Short-term insurance specialist Tempcover, a company that claims to offer “affordable cover, unbelievaby fast”, has also been shown to play fast and loose with marketing regulations after being found guilty of sending nearly 30 million illegal emails and texts to push its services.
The company first appeared on the radar of the Information Commissioner’s Office from Mobile UK’s 7726 Spam Reporting Service. Between November 1 2019 and May 18 2020 there were a total of 13 complaints about spam texts from which Tempcover could be identified; of these, 12 were made via the service, and one was made directly to the ICO.
The ICO sent an initial investigation letter to Tempcover on May 26 2020, outlining concerns regarding its compliance with the Privacy & Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR), and asking a series of questions in relation to its direct marketing text message campaigns.
In response, Tempcover said that it had obtained the data which it used for its direct marketing campaigns directly from individuals who would use its website to obtain a quote or to buy temporary insurance. The firm claimed it provided individuals with a clear link to its privacy policy and terms and conditions.
However, the ICO ruled that this consent was invalid as Tempcover used an individual’s mandatory agreement to the site’s terms and conditionsm as the basis on which to conduct its direct marketing activities, acting under the belief that it could rely on legitimate interest.
In fact, Tempcover sent unsolicited direct marketing messages to consumers who had entered their details on Tempcover’s website with a view to obtaining a quote for insurance. But the firm failed to provide these subscribers with an opportunity to opt-out of direct marketing when first obtaining their details, and essentially made agreement to marketing a condition of service.
For this reason, the consent to receive unsolicited direct marketing messages cannot be said to have been “freely given”, the ICO ruled, in direct breach of PECR.
In total, the ICO found that between May 26 2019 and 26 May 26 2020, a total of 29,970,419 unsolicited direct marketing messages – including both emails and texts – were received sent by Tempcover without valid consent, triggering an £85,000 fine.
Funnily enough, Tempcover has now agreed to change its privacy policy, and now allows consumers to opt out of unsolicited direct marketing at the point which consent is obtained.
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