ICO (UK) - DialADeal Scotland Ltd

From GDPRhub
Revision as of 15:01, 16 September 2021 by FA (talk | contribs)
(diff) ← Older revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)
ICO (UK) - DialADeal Scotland Ltd
LogoUK.png
Authority: ICO (UK)
Jurisdiction: United Kingdom
Relevant Law: Article 4(11) GDPR
Regulation 21 of the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003
Regulation 24 of the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003
Type: Investigation
Outcome: Violation Found
Started:
Decided: 24.08.2021
Published: 05.09.2021
Fine: 150,000 GBP
Parties: DialADeal Scotland Ltd
National Case Number/Name: DialADeal Scotland 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 €176,000 (£150,000) for making unsolicited direct marketing calls to subscribers who had not provided valid consent and previously notified the DPA that they do not want to received such calls.

English Summary

Facts

DialADeal Scotland Ltd is an organisation listed as a "business and domestic software development" company on the Companies House records.

It used a 'spoofed' number to make a total of 1,376,255 direct marketing calls from August 2019 to March 2020, which led to the ICO receiving 213 complaints. One third of the recipients of these calls were made to users registered with the TPS, a register of numbers allocated to subscribers who have notified the ICO that they do not wish to receive unsolicited calls for direct marketing purposes. The calls related to non-existent "Green Deal" government energy saving schemes.

In response to an investigation letter sent to the home address of one of the company's two directors, he sent an email stating it did not engage in any of such activities. The ICO was not convinced.

Holding

The Commissioner held that DialADeal Scotland Ltd contravened Regulations 21 and 24 of the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003. The recipients of the direct marketing calls it made were registered with the TPS and had not given their prior consent to receive them.

The infringement was serious because the company actively took steps to prevent recipients from contacting it, failed to identify itself on the calls and provided false generic company names. It was also deliberate or negligent because the direct marketing calls were made about government schemes that did not exist and the ICO received a high number of complaints regarding them.

As a result, the ICO issued a fine of €176,000 (£150,000).

Comment

Share your comments here!

Further Resources

Share blogs or news articles here!

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/
                
                
                        
                            DialADeal Scotland Ltd MPN
                        
                
        
    
                DialADeal Scotland Ltd
            
        
    
        
        
            
                        Date
                            05 September 2021
                        Type
                            Monetary penalties
                        Sector
                            Retail and manufacture
            
        
    

    
        
            

        

                
            The ICO has fined DialADeal Scotland Ltd £150 000 for making unsolicited direct marketing calls to subscribers who were registered with the TPS and who had not provided valid consent.

        

        Further Reading
            
                
                    
                        DialADeal Scotland Ltd monetary penalty notice
                            
                                    Action we've taken
                                    PDF (7.36MB)
                            
                        
                    
                
        

        
    

    
    
        
            
    
        
                
                        Action we've taken/
                
                
                        Enforcement/
                
                
                        
                            DialADeal Scotland Ltd MPN
                        
                
        
    
                DialADeal Scotland Ltd
            
        
    
        
        
            
                        Date
                            05 September 2021
                        Type
                            Monetary penalties
                        Sector
                            Retail and manufacture
            
        
    

    
        
            

        

                
            The ICO has fined DialADeal Scotland Ltd £150 000 for making unsolicited direct marketing calls to subscribers who were registered with the TPS and who had not provided valid consent.

        

        Further Reading
            
                
                    
                        DialADeal Scotland Ltd monetary penalty notice
                            
                                    Action we've taken
                                    PDF (7.36MB)
                            
                        
                    
                
        

        
    
EnglishCymraegEnglishCymraeg