Steve Eckersley, ICO head of enforcement, said: “Company bosses everywhere should sit up and take note of this fine and check their practices are compliant with the law before embarking on marketing campaigns. It’s your responsibility to make rigorous checks to ensure personal data has been obtained fairly and lawfully. It’s not enough to rely on the word of a third party. We have made it easier for people to report organisations responsible for unlawful marketing practices and they have in their thousands.”
The company sent a total of 7.7 million text messages over six months, with 4.5 million of these successfully transmitted. More than 1,900 complaints were made about the texts to the 7726 spam reporting service and the ICO.
As well as a £130,000 fine, the ICO has issued Intelligent Lending with an enforcement notice ordering it to stop sending spam texts.
The ICO has published detailed guidance for firms carrying out direct marketing by phone, text, email, post or fax.
Detailed guidance for firms carrying out direct marketing can be found here.