ICO Fines Two Home Improvement Companies £250,000 For Making Illegal Marketing Calls

Kevin Modiri
Meta's Announcement Data AI

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has fined two home improvement companies a total of £250,000 for bombarding people who are on the UK’s ‘do not call’ register with millions of unlawful marketing calls.

The two companies, Poxell Ltd based in Wood Green, London, and Skean Homes Ltd, based in Bournemouth, both made unsolicited marketing calls to people registered with the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) whilst withholding their identity.

Background

Poxell Ltd claimed to specialise in energy saving products such as double glazing as well as resin driveways, called individuals with dementia and other serious illnesses. The complainants stated that the calls were made by a “very aggressive” salesperson.

The ICO’s investigation also found that Poxell Ltd had purchased several telephone lines in a bid to avoid detection. The company did not engage with the investigation and continued to make unlawful marketing calls until their account was finally terminated by their communications service provider.

The company was fined £150,000 by the ICO for making over 2.6 million unlawful marketing calls between March and July 2022 to people who had registered with the TPS. There were 413 complaints made to the ICO and TPS.

Skean Homes Ltd who claimed to help improve energy efficiency and reduce household bills, used various false names during the calls, such as ‘Eco Hub,’ ‘Driveway Solutions’ and ‘Eco Driveways’. The complaints revealed that the calls promoted everything from loft insulation to resin driveways and the company would claim to be part of the local council.

The company refused to take responsibility for the unlawful marketing calls and claimed that they had allowed their lead generation provider to temporarily use their caller identities (CLIs) and that TPS checks failed due to a technical error. The ICO’s investigation found no evidence that a third party was using the CLIs when the unsolicited calls were made.

They were fined £100,000 for instigating over 600,000 unsolicited marketing calls between March and May 2022 to people who had registered with the TPS. This resulted in 31 complaints.

Telephone preference service

Under the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003, it is against the law for organisations to make marketing calls to anyone signed up with the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) and Corporate Telephone Preference Service (CTPS), which operate a “do not call” register, unless the individual or business has explicitly consented to receive these calls.

In addition to the fines, the ICO has also issued an Enforcement Notice to both companies, ordering them to stop calling people registered with the TPS, or who had previously objected to such calls.

Andy Curry, ICO Head of Investigations, stated,

“People register with the TPS for a clear reason; to stop unwanted marketing contact and protect their privacy. Both these companies have not only broken the law by failing to check the ‘do not call’ register, but also caused distress and disruption to those they bombarded with unwanted and unlawful calls.”

“These fines should send a clear message that companies cannot use third parties or multiple phone numbers to avoid detection and taking responsibility for illegal calls. We will take decisive action to ensure the public are protected from nuisance marketing.”

Comment

The findings by the ICO highlight the importance of organisations not misusing individuals registered on the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) and Corporate Telephone Preference Service (CTPS). The register is in place to respect the preferences of those who do not wish to receive cold calls and to protect individuals who are more vulnerable.

How can we help?

If you have any questions concerning the subjects discussed in this article, please do not hesitate to contact a member of our Dispute Resolution team in Derby, Leicester, or Nottingham on 0800 024 1976 or via our online enquiry form.

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