Photograph by Jason Comely
Payday loans firm First Financial has been fined £175,000 for sending millions of “spam” text messages.
4,031 complaints were made against the company after millions of people across the UK received unsolicited text messages promoting the firm, including one that included a link to First Financial’s website and read:
“Hi mate how’s u? I’m still out in town, just got £850 in my account from these guys”
As the recipients had not agreed to receiving these marketing texts, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) found them to be unlawful under the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR), and fined the company.
ICO Director of Operations, Simon Entwisle, said:
People are fed up with this menace and they are not willing to be bombarded with nuisance calls and text messages at all times of the day trying to get them to sign up to high interest loans. The fact that this individual tried to distance himself from the unlawful activities of his company shows the kind of individuals we’re dealing with here.
We will continue to target these companies that continue to blight the daily lives of people across the UK. We are also currently speaking with the government to get the legal bar lowered, allowing us to take action at a much earlier stage.
