ICO gives nuisance calls company director 6-year ban

A director of a nuisance calls marketing company has been “banned from directly or indirectly becoming involved, without the permission of the court, in the promotion, formation or management of a company for six years”.

Shaun Harkin, the director of Easyleads Ltd avoided paying a £260,000 fine after it was discovered the company had begun a new advertising campaign using automated calls and failing to give company contact details in the recorded message. He also failed to screen the call database through the Telephone Preference Service.

After further complaints, Easyleads was told to shut down. The subsequent follow-up investigation, it was discovered that Easyleads had made 16m automated calls to the public after the notice of closure was issued. The court therefore issued the 6-year disqualification undertaking.

ICO lead investigator, Andy Curry said:

“Easyleads plagued people with calls and we brought them to account by fining them £260,000. When they failed to pay, we refused to give up.

Now Shaun Harkin has been put out of action for six years. We still have work to do but this ban sends a message to others that they will not get away with making nuisance calls.”

The DMA has consistently fought for greater punishment for those who break the law and give telemarketers a bad name. Previously we have pushed for company directors to face liability fines of up to £500,000. While this isn’t the case here, the 6-year penalisation is a positive step and will send a message to rouge marketers that this kind of behaviour will not be tolerated.

Find out more about this case here.