Another scam from Britain’s epicentre of cold-calling has been rumbled.
There are swarms of these charlatans concentrated on the south coast and the latest outfit to be caught at it is a Brighton company ironically named It’s OK Limited.
It made more than 1.7 million very much not OK calls over 11 months to people registered with the Telephone Preference Service – that works out at three illegal calls every minute.
The callers targeted the elderly with a sales pitch trying to flog warranties on domestic white goods.
The company is run by 43-year-old Christopher Davison (above) and Lee Hill, 42, and has just been fined £200,000 by the Information Commissioner’s Office.
“The actions of this company represented a sustained and exploitative campaign potentially targeting the most vulnerable,” said Andy Curry, ICO Head of Investigations.
“Pressure tactics, misleading statements and contacting individuals who are registered on the TPS is shameful behaviour.”
One victim told the ICO how she was convinced by a salesperson to take out a service plan with It’s OK but when her washing machine needed a service the company said she was not eligible for an engineer’s visit.
“It’s OK Ltd has received £194.40 from me, a pensioner, and will not provide a service,” she said.
In another case, someone complaining on behalf of their 84-year-old mother after she was charged £194 for supposed cover on a ten-year-old washing machine, saying: " I then sent them an email to cancel and they kept calling trying to get her to keep it."
A third complainant said: “They try to con you into thinking they are your washing machine insurers and it needs to be renewed and they need to check your bank details. I am insured with Domestic and General. When asked their name they hung up.”
It is against the law to make a live marketing call to anyone who is registered with the Telephone Preference Service, unless they have told the specific organisation that they do not object to receiving calls from them. You can register with the TPS here, it's a free service.
More stories about south coast cold calling scams like this are here, here and here.
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