The Financial Conduct Authority has fined claims management company Crosfill & Archer £110,000 for making unsolicited telemarketing calls.
The FCA claimed that Crosfill & Archer had made calls to people who had requested to not receive sales calls, where the firm had no evidence they had consented to receive the call or where the firm was unable to confirm what consent had been obtained on customer data purchased from third-party data providers.
Mark Steward, the FCA’s executive director of enforcement and market oversight, said: “Cold calling customers who elected not to receive sales calls is an example of the type of cavalier behaviour claims management firms should not be engaging in.
“Firms need to ensure they have the right governance and due diligence in place, and we will take action when we see behaviour that threatens legitimate consumer rights and interests.”
The FCA noted that the decision followed the transfer of regulatory responsibility for claims management companies on 1 April 2019, with the fine originally being imposed by the Ministry of Justice in 2018 before being appealed by the firm. The appeal was then later struck out by the Upper Tribunal after the firm failed to file relevant documents in a timely manner.
