Five companies have been fined a total of £435,000 for illegally targeting over 60s with up to half a million ‘unlawful’ marketing calls.
According to the Evening Standard, the firms were ‘deliberately’ choosing to target older people who had signed up to the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) – a register for people who do not wish to receive marketing calls.
Salespeople were attempting to sell insurance for washing machines, kitchen appliances or boiler cover by using pressure tactics to get homeowners over 60 with a landline to impart payment details, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) said.
It is against the law to contact anyone who is registered with the TPS.
Companies Allapplianceservices UK Ltd, Boiler Cover Breakdown Limited, Boiler Breakdown Limited, Repair Plans UK Limited and Utility Guard Limited, were all fined up to £140,000 by the ICO.
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Boiler Breakdown Limited alone made 348,724 calls to people registered with the TPS between January and August 2020.
“The pressure tactics, and sometimes false or misleading statements these companies used were completely unacceptable,” ICO head of investigations Andy Curry said.
“To be made to feel as though you have to hand over your bank details simply to get someone off the phone is nothing short of shameful, and that is why we have taken action against these companies.”
