Millions of consumers are being urged to take revenge on rogue telemarketing firms, after a Surrey man successfully sued one company in the small claims court for wasting his time.
Richard Herman (pictured) from Sudbury on Thames decided to act after being bombarded with cold calls from PPI claims firm AAC, even though he was registered on the Telephone Preference Service and had never taken out payment protection insurance.
But the move has once again raised serious concerns about the enforcement powers of the Information Commissioner’s Office, whose inaction led the businessman to take matters into his own hands.
Unable to get help from the ICO – which builds cases on the basis of hundreds of calls to individuals – Herman decided to invoice the company which was calling him £10 for every minute he wasted on the phone.
And unbeknown to AAC, Herman’s own firm sells telephonic recording equipment, which enabled him to tape every call he received.
When AAC refused to pay up, he sued the business at the small claims court and won. It agreed to pay the full £195 for 19½ minutes of calls, plus a £25 court fee.
Herman is now urging others to follow his example and has set up a website – www.saynotocoldcalls.com – to help victims.
Consumer lawyers have predicted the victory could open the floodgates to further claims from the millions plagued by similar unwanted calls. But others claim the move exposes just how powerless the official channels are against the menace of rogue telemarketing firms.
Speaking to BBC News, DMA head of preference services, compliance and legal John Mitchison said: “[The ICO] hasn’t made any serious enforcement actions for quite some time. At the beginning of this year, it was given increased powers. It can now enforce a civil monetary penalty of £500,000, but it hasn’t done anything in the area of the TPS as yet.
“It’s very frustrating. We obviously receive a huge number of complaints each month and we receive telephone calls from people that are being deluged by this type of call – particularly in the area of PPI and accident claims.”
According to Ofcom figures, complaints about cold calls trebled in the first half of this year, with nearly 10,000 complaints lodged in July alone.
But the ICO defended its record. Director of operations Simon Entwisle countered: “In the past five or six years, we’ve taken action against 19 different companies for making calls that breach the electronic communications regulations.
“The power to fine has only been in force for the last year. We have issued our first notice of intent to fine someone and the fines are totalling over £250,000.
Asked about Herman’s case, Entwisle added: “It raised a wry smile. I think the people that make these calls are a nuisance and it’s really good to see the public joining in the fight back against them.”
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