PPI firm is fined for 146million cold calls

A COMPANY that made a record 146 million automated PPI calls in four months has been fined £350,000 by the privacy watchdog.

A 29-year-old BMW owner was the listed director of Your Money Rights Ltd between March and July last year, when The Information Commissioner’s Office said it had made the nuisance calls.

On his Facebook page last summer Richard Jones advertised for call centre staff and posted about modifications to his BMW sports car.

In one post written in July he said: “Friday means one thing … it’s still not the weekend, so let’s kick some ass and make money.”

When contacted by The Daily Telegraph about the company’s fine, he said he did not want to comment and added: “You’ll have to speak to the person who’s got it now.”

Mr Jones resigned in April, when the company was taken over by Douglas Albury. It is in the process of being dissolved.

Mr Albury said he had been brought in only to wind the company down, had not been involved with its activities and did not know who previously ran it.

The ICO said people felt “harassed and threatened” by the automated calls.

Complaints received by the privacy watchdog included one who said calls came twice a day. “It drives me insane,” he said. “I have a sick relative I help care for so I have to answer the phone.”

Another said: “I feel threatened by these unsolicited and frequent nuisance calls and am concerned that if I follow one of the options I will be drawn into a scam.”

Following a planned law change, firms making nuisance calls would no longer be able to go out of business “to try to duck an ICO fine”, Steve Eckersley, ICO head of enforcement, said.