Npower has been slapped with a £60,000 fine by regulator Ofcom for making silent calls; a move backed by the DMA, which claims the practice brings the whole industry into disrepute.
Ofcom’s investigation into npower found that the company made 1,756 abandoned calls to UK consumers and played messages containing marketing content during the calls over a seven-week period.
This activity was found to be in breach of legislation and Ofcom rules, although the regulator said the harm was at the lower end of seriousness of the cases that it has dealt with. Earlier this year Ofcom handed down a £750,000 fine to HomeServe.
Npower has agreed to provide compensation to those who suffered harm as a result of the breach, as well as cough up the £60,000 fine which is passed on to the Treasury.
Ofcom’s consumer group director Claudio Pollack said: “Our rules are there to protect consumers from suffering annoyance, inconvenience or anxiety from abandoned calls. Organisations using call centres must comply with the rules or face the consequences.”
DMA chief of operations Mike Lordan said: “We welcome Ofcom’s action. Abandoned calls can cause distress to people at home, which in turn brings the UK telemarketing industry into disrepute and undermines consumers’ confidence in the value of the channel.
“The vast majority of the industry complies with the law and adheres to the highest standards of best practice. It’s vital that Ofcom continues to use its powers effectively to deter the small minority of companies breaching telemarketing laws from continuing to do so.”
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