Two Greater Manchester companies have been fined a total of £150,000 after “bombarding” people with spam texts offering financial and debt services.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) began its probes into Quick Tax Claims Limited and National Debt Advice Limited after complaints were sent to the 7726 spam message reporting service last May.
The ICO’s investigation revealed that , which focuses on PPI tax refunds and is based in Mosley Street, Manchester, had sent 7,863,547 unlawful text messages over the course of a month. That resulted in 66,793 complaints – 93% of these stating there was no ‘opt out’ option.
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During the probe, the ICO found the company had purchased personal information from third-party suppliers that did not obtain valid consent. The regulator issued Quick Tax Claims Limited with a £120,000 fine.
A spokesperson for Quick Tax Claims said the company was appealing the penalty.
The ICO investigation into , a debt counselling advice service based in Salford Quays, found that over a four-month period the business had sent 129,902 spam text messages resulting in 4,033 complaints.
The regulator said its investigation “lasted several months due to poor cooperation from National Debt Advice Limited”. The probe discovered that National Debt Advice had also bought personal information from third-party suppliers, including loan decline data – meaning text messages were sent to people who had previously been turned down for loans. They also failed to conduct appropriate consent checks.
The ICO eventually fined National Debt Advice £30,000. BusinessLive has approached National Debt Advice for comment.
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Andy Curry, head of investigations at the Wilmslow-based ICO, said: “Both of these companies bombarded people with spam messages, often preying on those who might be experiencing difficult financial circumstances. To then be hounded by numerous unwarranted text messages, just adds further stress to people in those situations.
“It is so important, in these types of circumstances, that companies gain consent to send direct messages. Relying on third-party claims of consent, without undertaking the most basic of checks, is far from responsible conduct by these companies, and that’s why we took action.”
The ICO is the 海角视频’s independent regulator for data protection and information rights law. Mobile phone users can report unsolicited marketing text messages to Mobile 海角视频’s Spam Reporting Service by forwarding the message to 7726.
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