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- One PPI firm even phoned a family at 3.30am, causing great distress
- Regulator has taken action against six Swansea-based firms since 2013
Swansea has been labelled the cold call capital of the UK after another two firms were hit with massive fines for pestering households with nuisance calls. Swansea-based Falcon and Pointer was fined £175,000 following more than 5,500 complaints – including one from a family with a grandfather dying of cancer who had been phoned at 3.30am. One complaint to the Information Commissioner's Office read: 'The most annoying and disgusting thing was the time of the call in the early hours of the morning. 'It woke everyone in the house including young children. It caused me a lot of anxiety as a family member is currently seriously ill and I immediately thought the worst.'
Falcon and Pointer, which had its license revoked by the Claims Management Regulator in January, told the ICO it had stopped making calls in June 2015 but an investigation discovered it made a further two million automated calls in the following two months. Direct Choice Home Improvements, which sells windows, doors and conservatories, was fined £50,000. It was accused of traumatising people by asking to speak to their dead relatives. The ICO also said it received 168 complaints about Direct Choice Home Improvements Ltd from people who were registered with the Telephone Preference Service....Read more here