UK-based financial advice business EB Associates Group will need to pay a £140,000 ($187,470, €163,510) penalty for cold calling people about pensions.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) discovered that the company made 107,003 unsolicited phone calls to clients to talk about occupational and personal schemes between 11 January and 30 September 2019.
The UK government banned cold calling for pensions from 9 January 2019.
EB Associates was not allowed to call people in an unsolicited manner and did not have their consent to do so either. The firm also used lead generators to make calls on its behalf and paid up to £750 for the referrals, the ICO found.
As a result, it has been ordered to stop any further cold calling or face court action.
Andy Curry, head of ICO investigations, said: “Our priority is to protect people and we will always take robust action against companies operating illegally for their own financial gain.
“Cold calls about pensions were banned to protect people from scammers trying to cheat them out of their retirement plans. We encourage anyone who receives an unexpected call about their pension to hang up and then report it to us.”
International Adviser contacted EB Associates Group but it did not reply in time for publication.
