That'll learn ya! Data watchdog spanks two Brit phone botherers

Our Vault Ltd fined £70k and Horizon Windows scolded over unsolicited marketing calls

Two nuisance callers were today named and shamed – only one was fined – by the UK's data watchdog for illegal marketing activities.

Our Vault Ltd in Chorley, Lancashire, was hit with a £70,000 penalty by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) for making more than 55,000 unsolicited calls to householders that had registered with the Telephone Preference Service (TPS).

The insurance biz claimed its personal data was verified against the TPS register. However, an ICO probe found this was not the case and no licence was held.

The phone calls were intended to flog financial products of ST&R Ltd, a sister company, but masqueraded as market research.

Our Vault was handed an Enforcement Notice to stop being phone pests, as was another business, Horizon Windows, which was found to have made 104 unsolicited marketing calls to people registered with TPS between January 2016 and January 2017.

"Both of these firms have shown disrespect for the law and people's privacy," said the ICO's head of enforcement, Steve Eckersley.

He said that Our Vault Ltd's actions were "unacceptable" and used one example in which it had called a house 19 times to peddle its products.

"We continue to target the companies and individuals responsible and hold them to account, but we can't crack down on these organisations without the public's help. I'd urge anyone who has been targeted by nuisance calls, emails or texts, to report them to the ICO." ®