Information Commissioner's Office
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URL: http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKICO/2012/2012-54.html
Cite as: [2012] UKICO 2012-54
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News release: 28 November 2012
Spam texters fined nearly half a million pounds as ICO cracks down on illegal marketing industry
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has today served monetary penalties totalling £440,000 on two owners of a marketing company which has plagued the public with millions of unlawful spam texts over the past three years.
This is the first time that the ICO has used its power to issue a monetary penalty for a serious breach of the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) since these powers were approved in January 2012.
The ICO is also currently considering issuing penalties to three other companies believed to be acting in breach of the regulations as the office continues its crackdown on the illegal marketing industry.
Information Commissioner, Christopher Graham, said:
“The public have told us that they are distressed and annoyed by the constant bombardment of illegal texts and calls and we are currently cracking down on the companies responsible, using the full force of the law.
“In March we set up a survey on the ICO website so people can tell us about any unwanted texts and calls they have been receiving. So far we have received over 60,000 responses. We know the majority of these messages and calls have been made by companies who try to remain anonymous in the hope they can profit by selling personal information to claims management companies and other marketing organisations. We are using the information provided by the public to identify those responsible.”
Tetrus Telecoms
Today’s news comes after an 18-month investigation into the activities of Tetrus Telecoms. The company is jointly owned by Christopher Niebel and Gary McNeish. The ICO became aware of Tetrus Telecoms after receiving intelligence in May 2011 that the company was sending huge volumes of unsolicited text messages from offices in Stockport and Birmingham, without the consent of the recipient and without identifying the sender – both of which are legal requirements under the PECR. Any replies were then used to generate leads that were sold to other companies at a considerable profit (SEE DIAGRAM).
The ICO’s investigation included raids at the company’s Stockport premises, in August 2011, and the Manchester home of Niebel, in February this year. The evidence obtained showed Tetrus was using unregistered pay as you go sim cards to send out as many as 840,000 illegal text messages a day with an income of £7,000 - £8,000 a day.
Examples of the text messages sent out by Tetrus Telecoms include:
- CLAIM TODAY you may be entitled to £3500 for the accident you had. To claim free, reply CLAIM to this message. To opt out text STOP. Thank you
- URGENT! If you took out a Bank Loan prior to 2007 then you are almost certainly entitled to £2300 in compensation. To claim reply 'YES'
- You have still not claimed the compensation you are due for the accident you had. To claim then pls reply CLAIM. To opt out text STOP
The company was set up in December 2009, and is believed to have been operational since this time. The two men made hundreds of thousands of pounds profit during the course of three years.
Niebel has now been ordered to pay a penalty of £300,000, while McNeish, who appears to have taken less out of the business, has been fined £140,000.
The ICO has connected the company to over 400 complaints to its office about spam texts linked to Tetrus.
The Information Commissioner continued:
“The two individuals we have served penalties on today made a substantial profit from the sale of personal information. They knew they were breaking the law and the trail of evidence uncovered by my office highlights the scale of their operations.
“We will continue to work with the relevant authorities as well as the network providers to ensure companies like this are punished. We’re also working with the Ministry of Justice to target claims management companies who purchase this information breaching the industry regulations, the Data Protection Act, as well as electronic marketing regulations.
“Our message to the public is that if you don’t know who sent you a text message then do not respond, otherwise your details may be used to generate profits for these unscrupulous individuals. Together we can put an end to this unlawful industry that continues to plague our daily lives.”
Further information about the ICO’s investigation into Tetrus Telecoms can be found in the monetary penalty notices available on the ICO's monetary penalty notices page.
Further action
Niebel and McNeish are also facing prosecution from the ICO for failing to notify that Tetrus Telecoms was processing personal information. Notification is a legal requirement for organisations under the Data Protection Act punishable by a penalty up to £5,000 in the Magistrates Court, and a potentially unlimited fine in the Crown Court.
It is important that any company that has bought data from Tetrus or Niebel or McNeish in the past, now carefully checks that the proper customer consents have been obtained and that they are acting within the law. We are working with the Ministry of Justice to consider whether further enforcement action should be taken against any of these associated companies, including the cancellation of their authorisation to operate.
The ICO has set up a survey which people can use to send us the details of any unwanted marketing texts and calls.
The information provided is being used to help identify those companies responsible.
We are currently considering issuing penalties to three other companies for breaching the PECR. We are not identifying these companies now, as this could jeopardise our investigations and evidence gathering, however you can find out more about what action we are taking here.
How do spam texts make money?
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If you need more information, please contact the ICO press office on 0303 123 9070
Notes to Editors
1. The Information Commissioner’s Office upholds information rights in the public interest, promoting openness by public bodies and data privacy for individuals.
2. The ICO has specific responsibilities set out in the Data Protection Act 1998, the Freedom of Information Act 2000, Environmental Information Regulations 2004 and Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003.
3. The ICO is on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, and produces a monthly e-newsletter.
4. Anyone who processes personal information must comply with eight principles of the Data Protection Act, which make sure that personal information is:
- Fairly and lawfully processed
- Processed for limited purposes
- Adequate, relevant and not excessive
- Accurate and up to date
- Not kept for longer than is necessary
- Processed in line with your rights
- Secure
- Not transferred to other countries without adequate protection
5. The ICO’s Guide to the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations provides organisations with practical advice on how to comply with the law.
6. Civil Monetary Penalties (CMPs) are subject to a right of appeal to the (First-tier Tribunal) General Regulatory Chamber against the imposition of the monetary penalty and/or the amount of the penalty specified in the monetary penalty notice.
7. Any monetary penalty is paid into the Treasury’s Consolidated Fund and is not kept by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
8. Niebel and McNeish were served with a preliminary notice of intent on 24 September 2012 and given 28 days to respond. They were also asked to provide further details to confirm their financial status on 8 November and given until 21st November to respond. The ICO has considered all of the information provided when reaching today’s decision.