Marketing company Keurboom slammed with record fine for making almost 100 million nuisance calls

The ICO said that some people had received repeat calls, sometimes on the same day and during unsociable hours. The company hid its identity, which made it harder for people to complain

The Bedfordshire-based company has since been placed in voluntary liquidation but the ICO said that it is committed to recovering the fine (Rex)

A marketing company has been slammed with a record £400,000 fine for making close to 100 million nuisance calls.

The Information Commissioner’s Office said late Wednesday that it had issued Keurboom Communications with the fine after more than 1,000 people complained about having received recorded, or automated, calls over an 18-month period, relating to a whole slew of topics, including road traffic accident claims and PPI compensation.

The ICO said that some people had received repeat calls, sometimes on the same day and during unsociable hours. The company hid its identity, which made it harder for people to complain.

Keurboom did not have consent to make the automated marketing calls so was in breach of the law.

“Keurboom showed scant regard for the rules, causing upset and distress to people unfortunate enough to be on the receiving end of one its 100 million calls,” said Steve Eckerlsey, head of enforcement at the ICO.

“The unprecedented scale of its campaign and Keurboom’s failure to co-operate with our investigation has resulted in the largest fine issued by the Information Commissioner for nuisance calls.”

The ICO said that, during the investigation, it had issued seven information notices ordering Keurboom to provide information to the regulator.

“When it failed to comply, Keurboom Communications Ltd and its director, Gregory Rudd, were prosecuted and fined at Luton Magistrates’ Court in April 2016,” the ICO said.

The Bedfordshire-based company has since been placed in voluntary liquidation but the ICO said that it is committed to recovering the fine.

The ICO’s previous record nuisance call fine was issued in February last year when Brighton-based Prodial was forced to pay £350,000 for making 46 million nuisance calls.

TalkTalk was also fined £400,000 in September 2016 under the Data Protection Act, for failing to prevent an attack on its systems.

Those security failings led to the theft of personal data of almost 157,000 customers.