Nuisance call blocking firm fined £50,000... for nuisance calling
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Version 0 of 1. A company which offered a nuisance call blocking service has been been fined £50,000 for making “bullying” phone calls. Stop These Calls, a subsidiary of Point One Marketing, offered its customers a call blocking device for their phone and removal from cold call databases but the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) found it had marketed these services through “aggressive cold calling”. According to complainants, sales staff reportedly shouted at them when they declined and elderly dementia sufferers felt they had been pressured into handing over their credit card details. The company was also reportedly found to call people on the Telephone Preference Service, a list of people who did not wish to receive unsolicited sales calls, and repeatedly ignore requests from others to stop the calls, sometimes calling repeatedly on the same day. The ICO said the firm breached Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations. ICO head of enforcement Stephen Eckersley, said: "This company lacked integrity. They tried to sell a product that they claimed would stop nuisance calls, knowing full well they were responsible for so many such calls themselves. That they operated in what appears to have been such a bullying, aggressive way only makes matters worse. "We promised to act swiftly against the companies that break the law and we have. This fine has been issued because of the people who complained to us about this company. But they are by no means the only offender out there. If you are receiving nuisance calls, then let us know, and we can act as we have here." The Independent has contacted the Bournemouth based company, previously known as Conservo Digital, for comment. Additional reporting by PA |