LAD Media, which is registered in Bury and has an office in Sale, has been fined £50,000 by the ICO for instigating the sending of nearly 400,000 spam texts about debt.
Steve Eckersley, ICO Head of Enforcement, said:
“LAD Media did not comply with the law designed to protect people from receiving disruptive spam texts.
“This resulted in over 150 complaints about the text messages they were behind, and undoubtedly many other people were left frustrated and annoyed by the texts. We’ve used these complaints to investigate the firm, resulting in today’s fine.”
The content of the text message was as follows:
“Government schemes allow you to write off a high % of debt you cannot afford, reply HELP or go to www. resolvefinance.co.uk for information. Or Stop to opt-out.”
Mobile phone users can report the receipt of spam texts by forwarding the message to 7726. The ICO is provided with information from complaints made to the 7726 service.
Mr Eckersley said:
“I’d encourage anyone bothered by a spam text to report it via the tool on the ICO website or via the 7726 service. These reports inform our investigations and help us take action against firms responsible.”
LAD Media told the ICO that it had purchased the data used to send the text messages from a third party data supplier. The text messages had then been sent on its behalf by another company.
The law says that organisations buying in lists of people’s details to use for marketing, or contracting another firm to carry out marketing for them, must still ensure they comply with the law. That means making rigorous checks to make sure the personal details have been obtained fairly and lawfully, and that the people have given the necessary consent to receive the text messages.
