The Information Commissioner’s Office is continuing its battle against companies abusing the Telephone Preference Service by issuing a £50,000 fine to MyHome Installations after discovering that the firm had failed to carry out due diligence on the data it had bought in.
The ICO received 169 complaints concerning the calls to phone numbers listed on the TPS. The complaints from members of the public involved receiving unwanted calls about electrical surveys and home security from the Maidstone based company.
An ICO investigation discovered that MyHome Installations bought data over 18 months from third party companies in order to market its services.
These companies told the security business that the personal details had been screened against the ‘no call’ register. But MyHome Installations said it was unable to provide any evidence of consent due to a previous marketing manager historically buying the data and adding it to its call lists without any reference to its source.
ICO head of enforcement Steve Eckersley said: “The Telephone Preference Service exists to protect the public from the scourge of unwanted, nuisance calls.
“This company blatantly ignored its responsibilities. It did not carry out the proper due diligence checks on its suppliers to make sure they were operating within the law and despite initial warnings from us, still didn’t resolve the problem.”
He added: “We think the complaints we received were just the tip of the iceberg.”
People said they felt ‘pestered’ by the company and pointed out to call operators they had no wish to receive the calls because their phone numbers were on the TPS.
One complainant commented: “Callers asking about my home security are of concern to me, as they may be sounding out the property prior to crime.”
Another said: “They wanted to carry out an electrical survey of my home and propose changes. I said no, I didn’t want to participate and then another girl phoned back half an hour later to pester me into getting a quote and insisted that I would be putting my home at risk if I didn’t.”
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