The director of a Bournemouth telemarketing firm company fined £80,000 for making “aggressive” nuisance calls is now being prosecuted for offences under the Data Protection Act.
Giles Ward-Best of the Telecom Protection Service has been charged with failing to register with the Information Commissioner’s Office between September 2013 and September 2015.
The ICO, which is bringing the prosecution, alleges Ward-Best and his company processed personal data illegally.
At Bournemouth Magistrates’ Court last week, Ward-Best requested he be tried in front of a judge and jury at Crown Court. He was released on unconditional bail and is due to appear at Bournemouth Crown Court on February 12.
The maximum fine for the offence is only £5,000 but does carry a criminal record.
In November last year, Telecom Protection Service was found to be making unsolicited marketing calls to people registered on the Telephone Preference Service while trying to sell products and services to block the type of cold calls it was making.
At the time, ICO head of enforcement Stephen Eckersley said: “These calls have a real impact on people’s lives and that’s why we do what we do. Complainants told us that callers tried to obtain money by deception and the calls were misleading and a scam. This action should send out a clear message to other businesses that we will act to stop this behaviour.”
As well as the fine, the ICO also issued the firm with an enforcement notice, ordering it to stop making the calls. Breaching an enforcement notice is also a criminal offence.
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