ICO (UK) - Parkin Beacher Ltd
| ICO (UK) - Parkin Beacher Ltd | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Authority: | ICO (UK) |
| Jurisdiction: | United Kingdom |
| Relevant Law: | Article 4(11) GDPR Regulation 21B of the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 |
| Type: | Investigation |
| Outcome: | Violation Found |
| Started: | |
| Decided: | 16.08.2021 |
| Published: | 19.08.2021 |
| Fine: | 50,000 GBP |
| Parties: | Parkin Beacher Ltd |
| National Case Number/Name: | Parkin Beacher Ltd |
| European Case Law Identifier: | n/a |
| Appeal: | Unknown |
| Original Language(s): | English |
| Original Source: | ico.org.uk (in EN) |
| Initial Contributor: | Frederick Antonovics |
The UK DPA fined a direct marketing company approximately €58,600 (£50,000) for making illegal marketing calls to people about their pensions.
English Summary
Facts
Parkin Beacher Ltd is a direct marketing company that operates under the trading name "Your Pension Options" and "Pension Choice".
Between February and September 2019, the ICO received a number of complaints from individuals who were called by the same phone number. The callers asked about them about their pensions using their first name. The company had obtained the data necessary for these calls from a third-party data supplier, who in turn obtained it from various sites. Users had agreed to these sites' Privacy Policies' which specified their information would be passed on for marketing purposes, but were not given the opportunity to select which organisations to receive marketing material from.
In the time frame assessed by the ICO, Parkin Beacher Ltd made 96,817 phone calls using this data.
Holding
The ICO held that Parkin Beacher Ltd contravened regulation 21B of the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003, which restricts calls made for the purposes of direct marketing related to pension schemes. The company was not considered an "authorised person" who can legally make such calls.
The contravention was held to be "serious" due to the significant intrusion into the privacy of the recipients of these calls. It was also "deliberate" in light of the lack of due diligence carried out by the company with regards to the data it used. The ICO considered a range of aggravating features, such as the lack of cooperation on the part of the company, and issued a fine of £50,000.
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English Machine Translation of the Decision
The decision below is a machine translation of the English original. Please refer to the English original for more details.
Action we've taken/
Enforcement/
Parkin Beacher Ltd EN
Parkin Beacher Ltd
Date
19 August 2021
Type
Enforcement notices
Sector
Marketing
The ICO has fined Halifax-based company Parkin Beacher Ltd (PBL) £50,000 for making illegal marketing calls to people about their pensions.
The business, which operates under the trading name ‘Your Pension Options’, called people about their pensions when they were not authorised to do so. This is against the law.
The ICO has also issued PBL with an Enforcement Notice ordering them to stop making further calls.
Further Reading
Parkin Beacher Ltd enforcement notice
Action we've taken
PDF (109.64K)
Information Commissioner’s Office fines company for illegal pensions calls
About the ICO
Action we've taken/
Enforcement/
Parkin Beacher Ltd EN
Parkin Beacher Ltd
Date
19 August 2021
Type
Enforcement notices
Sector
Marketing
The ICO has fined Halifax-based company Parkin Beacher Ltd (PBL) £50,000 for making illegal marketing calls to people about their pensions.
The business, which operates under the trading name ‘Your Pension Options’, called people about their pensions when they were not authorised to do so. This is against the law.
The ICO has also issued PBL with an Enforcement Notice ordering them to stop making further calls.
Further Reading
Parkin Beacher Ltd enforcement notice
Action we've taken
PDF (109.64K)
Information Commissioner’s Office fines company for illegal pensions calls
About the ICO
EnglishCymraegEnglishCymraeg
