Energy firms fined for a total of £550K for unlawful robo-calls

Green Spark Energy and Home Improvement Marketing, two energy companies operating in the United Kingdom, have been fined £250,000 and £300,000 respectively for making unlawful automated marketing calls.

Both firms used software that gave recipients the impression they were talking to an actual person. Instead, receivers heard scripted lines recorded by voice actors and played by call agents abroad.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the United Kingdom’s data protection authority, received 497 complaints about Green Spark Energy, including harassing cancer patients and elderly people with automated calls.

The calls aimed to arrange an appointment with a surveyor to visit the recipient’s property and conduct a survey. One recording made a misleading claim, suggesting that fiberglass insulation was labeled as a potential health hazard by the British Lung Foundation.

Between May 2023 and August 2023, Home Improvement Marketing made over 2.4 million automated calls on behalf of the company, resulting in 274 complaints.

In response to the complaints, the ICO launched an investigation. In March 2024, the DPA conducted a search warrant at Mathew Terry’s home address, the former CEO of Green Spark Energy and currently Director at Home Improvement Marketing. During the raid, police officers seized an iPhone containing, among others, documents on how to avoid getting caught by the ICO.

Andy Curry, Head of Investigations at the ICO, said the robo-call technology is making it harder for the public to spot automated calls and report them to the ICO.  

“We’ve heard disturbing reports of how unscrupulous companies are using robo technology to fool elderly and vulnerable people. We understand how distressing these calls can be and will work on the public’s behalf to catch those responsible. We urge the public to take note of our tips to spot these robo-calls so they can tell us when they’ve received one. This will help us investigate and take enforcement action,” he says in a statement.

Robo-calls can be recognized by slight pauses before responses, limited flexibility, an identical or monotone voice across the call, and the absence of background noises or natural breaks. To stop automated marketing calls, people should register their phone number with the Telephone Preference Service (TPS), a register that keeps track of people who don’t want to receive marketing calls.

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