Firms which deluge consumers with nuisance texts and cold calls promising to write off debts, pursue compensation and sell anything from a mobile phone to double glazing face a tough new crackdown.
The Information Commissioner, the watchdog responsible for guarding our personal information, has been granted new powers to hunt down these rogue firms and fine them up to £500,000.
Crucially, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is now able to force telecoms and internet providers to reveal the details of these firms.
Until now, the ICO says, they have shielded this information, allowing these secretive firms to go largely unpunished. Just 19 have been caught and penalised over the past five years.
Citizens Advice estimates a staggering 840 million unsolicited phone calls — 38 for every home — were made in 2009 by firms offering to manage our debts.
According to research from comparison website uSwitch, Britain’s ‘Spamdemic’ — the deluge of unsolicited spam messages — is getting worse, with an estimated 111 million unwanted emails and text messages sent every day.
The National Fraud Authority says British consumers lost £3.5 billion last year to ‘mass marketing scams’, kicked off by emails, texts and letters sent by fraudsters. Common frauds include fake lotteries and rogue firms selling non-existent goods.
Unsolicited phone calls, texts and emails are forbidden under Privacy and Electronic Communication Regulations.
But a spokesman from the ICO says: ‘Until now, we have been powerless to track down these firms, as telecoms providers refuse to hand over the details. Now we will be able to actively pursue those behind these texts and calls.’
He adds: ‘Telecoms firms have split loyalties, as they want to protect their customers, but they make money from the people making these calls.’
BT says it works with the ICO and Ofcom to reduce nuisance calls. A spokesman says: ‘We are hoping these new powers, used effectively, will lead to quicker action being taken to identify and stop these companies making unwanted calls.’
The Information Commissioner received more than 6,600 complaints about cold calling, text messages and automated messages last year, making them the second biggest source of complaints.
Most complaints come from people who have been targeted despite trying to stop unwanted calls by signing up to the Telephone Preference Service, which is supposed to block marketing calls.
Marc Gander, from the Consumer Action Group, says: ‘This is a very nasty business. The telecoms companies seem to forget that the people receiving these calls are their customers and they have a legal and moral duty to protect them.’
Gillian Guy, chief executive of Citizens Advice (England & Wales), says: ‘There is not enough protection for consumers from unsolicited marketing. Something needs to be done to tackle the problem.’
A main target for the Information Commissioner will be those who send messages to millions of random phone numbers generated by a computer. These are, in effect, fishing expeditions designed to reel in the personal details of members of the public.
Those who reply will have their information illegally sold to third parties which pay up to £1,000 for leads.
One current text tells the recipient they are entitled to up to £3,750 for the accident they have had. Those who reply soon get a call from a personal injury legal firm, which will have bought the information.
This type of message generates more than one in ten personal injury claims, says RBS Insurance, helping to drive motor insurance premiums to record levels.
For every pound motorists pay in premiums, 10p ends up in the pockets of these firms.
Claims handlers have also been bombarding people who may have been mis-sold payment protection insurance alongside a loan or credit card with texts and cold calls.
Those most at risk are the elderly and vulnerable.
In March, Citizens Advice lodged a ‘super complaint’ with the Office of Fair Trading against firms offering short-term, high-interest loans and ‘easy-repayment plans’ to those with debt problems.
It is one of a few consumer groups that can make such complaints, which forces the OFT to investigate and respond.
Citizens Advice wants a ban on cold calls from firms offering these loans, as well as a ban on upfront fees. The OFT will respond to the complaint on July 1.
But a spokesman for TalkTalk says: ‘To our knowledge we have never been asked for this information by the ICO.’
Virgin Mobile says: ‘We fully co-operate with the ICO.’
Case study
Sally Boon, 64, lost £4,800 after falling for the slick sales pitch of cold callers. Her ordeal started in 2007 when her husband died and she couldn’t afford fees on her timeshare apartments in Rutland Water and Tenerife.
She was duped into handing over £1,200 in upfront fees to Golden Sands Marketing, which cold called her and said it could find a buyer for her timeshares.
It emerged later that she’d been misled.
A 55-year-old man from Banbury linked to Golden Sands Marketing was arrested by Thames Valley Police last September and is currently on bail. The firm, which is believed by police to have links in Spain, is still under investigation.
PC Suzanne Cubitt, from Banbury police station, which has been contacted by 300 victims around the UK, says: ‘Golden Sands Marketing is continuing to operate and dupe people into believing a buyer has been lined up for their timeshares.’
Mrs Boon’s ordeal continued when she received a cold call in January — this time from Customer Mediation Services. It told her she had been the victim of a timeshare re-sale scam and that it could get the money back for her.
She handed over £3,600 in fees, but has not been able to contact the firm since Easter. The firm is being investigated by the Ministry of Justice and is no longer authorised to handle claims.
Mrs Boon, from East Anglia, says: ‘This has made me sick with worry. I feel like I’ve been so gullible, but these people are so convincing. I wouldn’t have fallen for it if my husband had been alive.’
What you can do to protect yourself
- Sign up to the free Telephone Preference Service. This will block unwanted calls from legitimate firms. Call 0845 070 0707 or go to www.tpsonline.org.uk. Firms that still call you are breaking the law. Report them to the TPS.
- Protect your bank details. Never give any personal information to firms which cold call you. This information could be sold on and you will find yourself on other firms’ hit lists.
- Ignore spam text messages. Never respond to these messages. If you do, the firm at the other end will know you are a ‘live’ customer.
- Read the small print. Whenever buying goods or services you will often be asked in the small print if you are happy for your information to be passed to third parties. Firms often have separate boxes for companies inside and outside of their group with the questions set up so that you need to tick one and leave the other blank to avoid having your details sold. Source http://www.dailymail.co.uk/
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