Telecoms regulator Ofcom has fined Ageas Retail Limited, a insurance provider specialising in the the over 50s market, £10,000 for making abandoned calls.
An abandoned phone call occurs when a consumer picks up the receiver, but there is no one on the other end of the line.
Ofcom’s investigation found that the company made 148 such calls to UK consumers over three separate days during a seven week period.
The regulator said while this placed Ageas in breach of legislation relating to ‘persistent misuse of a telephone network or service’, the degree of seriousness and harm to consumers “was at the lower end of the scale.”
In addition to paying the fine, the company offered affected consumers a £10 shopping voucher and took steps to bring itself into compliance.
These steps were thane into account by Ofcom when setting the level of fine.
Claudio Pollack, Ofcom’s Consumer and Content Group Director, said: “The law is there to protect consumers from suffering annoyance, inconvenience or anxiety, including from abandoned calls.
“Organisations using call centres must comply with the law or face the consequences. Where we find breaches, even at the lower end of the scale, we can take action.”
