An IVA lead generation company has been fined £120k for commissioning unsolicited (3 million in 2 months alone) linked to IVA's.
2 things to note:
1. They were sending out a message stating that up to 70% of debts could be written off which these days by itself is misleading as a headline figure
2. They got fined because they commissioned the calls - not because they made them. That means that ultimately any IVA company that actively promotes the selling of IVA's this way without fully checking how they are being made can be held liable.
It is not enough to say it is not our fault that a third party did it this way.
IVA started March 2011, Completed March 2016 and certificate issued 11 days after final payment. It was not always easy but then some of the best decisions aren't.
I tend to get texts telling me that - I just delete them.
Sharing from experiences of dealing with debt
The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.
Bob Marley. http://kallis3.blogs.iva.co.uk
Where I have a number it gets blocked but I'm glad these are starting to get stopped at source.
A similar company got fined £200k back in October 2015.
IVA started March 2011, Completed March 2016 and certificate issued 11 days after final payment. It was not always easy but then some of the best decisions aren't.
I block them as well - problem is that they have so many numbers and on your phone they tend to show up as 'Out of Area', 'Private Caller' and numbers that mean nothing!!
Sharing from experiences of dealing with debt
The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.
Bob Marley. http://kallis3.blogs.iva.co.uk
Additionally they have just announced that over 1000 companies are being contacted around how they deal with this.
The ones that don't think they have to respond or ignore the contact will be in for a shock.
IVA started March 2011, Completed March 2016 and certificate issued 11 days after final payment. It was not always easy but then some of the best decisions aren't.
Apparently another 2 companies will be fined £170k between them this week.
IVA started March 2011, Completed March 2016 and certificate issued 11 days after final payment. It was not always easy but then some of the best decisions aren't.
Good - it's about time these were dealt with and (hopefully!) got rid of!!
Sharing from experiences of dealing with debt
The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.
Bob Marley. http://kallis3.blogs.iva.co.uk
A few years ago I had an overseas call centre cold calling people and stating that they were from IVA.co.uk, infuriating, time consuming in dealing with complaints and at the time little that I could do about it.
IVA started March 2011, Completed March 2016 and certificate issued 11 days after final payment. It was not always easy but then some of the best decisions aren't.
Good to see these fines being implemented but I wonder if the firms will remain around long enough to pay them. Maybe they will just pop up under a new guise and start all over again.
The ico does not issue a fine without taking account of the financial stability of a private company.
They can try and pop up under a new guise but as they will have to still register with the ICO this will trigger alarms leading to private prosecution of directors which leads to a criminal record.
IVA started March 2011, Completed March 2016 and certificate issued 11 days after final payment. It was not always easy but then some of the best decisions aren't.
Had a phone call who referred to a IVA I had that completed in 2011 recently.
Was livid, obviously using a very old record from a offline version of the insolvency register. said they had the right to use this and further data mine the lists to get my address and mobile from other means.
Would not tell me who they were when I asked either.
We're willing to wipe the slate clean, give you a fresh start. All that we're asking in return is your cooperation.
The fact they would not say who they were shows they know they are on dodgy ground.
When information is used it has to be relevant, not excessive and intended for the purpose that it was obtained.
Additionally the fines clearly demonstrate that to be contacted you have to have a legal basis or that someone had opted in to be called.
Your iva is no longer relevant and even google would probably support this as part of the "right to be forgotten".
IVA started March 2011, Completed March 2016 and certificate issued 11 days after final payment. It was not always easy but then some of the best decisions aren't.
