Company fined £250,000 after contacting consumers without consent
The Phone-paid Services Authority (PSA) has fined Irich Info Technology Ltd after it committed two breaches of its Code, including contacting consumers without proper consent.
Irich Info Technology Ltd described itself as a technical support helpline, which charged £2.50 per minute (plus access charges) for help with troubleshooting and other technical issues.
Consumers said that the company called them, not the other way round. One complainant said it had seen “extremely high charges to a large number of our customers”, citing a single call charge of “over £115”. Another complainant account said they were charged £90 for two calls, despite asking if they were going to be charged and being told no.
Irich Info Technology committed two ‘very serious’ breaches, one on consent to market and the other on failure to disclose information to the PSA.
The Tribunal imposed a number of sanctions, including a £250,000 fine. It also made a General Refunds order, which means Irich Info Technology must refund all consumers who claim a refund, and barred the service until all sanctions have been complied with.
You can read the Irich Info Technology decision in full here.