted.”
Over a 10-month period the firm made 26.6 million automated calls – 8.7 million of which were answered – containing recorded messages, mainly about PPI claims.
It did not have the consent for sending direct marketing and failed to identify the organisation making the calls, which is against the law.
ICO head of enforcement Steve Eckersley said: “The company paid no heed to laws on telephone marketing and showed no concern for the distress they were causing people, by making huge volumes of invasive calls.
“The ICO will not tolerate companies who blatantly disregard the law and Holmes Financial Solutions Ltd has paid the price for their negligence.
“I welcome the Government’s plans to introduce personal liability for directors who think they are above the law, and hope to see them introduced as soon as possible, to support our work to stop such rogue traders operating.”
The ICO received 62 complaints from the public about the company.
Some people were called on multiple occasions and others said they were unable to opt out of receiving the calls.
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