The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) investigated the men following complaints from consumers, and has put an additional eight companies on notice that they face action, including fines if it is proved they are sending out unwanted marketing texts. The two men under investigation now have 28 days to prove they were not sending out unsolicited marketing messages otherwise the fine will be imposed under the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations.
Legislation is in place to stop landlines and mobile phones from being spammed unless they have granted permission from the account holder to receive them. However, many companies are blatantly ignoring the legislation, which has led to more than 30,000 complaints to the ICO about spam texts in the last six months.
Simon Entwisle, ICO's director of operations, said: "The public have told us that they are increasingly concerned about the illegal marketing texts and calls. These are often made by rogue companies claiming to offer pay-outs for accidents a person has never had or payment protection insurance (PPI) claims that they are not necessarily entitled to.
"While companies can phone people to sell them the latest product or service, the law states that individuals should not receive unsolicited texts or automated marketing calls unless they have given their permission. We know many companies are failing to do this, and two individuals responsible for sending millions of illegal marketing messages are now facing six-figure penalties unless they can prove otherwise.'
Consumers can now register the details of companies that persistently send out unsolicited spam texts or make unsolicited phone calls on the ICO's website, and a new guide is being produced by the ICO and Ofcom to help consumers prevent unwanted texts and calls. In the meantime, the ICO intends to continue its action against companies that spam and impose fines on those shown to be flouting the regulations.
"We are already working to identify other individuals and companies involved in these unlawful practices," said Simon. "While honest mistakes can occasionally be made, we will look to take action against individuals and companies that continue to break the law."
A report by the ICO in July showed that 7,095 complaints were received about unsolicited marketing messages under the Privacy and Electronic Communication Regulations (PECR). This is up 43% from 4,053 complaints in 2010/11.
However despite the crackdown by watchdogs, the leading PPI Claims Company, Missoldppiclaims.info believes it is likely to take some time before the current level of spam marketing messages subsides.
"The trouble is this has proved to be such a lucrative market that it attracts many unscrupulous companies," said a spokesperson for Missoldppiclaims.info. "They can send out tens of thousands of marketing messages at a time, and the second someone responds to one of them, it confirms the account is active. That information is then in turn often sold onto other companies. It's a vicious cycle that is difficult to break."
Source:
http://computernewsarticles.com/computer_articles/2012/11/crackdown-on-spam-ppi-texts-as-two-men-face-gbp250k-fine-says-ppi-claim-company-missoldppiclaimsinfo-312680.htm
