UK homes in on nuisance callers

Directors of companies that bombard people in Britain with unsolicited nuisance phone calls could face fines of up to half a million pounds ($666,000) under new proposals being considered by the government.

The broadcasting and communications regulatory body Ofcom found that last year, British consumers were subjected to 3.9 billion nuisance calls and texts. Previously, the companies themselves could face fines of up to 500,000 pounds but to avoid paying the penalty, some directors would declare bankruptcy — only to then resume trading under a different name.

Figures released by the United Kingdom’s data protection watchdog show that since 2010, this bankruptcy loophole means that it has managed to recover just 54 percent of the 17.8 million pounds in fines that it has issued. But the proposed new regulations mean directors could be held personally liable.

“Nuisance calls are a blight on society and we are determined to stamp them out,” said Minister for Digital and the Creative Industries Margot James.

“For too long a minority of company directors have escaped justice by liquidating their firms and opening up again under a name,” James said.

The consultation on the proposed new regulations will run until August. Ideas include the level of any fine imposed being based on evidence — whether it should apply to a company, a director or both — and also that where companies have multiple directors, they could each be liable.

Other suggestions include the Information Commissioner introducing statutory guidelines for a code of practice for direct marketing organizations.

Caller identification different could become a requirement for all direct marketing calls, and the legal threshold for the imposition of financial punishment could change.

Trading standards organizations could also be given funding to install call blocking technology for those who are deemed to be particularly vulnerable to nuisance calls.

The news comes just days after updated European laws covering General Data Protection Regulation came into force, covering digital communications for all European Union countries, including the UK.