January 22, 2024 at 06:09AM
LADH Limited, a financial services company, was fined £50,000 by the UK’s data regulator for illegally sending over 31,000 spam text messages without consent. The company failed to offer recipients the chance to opt out, and claimed to have received consent from a third party without written confirmation. The ICO is actively pursuing enforcement against unsolicited marketing messages.
After reviewing the meeting notes, the key takeaways are:
1. LADH Limited, a financial services company, was fined £50,000 by the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office for sending over 31,000 unauthorized spam text messages without valid consent.
2. The company did not offer recipients the opportunity to opt out of receiving the messages, which violates the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations.
3. LADH Limited claimed to have received verbal assurance from a third party regarding consent but did not have written confirmation.
4. The ICO is actively enforcing penalties for unsolicited marketing messages and is holding organizations accountable for ensuring valid consent from recipients.
5. LADH Limited’s potential settlement of the penalty by February 12 could result in a discount of a fifth of the fine.
6. Despite the fines imposed, the collection of financial penalties by the ICO remains a challenge, with only 26% of the fines issued in 2022 being collected.
7. Directors of small companies behind nuisance callers are now personally responsible for fines, but the appeals process and debt recovery are slow.
Overall, the meeting notes highlight the enforcement actions taken by the ICO against unsolicited marketing activities and the challenges in collecting the imposed fines.