Lampeter firm Home2Sense fined £200K for nuisance calls

Home2Sense Ltd told ICO investigators they got people's phone numbers from an "unknown source"

A home improvement firm has been fined £200,000 for making more than half a million unsolicited marketing calls.

Lampeter-based Home2Sense Ltd made 675,478 nuisance calls between June 2020 and March 2021, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) said.

The company was offering insulation services to people registered with the Telephone Preference Service (TPS).

Home2Sense Ltd told ICO investigators customer data was acquired from an "unknown source".

It blamed its staff for not screening the phone numbers in their database against the TPS.

It is against the law to make marketing calls to phone numbers that have been registered with the TPS for more than 28 days, unless the recipient has notified the company that they do not object to receiving such calls.

Following more than 60 complaints from the public, the ICO's investigation found the company illegally used different trading names when calling customers, including Cozy Loft, Warmer Homes and Comfier Homes.

"Home2Sense's dismissive attitude, coupled with its attempts to deflect responsibility for compliance with the law onto its staff, shows a complete disregard for people's privacy rights," Ken Macdonald, head of ICO Regions said.

"Some of the complainants described the calls received as 'aggressive', and the company caused two complainants to feel distressed and upset when they asked to speak to a relative that had passed away."