Pension scheme cold caller fined £130,000 by UK data watchdog
- Reference: 1599746712
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/09/10/pension_scheme_cold_caller_fined/
- Source link:
Under a change to the Private and Electronics Communications Regulation (PECR) in 2019, a firm can only make live calls to folks about work or a personal pension scheme if they are authorised to do so by the Financial Conduct Authority, or it is the trustee or manager of such a pension.
In either case, consent of the recipient must be given or a prior relationship with the caller must exist. Andy Curry, head of investigations at the data regulator, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), said in a statement:
“Unwanted pension calls can cause real distress and even significant financial hardship to often vulnerable people, who can end up losing their hard-earned pension pot to scammers.
“This company clearly flouted the law when they should have known better. Businesses making direct marketing calls are responsible for understanding their responsibilities under the legislation, ignorance is no excuse,” he added.
Say GDP-aaaR: UK's Information Commissioner pours £275k fine into London pharmacy's teaspoon [1]READ MORE
A [2]probe by the ICO [PDF] found CPS Advisory made 106,987 calls to people without the right to do so between 11 January 2019 and 30 April in the same year. CPS Advisory was neither a trustee nor a manager of a pensions scheme and was not authorised by the FCA.
The evidence CPS Advisory put forward to defend itself did not convince the ICO that valid consent has been granted, and so it deemed the call as a “significant intrusion into the privacy the recipients of such calls.”
The alteration to PECR - covering marketing calls, phone and texts - in January last year was intended to stop people falling fouls of scams that could lose them their retirement fund.
Businesses that flout those regulations can be fined up to £500,000 by the ICO.
CPS Advisory filed [3]abbreviated accounts [PDF] for the year to March 2019 showing negative assets of £58,882. ®
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[1] https://www.theregister.com/2019/12/23/rain_falls_on_london_pharmacy_stung_by_icos_first_fine_under_gdpr/
[2] https://ico.org.uk/media/action-weve-taken/mpns/2618232/cps-advisory-limited-mpn.pdf
[3] https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/10683273/filing-history/MzIxNDk0ODUxOWFkaXF6a2N4/document?format=pdf&download=0
[4] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: It's a con
The ICO can, and do, pass the fine directly to the Directors if the company folds. They'll also potentially be banned from being directors for, usually, 7 years.
Re: It's a con
The ICO can also apply for an administrator to be assigned to take over the company, prior to it going into liquidation, once this happens, the directors are forbidden from involvement in any other company until the outcome, which usually results in the directors being banned from running a company for xxx years.
Where the ICO went wrong in the first year, was that they fined companies, and then did nothing until the company either paid or went bust. Now they intervene before that happens.
Re: It's a con
It's all very well voting down my "it's a con" post and saying they could fine the directors and they could ban the directors... but the ICO didn't. They only fined the limited company. This despite one of the directors being done for something similar before.
ICOs report here:
https://ico.org.uk/media/action-weve-taken/mpns/2618232/cps-advisory-limited-mpn.pdf
fined the company £130,000
why not £1.3M. For knowingly breaking the law? So that they can recover quickly and make sure they don't get caught doing the same again? :(
Doesn't seem enough, if they scam 13 pensioners at 10K each, they have covered the fine. How many cold calls again?
Does not seem enough, if they scan 13 pensioners at 10K each they have covered the fine.
so sad :(...
No jail time, no arrest record, just rip people off, get caught, pay the fee (fine) to the higher up organization and move on.
People get the short stick while scammers and government get their money. Situation Normal All F'd Up.
Who watches the watchmen?
Re: so sad :(...
So what's new? As long as a company pays the fine to the state, the problem is solved. The people? Fck them, they are not important.
Cynical? Moi?
"This company clearly flouted the law when they should have known better"
This company clearly flouted the law while they thought they could get away with it.
FTFY
It's a con
The Watchdog is useless.
The article stated:
"CPS Advisory filed abbreviated accounts [PDF] for the year to March 2019 showing negative assets of £58,882"
The business will fold, the directors -untouched by the fine- will set up another company and carry on.