ICO - Monetary penalty Valca Vehicle Ltd
ICO - Monetary penalty Valca Vehicle Ltd | |
---|---|
Authority: | ICO (UK) |
Jurisdiction: | United Kingdom |
Relevant Law: | Article 6(1)(a) GDPR Article 7(1) GDPR Section 23 Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 Section 122(5) Data Protection Act 2018s Regulations 2003 |
Type: | Complaint |
Outcome: | Upheld |
Started: | |
Decided: | 18.02.2021 |
Published: | |
Fine: | 80000 GBP |
Parties: | Valca Vehicle and Life Cover Agency Limited |
National Case Number/Name: | Monetary penalty Valca Vehicle Ltd |
European Case Law Identifier: | n/a |
Appeal: | Unknown |
Original Language(s): | English |
Original Source: | ICO (UK) (in EN) |
Initial Contributor: | Hrvoje Novacic |
The ICO (International Commissioner's Officer) has fined the Valca Vehicle Ltd 80,000 GBP (€92,718) for sending more than 95,000 nuisance, marketing messages during the pandemic from June to July 2020 without the recipients’ permission.
English Summary
Facts
Valca Vehicle Ltd has failed to provide any evidence of valid consent for any of the 95,004 unsolicited direct marketing messages received by subscribers.
Dispute
In the ICO's view, is a clear attempt to capitalise on, and profiteer from, the national health crisis. Examples of the messages sent includes: "*firstname* Affected by Covid? Struggling with finances? lost job /furloughed? Were here to help! Gvnmnt backed support see if you qualify http://www.debtquity.org"
Holding
Simple reliance on assurances of indirect consent alone without undertaking proper due diligence is not acceptable. Consent will not be valid where an individual is presented with a long, seemingly exhaustive list of general categories of organisations.
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