Regulator fines firm for 146 million illegal PPI calls

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has fined Carmarthenshire-based firm Your Money Rights £350,000 after it made 146 million illegal calls about payment protection insurance (PPI).

The ICO said people were left feeling “harassed and threatened” by the automated calls from the company, which were made over a four-month period.

The regulator added that Your Money Rights was responsible for the highest volume of automated calls resulting in an ICO fine to date.

Firms can only make automated marketing calls to people if they have their specific consent, which Your Money Rights did not have.

The ICO said the company also broke the rules because it did not include its name and contact details in the recorded message.

Following the ICO’s investigation into the illegal PPI calls, the directors of Your Money Rights are seeking to dissolve the company. The ICO said it is committed to recovering the fine amount and will work with insolvency practitioners and the liquidator if the company becomes insolvent.

ICO head of enforcement Steve Eckersley said: “We’re cracking down on illegal automated calls on behalf of the British public. They are a blight on society that disregards people’s right to have their wish for peace and quiet in their own home respected.

“We know people find calls playing recorded messages particularly intrusive because they are unable to speak to a call agent. Your Money Rights should have known that the law around automated calls is stricter than for other marketing calls.”