The Information Commissioner\u2019s Office (ICO) has imposed a \u00a3100,000 fine on Birmingham-based TMAC for breaching marketing regulations.<\/p>\n
The company made over 260,000 unsolicited calls to numbers registered on the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) between February and September 2024.<\/p>\n
TMAC, which sells personal pendant alarms and security systems, misled recipients by using false identities, claiming to represent local crime prevention or fire safety initiatives.<\/p>\n
Call transcripts indicate that many calls were directed at people aged over 60, a group potentially more vulnerable to such tactics.<\/p>\n
One of the company\u2019s directors also admitted that the contact numbers had been sourced from second-hand data acquired at a previous employer.<\/p>\n
Andy Curry, head of investigations at the ICO said: \u201cWhen people register with the TPS it is because they want to protect themselves from unwanted marketing calls. TMAC\u2019s actions showed a brazen disregard for privacy laws \u2013 making thousands of intrusive calls each month and failing to identify themselves to the recipients.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are grateful to those who reported these calls to us. Public reporting plays a crucial role in our work, and where we see organisations causing harm through unlawful and predatory direct marketing, we will not hesitate to act.\u201d<\/p>\n
The enforcement action was taken under section 40 of the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) for serious contraventions of regulations 21 and 24 of the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR).<\/p>\n
These regulations require companies to screen calling lists against the TPS, obtain explicit consent before making live marketing calls, clearly identify themselves, and provide contact details.<\/p>\n
The ICO advised businesses to consult its direct marketing guidance to ensure compliance and encouraged consumers to register with the TPS, report nuisance calls online, or raise concerns with Trading Standards or Ofcom where appropriate.<\/p>\n
The investigation involved collaboration between the ICO, National Trading Standards Scams Teams, and Truecall.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A Birmingham company made over 260,000 unsolicited calls to numbers registered on the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) between February and September 2024<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":266702,"featured_media":2100078,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[120902],"coauthors":[127717],"class_list":["post-2109928","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-legal","tag-featured-story","tag-greater-birmingham"],"yoast_head":"\n