...............and one was responsible for sending half a million Leave EU texts

ICO dished out a total of £1.5m in fines so far this year
Targeted firms who made more than 70m nuisance calls
One firm received a record £350k fine from the regulator

Firms that pester people with nuisance calls and text messages have been collectively fined the equivalent of nearly £10,000 a day so far in 2016, the Information Commissioner's Office has revealed. It has dished out a total of £1.5million in penalties to companies responsible for more than 70million cold calls, often pestering some of Britain's most vulnerable people. More than 93,000 complaints have been received by the regulator so far in 2016 from those who have received nuisance calls and texts. One firm, Better for the Country Ltd was fined £50,000 in May after it broke the law by not having the consent of the people to which it sent a total of 500,000 text messages.

In February, Prodial Ltd, a lead generation firm responsible for over 46million automated nuisance calls, received a record £350,000 fine from the regulator. Meanwhile David Lammy MP was fined £5,000 for making nuisance calls. Mr Lammy instigated 35,629 calls over two days, playing a recorded message that urged people to back his campaign to be named the Labour party candidate for London Mayor. Stephen Eckersley, head of enforcement at ICO, has vowed to continue the regulator's crackdown on companies behind cold calls and spam texts.

He said: 'Our helpline staff hear first-hand the level of distress cold calls can cause. The rules around marketing messages are there for a reason.' 'We have acted on information provided by the public and specifically targeted companies that phone people in the middle of the night, ask to speak to deceased relatives or ring repeatedly after being asked to stop.' Those who feel like they are being pestered by a firm can report it on the ICO helpline 0303 123 1113 or ico.org.uk/concerns. Mr Eckersley added: 'People reporting their nuisance marketing concerns to us are vital to our work. Those reports inform our investigations and help us stop the firms bombarding the public with troublesome calls, texts and emails. 'We've already got further fines in the pipeline and with your help we can take more action.' Nuisance calls, although a minor irritation for many, can be particularly hard on vulnerable members of society.

Source: Read more HERE