Last month, the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) issued a substantial fine of £120,000, to WerepairUK Ltd (Werepair) and Service Box Group Limited (Service Box), appliance repair companies, as a result of predatory marketing campaigns. “These fines bring the total penalties as part of this latest wave of action against predatory marketing to £1.57 million”, reflecting the ICO’s ongoing determination to ensure “those responsible for harmful actions are held accountable”.  

Background

Leveraging intelligence from the National Trading Standards, the ICO uncovered that the calls were made to individuals registered on the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) marking a direct violation of privacy. In several instances, the intrusion went beyond mere annoyance, causing “significant distress” to those affected. Some victims reported becoming “afraid of answering the phone after repeated calls” where aggressive sales tactics were employed pressuring them into purchasing warranties for white goods. Disturbingly, there was clear evidence that both companies specifically targeted vulnerable individuals, including the elderly and those living with dementia. 

One example included Mrs Tibbles, who revealed the troubling experience of her mother aged 90 and battling dementia. Despite being registered on the TPS, her mother experienced a relentless barrage of cold calls from various companies, which left her feeling confused and forced into purchasing multiple warranties for household items. Mrs Tibbles noticed several unexplained withdrawals from her mother’s bank account, which led her to conduct hours of detective work investigating the identity of the companies and the nature of the suspicious charges. Mrs Tibbles managed to successfully navigate the convoluted refund process to reclaim her mother’s money. However, the experience made her mother feel “afraid of answering the phone” leaving her no choice but to purchase a call blocker that allowed her to remotely accept or decline calls that were made to her mother.

Following the violations, Werepair received an £80,000 penalty for making 42,688 unsolicited calls, while Service Box was fined £40,000 for 5,361 for similar breaches. 

What the companies say

In response to the ICO’s findings, Service Box immediately terminated services from third party providers responsible for the company’s sales and marketing operations. The company also enhanced due diligence processes to ensure “stricter compliance measures and ongoing monitoring” to prevent any direct marketing violations.

This approach is in stark contrast to Werepair who have decided to appeal the ICO’s enforcement action. 

Takeaways

The above cases are a clear indication of the importance to comply with the marketing regulations. It is encouraged for organisations to ensure that: 

  • Customers provide clear consent to receive unsolicited marketing communications. 
  • Customers are informed of the purpose, nature and reason of a call. 
  • The process of withdrawing consent to marketing communications is made available at any stage in an easy and accessible manner.

The ICO have also encouraged the public to take “proactive steps to safeguard” individuals from predatory marketing campaigns by: 

  • “Looking out for rogue direct debits being paid for unknown reasons, and make sure individuals have not signed up for services they may not be aware of.
  • Ensuring individuals are registered for the TPS, which provides a free and easy way to opt out of unwanted marketing calls.”
  • Reporting incidents to the ICO, without delay, where individuals are receiving unsolicited marketing calls despite being registered on the TPS. 

For more information on direct marketing fines issued by the ICO in 2024 see our article here.