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Imposing fines of up to £500,000 on the companies behind cold calls and nuisance text messages is to become easier under changes to the law being made by the government.
The move follows tens of thousands of complaints about cold calling.
Currently, firms can only be punished if the Information Commissioner can prove a call caused "substantial damage or substantial distress".
But from 6 April, that legal requirement is to be removed.
More than 175,000 complaints were made to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) last year about nuisance calls and text messages.
'Spammers' licence'The government says the number of complaints has risen in the past decade and the issue is particularly acute for the elderly and housebound as such calls can cause distress and anxiety.
In a speech earlier this month, Information Commissioner Christopher Graham described the current law as "a licence for spammers and scammers" and appealed for more powers.
How to deal with cold callersDo:
Don't:
The ICO can take action against companies who flout rules on direct marketing, and says it has issued penalties totalling £815,000 to nine firms since January 2012.
But it has been powerless to target other firms behind a large number of unsolicited calls or texts.
It had tried to argue that companies which make a large number of calls could breach the regulations because of the "cumulative effect" of their actions.
But a tribunal upheld an appeal against a £300,000 fine imposed on Manchester-based Tetrus Telecoms after ruling its high volume of text messages about PPI and accident claims did not meet the legal threshold of causing "substantial damage or substantial distress".
Following a six-week public consultation, that threshold is to be removed, according to digital economy minister Ed Vaizey.
He told BBC Breakfast: "At the moment if the Information Commissioner goes after a company, he's got to show the company has caused you - the consumer at home - serious distress, serious harm.
"It's a very high test to pass which is why there have only been nine prosecutions, which is why we want to lower that test."
He said it was "important to recognise" the UK has a "legitimate direct marketing industry... where businesses calling consumers can sometimes bring some benefit" and the ICO "wants after the cowboys".
It will now be up to the ICO to assess when a serious contravention has taken place.
More and comments on the link
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-31616523
The move follows tens of thousands of complaints about cold calling.
Currently, firms can only be punished if the Information Commissioner can prove a call caused "substantial damage or substantial distress".
But from 6 April, that legal requirement is to be removed.
More than 175,000 complaints were made to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) last year about nuisance calls and text messages.
'Spammers' licence'The government says the number of complaints has risen in the past decade and the issue is particularly acute for the elderly and housebound as such calls can cause distress and anxiety.
In a speech earlier this month, Information Commissioner Christopher Graham described the current law as "a licence for spammers and scammers" and appealed for more powers.
How to deal with cold callersDo:
- Ask cold callers to remove your information from their records
- Find out caller's number from a landline by dialling 1471 after the call
- Check with your phone company if you can be made ex-directory
Don't:
- Give away personal or financial information, even if callers claim to be from a company you know
- Lose your temper. Be firm and hang up if the caller refuses to go away
- Call back phone numbers left on your voicemail, or reply to text messages you don't recognise
The ICO can take action against companies who flout rules on direct marketing, and says it has issued penalties totalling £815,000 to nine firms since January 2012.
But it has been powerless to target other firms behind a large number of unsolicited calls or texts.
It had tried to argue that companies which make a large number of calls could breach the regulations because of the "cumulative effect" of their actions.
But a tribunal upheld an appeal against a £300,000 fine imposed on Manchester-based Tetrus Telecoms after ruling its high volume of text messages about PPI and accident claims did not meet the legal threshold of causing "substantial damage or substantial distress".
Following a six-week public consultation, that threshold is to be removed, according to digital economy minister Ed Vaizey.
He told BBC Breakfast: "At the moment if the Information Commissioner goes after a company, he's got to show the company has caused you - the consumer at home - serious distress, serious harm.
"It's a very high test to pass which is why there have only been nine prosecutions, which is why we want to lower that test."
He said it was "important to recognise" the UK has a "legitimate direct marketing industry... where businesses calling consumers can sometimes bring some benefit" and the ICO "wants after the cowboys".
It will now be up to the ICO to assess when a serious contravention has taken place.
More and comments on the link
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-31616523
