Nuisance call blocking firms fined £170,000 ... for making nuisance calls

The Information Commissioner's Office has raised a tidy £250,000 this week with two more fines for companies flogging nuisance call-blocking services by, yep, you guessed it, making nuisance calls, after receiving over 1,000 complaints.

Poole-based Nuisance Call Blocked Ltd received a fine of £90,000, while Telecom Protection Service Ltd, from Bournemouth, has been hit with an £80,000 fine.

The ICO found both companies "to be making unsolicited marketing calls to people registered on the official Telephone Preference Service while trying to sell products and services to block the type of cold calls they were making".

The fines come after the ICO hit a PPI claims firm with an £80,000 fine on Monday for sending over 1.3 million spam text messages, taking the week's total uptake to £250,000.

Stephen Eckersley, the ICO's Head of Enforcement, said: "These calls have a real impact on people’s lives and that’s why we do what we do. Complainants told us that callers tried to obtain money by deception and the calls were misleading and a scam. This action should send out a clear message to other businesses that we will act to stop this behaviour."

An enforcement notice has been issued by the ICO to the two companies, demanding they stop demanding consumers provide them with money over the phone to help them stop nuisance callers who are demanding consumers provide them with money over the phone. ®