ICO (UK) - Parkin Beacher Ltd

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ICO (UK) - Parkin Beacher Ltd
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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