Starting next year, companies including payment protection insurance (PPI) providers and their bosses may be slapped with combined fines of up to £1 million for making nuisance calls.
The government announced on Sunday that the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations legislation will be amended to make company directors liable for unlawful sales badgering.
Under the new measure, which will come into force from Spring 2017, company bosses who will violate regulations can each face fines of up to £500,000, on top of the penalties that will be meted out to their firms.
The government noted that prior to the proposed reform, only businesses were liable for fines. Many of the companies had also tried to dodge nuisance call penalties by declaring bankruptcy – only to open up again under a different name.
Minister of state for digital and culture Matt Hancock said nuisance callers cause “significant distress to elderly and vulnerable people.”
“We have been clear that we will not stand for this continued harassment, and this latest amendment to the law will strike another blow to those businesses and company bosses responsible,” Hancock said in a statement.
In an article for
The Sun over the weekend, Hancock also issued a stern warning: “We’re sending out a stark message to those bosses – We’ve got your number and we’re coming to get you.”
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has issued penalties totalling almost £3.7 million to companies behind nuisance marketing. So far this year, the agency has fined firms responsible for more than 70 million calls and nearly 8 million spam text messages.
According to reports by
The Independent and
The Sun, some of the most common nuisance calls received by customers relate to PPI, home improvements and services offered by law firms that encourage people to make accident claims.
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Shame list: Insurance firms with most complaints
PPI tops list of complaints about financial products
