Dr Telemarketing Ltd – €117,000 Fine (United Kingdom, 2024)

DRT, formerly known as 'The Telemarketing Company Limited' until December 23, 2020, is a telemarketing firm that engaged in unsolicited direct marketing practices. Between February 11, 2021, and March 22, 2022, the company utilised public telecommunication services to make at least 80,240 unwanted calls to individuals registered with the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) for marketing purposes. These calls were related to a product called 'Lotto Express.' The data employed for making these calls originated from third-party sources and did not comply with the requirements set forth in Regulation 21 of the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulation (PECR). Throughout the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) investigation, DRT's responses were inconsistent and lacked transparency. Some responses were signed off as "Dr Telemarketing" instead of providing the name of the correspondent, which further contributed to the lack of clarity. Despite repeated attempts by the ICO to communicate with the company, DRT ceased engaging with the investigation and failed to provide a satisfactory explanation for the Lotto Express calls. Moreover, according to the ICO's findings, the calls made by DRT targeted vulnerable individuals with the intent of maximising profits, exacerbating the severity of the contravention. The Commissioner finds that the controller contravened Regulation 21 of PECR. In response to the unsolicited direct marketing practices employed by the controller, the ICO has issued a fine of £100,000. Additionally, an enforcement notice has been served, requiring the controller to immediately cease making calls to subscribers who have registered with the TPS or have previously objected to receiving marketing calls. According to the Commissioner, for the purposes of Regulation 21, these unsolicited direct marketing calls were made to subscribers who had registered with the TPS at least 28 days prior to receiving the calls, and who had not provided valid notif