The ICO has this month fined two marketing companies a total of £220,000 for contacting nearly 600,000 people on the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) list. It is against the law to contact people on the TPS for marketing purposes and the ICO has fined these two companies accordingly.

Some of the respondents of the ICO’s call for evidence were very angry:

“Didn’t get any other details but this number calls all the time, several times a day and seven days a week and it’s driving me mad.”

“I was angry and disturbed that they had obtained my number and ignored the fact that we’re registered with the TPS.”

The ICO’s statement was clear on the rule-breaking:

“These fines should set alarm bells ringing and deter marketing companies across all sectors that are contacting people without their consent. It is a company’s responsibility to make sure that it has valid consent to make these calls.

“The TPS is there for a reason – to protect people’s privacy and ensure that marketing companies obey the law. Marketing companies failing to take the basic step of checking TPS can expect robust enforcement.”