A home improvement company has been fined £150,000 for illegally bombarding people on the UK’s ‘do not call’ register with millions of marketing calls.
Poxell Ltd, a company registered in Wood Green, made over 2.6 million unlawful marketing calls between March and July 2022, despite the receivers being registered with the Telephone Preference Service (TPS).
According to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), this resulted in 413 complaints.
It was claimed that the company tried to withhold their identity, and made calls to individuals with dementia and other serious illnesses.
Complaints also stated they had been called repeatedly by a “very aggressive” salesperson.
The ICO’s investigation found that Poxell Ltd had purchased several telephone lines in a bid to avoid detection. The company did not engage with the investigation and continued to make unlawful marketing calls until their account was finally terminated by their communications service provider.
Andy Curry, the ICO head of investigations, said: “People register with the TPS for a clear reason: to stop unwanted marketing contact and protect their privacy.
“Both these companies have not only broken the law by failing to check the ‘do not call’ register, but also caused distress and disruption to those they bombarded with unwanted and unlawful calls.
“These fines should send a clear message that companies cannot use third parties or multiple phone numbers to avoid detection and taking responsibility for illegal calls. We will take decisive action to ensure the public are protected from nuisance marketing.”
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