£70k fine for Black Country firm which made 40,000 'frightening' nuisance phone calls in JUST 24 hours

Direct Security Marketing Ltd made 39,214 automated calls in just one day in a bid to sell burglar alarms.

Of these, 9,775 were made between 1am and 6am – and many of those dialled were elderly. The calls to people across the West Midlands, made from a withheld number, were received by residents early on August 24, 2015, and invited residents to buy a security system.

Following an investigation, the firm based in Queens Cross, High Street, Dudley, has been fined by the Information Commissioner's Office after being found in breach of the Data Protection Act.

Andy Curry, the ICO's group enforcement manager, said: "Elderly people were among those who were left distressed after being woken up in the night by the automated calls.

"It's natural when the phone rings in the early hours to fear it's bad news and perhaps a relative is seriously ill, and that's what people who received these calls told us they thought.

"Automated calls at any time can leave people feeling unsettled but to receive a call trying to sell you a burglar alarm in the middle of the night must have been very frightening."

The ICO began an investigation into Direct Security Marketing after receiving complaints from some of the people who had been targeted by the company. Mr Curry said: "Legally, automated marketing calls can only be made if people have specifically consented to receive this type of call. This company admitted to us that it did not have consent from the individuals they called."

During the course of the probe, Officers discovered that Direct Security Marketing was not notified with the ICO and the firm was prosecuted at Dudley Magistrates Court in November.

The company pleaded guilty to failing to notify with the ICO, while director Antonio Pardo admitted being negligent in the company committing the offence. The firm was fined £650, ordered to pay costs of £492 and £65 victim surcharge, while Pardo was fined £534, ordered to pay £489 costs and £53 victim surcharge.

A total of 49 complaints were received by the Information Commissioner about the calls.

One of the complainants wrote: "Receiving a call from a withheld number at 4.40am is an extremely unpleasant experience. No-one wants to receive a phone call in the middle of the night as it's usually bad news. Very upsetting and worrying."

Another recipient said: "I was awoken in the middle of the night.

"As my mother is in hospital with a life threatening illness, we thought the worst."