From today, company directors whose firms plague people
with unsolicited nuisance calls will be personally liable if
their company breaks the law and can be fined up to half a
million pounds.
New legislation comes into force which means the UK data
protection watchdog, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO),
can now hold company bosses directly responsible. Previously some
had liquidated their firms to avoid big penalties.
Minister for Digital said:
“There is now no hiding place for the small minority of
rogue directors who have previously tried to escape justice. We
are determined to stamp this menace out and this new law is the
latest in a series of measures to rid society of the plague of
nuisance calls.”
Estimates by Ofcom show British consumers were bombarded
with 3.9 billion nuisance phone calls and texts last year.
Previously it was only the businesses themselves that were liable
for fines of up to £500,000 rather than individuals. Some
directors escaped paying by declaring bankruptcy only to open up
again under a different name. Now the ICO can hold company
directors directly responsible with further fines of up to half a
million pounds.
Andy Curry, who heads up the nuisance call enforcement team
at the Information Commissioner’s Office, said:
“We welcome this amendment to the law which will increase
the tools we have to protect the public. It will mean we can
recover the fine more easily and also make it much harder for
unscrupulous operators to set up in business again.”
This new legislation is the latest in a long line of
measures designed to put an end to unwanted calls and texts.
Complaints to the ICO and Ofcom about nuisance calls have fallen
for the second year in a row suggesting the action taken is
working.
The Government has already:
-
Introduced a measure in the Digital Economy Act 2017 to
make it a requirement for the Information Commissioner to
issue a statutory code of practice on direct
marketing;
-
Amended the Privacy and Electronic Communications
Regulations (PECR) to require all direct marketing callers to
provide Caller Line Identification;
-
Lowered the legal threshold at which the ICO may impose
a monetary penalty on organisations breaching PECR;
-
Made it easier for the ICO to more effectively share
information with Ofcom in relation to nuisance calls through
an amendment to the Communications Act 2003;
-
Given the ICO the power to issue monetary penalty
notices up to £500,000 for serious breaches of PECR;
-
Introduced a ban on cold calling in relation to claims
management services through the Financial Claims and Guidance
Act 2018, except where the receiver has consented to such
calls being made to them. The 2018 Act also includes powers
to ban cold calls from pension providers; and
-
Given £500,000 to Trading Standards to help install
call blocking devices installed in the homes of vulnerable
people.
Further Information:
-
ICO will consider the level of fine based on evidence-
(whether it applies to company, director or both).
-
If a firm has multiple directors, each could be liable
for a fine.
-
In 2016/17, the Information Commissioner issued 23
companies with more than £1.9million of fines for nuisance
marketing.
