A firm selling call blocking devices has itself been fined for making unsolicited calls to those who have opted out of receiving them. Cold Call Eliminations, based in Chichester, made calls to the elderly, including cancer sufferers. One was said to have been left "badly shaken". They were registered on the Telephone Preference Service (TPS), so should have been exempt from such calls. The company, which has been fined £75,000, refused to comment.

Elderly and vulnerable

The Information Commissioner, which issued the fine, said the company was trying to sell subscriptions for a device which did exactly the same as the free service offered by the TPS. Over a period of nearly two years, the commissioner's office and the TPS received 382 complaints from people who were registered on the TPS. "This company clearly knew the law, but continued to break it by calling people on the TPS," said Steve Eckersley, the ICO's head of enforcement.........Read more here