08446882753

had a call at 11.57 today.l did not reply to them because l knew it is scam.l get very annoyed that they call me 4/5 times this month.l wish that they should leave me alone.They are f###### idiots and [***] indeed.

http://www.ico.gov.uk/news/latest_news/2012/s ... s-28112012.aspx

News release: 28 November 2012

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has today served monetary penalties totalling £440,000 on two owners of a marketing company which has plagued the public with millions of unlawful spam texts over the past three years.

This is the first time that the ICO has used its power to issue a monetary penalty for a serious breach of the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) since these powers were approved in January 2012.

The ICO is also currently considering issuing penalties to three other companies believed to be acting in breach of the regulations as the office continues its crackdown on the illegal marketing industry.

Information Commissioner, Christopher Graham, said:

“The public have told us that they are distressed and annoyed by the constant bombardment of illegal texts and calls and we are currently cracking down on the companies responsible, using the full force of the law.

“In March we set up a survey https://www.snapsurveys.com/swh/surveylogin.asp?k=134674895144 on the ICO website so people can tell us about any unwanted texts and calls they have been receiving. So far we have received over 60,000 responses. We know the majority of these messages and calls have been made by companies who try to remain anonymous in the hope they can profit by selling personal information to claims management companies and other marketing organisations. We are using the information provided by the public to identify those responsible.”

Tetrus Telecoms
Today’s news comes after an 18-month investigation into the activities of Tetrus Telecoms. The company is jointly owned by Christopher Niebel and Gary McNeish. The ICO became aware of Tetrus Telecoms after receiving intelligence in May 2011 that the company was sending huge volumes of unsolicited text messages from offices in Stockport and Birmingham, without the consent of the recipient and without identifying the sender – both of which are legal requirements under the PECR. Any replies were then used to generate leads that were sold to other companies at a considerable profit (SEE DIAGRAM) http://www.ico.gov.uk/news/latest_news/2012/~ ... nfographic.ashx


The ICO’s investigation included raids at the company’s Stockport premises, in August 2011, and the Manchester home of Niebel, in February this year. The evidence obtained showed Tetrus was using unregistered pay as you go sim cards to send out as many as 840,000 illegal text messages a day with an income of £7,000 - £8,000 a day.

Examples of the text messages sent out by Tetrus Telecoms include:

CLAIM TODAY you may be entitled to £3500 for the accident you had. To claim free, reply CLAIM to this message. To opt out text STOP. Thank you
URGENT! If you took out a Bank Loan prior to 2007 then you are almost certainly entitled to £2300 in compensation. To claim reply 'YES'
You have still not claimed the compensation you are due for the accident you had. To claim then pls reply CLAIM. To opt out text STOP
The company was set up in December 2009, and is believed to have been operational since this time. The two men made hundreds of thousands of pounds profit during the course of three years.

Niebel has now been ordered to pay a penalty of £300,000, while McNeish, who appears to have taken less out of the business, has been fined £140,000.

The ICO has connected the company to over 400 complaints to its office about spam texts linked to Tetrus.

The Information Commissioner continued:

“The two individuals we have served penalties on today made a substantial profit from the sale of personal information. They knew they were breaking the law and the trail of evidence uncovered by my office highlights the scale of their operations.

“We will continue to work with the relevant authorities as well as the network providers to ensure companies like this are punished. We’re also working with the Ministry of Justice to target claims management companies who purchase this information breaching the industry regulations, the Data Protection Act, as well as electronic marketing regulations.

“Our message to the public is that if you don’t know who sent you a text message then do not respond, otherwise your details may be used to generate profits for these unscrupulous individuals. Together we can put an end to this unlawful industry that continues to plague our daily lives.”

Further information about the ICO’s investigation into Tetrus Telecoms can be found in the monetary penalty notices available on the ICO's monetary penalty notices page.

Further action
Niebel and McNeish are also facing prosecution from the ICO for failing to notify that Tetrus Telecoms was processing personal information. Notification is a legal requirement for organisations under the Data Protection Act punishable by a penalty up to £5,000 in the Magistrates Court, and a potentially unlimited fine in the Crown Court.

It is important that any company that has bought data from Tetrus or Niebel or McNeish in the past, now carefully checks that the proper customer consents have been obtained and that they are acting within the law. We are working with the Ministry of Justice to consider whether further enforcement action should be taken against any of these associated companies, including the cancellation of their authorisation to operate.  

The ICO has set up a survey https://www.snapsurveys.com/swh/surveylogin.asp?k=134674895144 which people can use to send us the details of any unwanted marketing texts and calls.

The information provided is being used to help identify those companies responsible.

We are currently considering issuing penalties to three other companies for breaching the PECR. We are not identifying these companies now, as this could jeopardise our investigations and evidence gathering, however you can find out more about what action we are taking here http://www.ico.gov.uk/enforcement/action.aspx

How do spam texts make money?

http://www.ico.gov.uk/news/latest_news/2012/~ ... nfographic.ashx

Fed up with getting these type of calls. Registered wiith TPS many years ago but this doesn`t seem to stop them.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2013/feb/03/redress-claims-never-saw-cash

Redress Claims customers who never saw their cash

Customers who paid Redress Claims to get PPI money find they are out of pocket

Anna Tims

The Observer, Sunday 3 February 2013

The letters are depressingly similar:

London RT of London was cold called by a company called Redress Claims which promised to reclaim mis-sold payment protection insurance for her on a no-win no-fee basis. "I paid £450 for them to look into potential claims on each credit card and was told I'd get the money back if the claim was unsuccessful. I've never received any claim money, or a refund."

AB of Humberside paid Redress Claims £1,700 in 2011 after being cold called. "We trusted them, as we are desperate financially. They did obtain £958 for mis-sold PPI on a mortgage for which they charged an additional fee of £287. And £1,419, £608 of which they pocketed despite the promise in their terms and conditions that they would deduct no more than 25%."

SG from Coventry found that £3,855 had been removed from her credit card after a cold caller from Redress Claims gave her a hard-sell in April 2011. "I never received any bill or acknowledgement of this payment and they've since demanded further payments," she says.

PR of Southport, Merseyside paid a similar upfront fee which he was told was refundable if his six claims were unsuccessful. One claim was won but he was told to pay an extra £149 per claim to a company called Credit Clear Services to have the outstanding five resolved.

R E-H found £3,245 removed from his account, £590 of it for invalid claims. "I made more than 20 attempts to get the £590 back but none of my messages was replied to. They managed to get me £120 back from one credit card issuer and £32 on another and charged me £100 fee for each. Now I've had a letter from Credit Clear Services telling me my contract has passed to them and I must pay £99 for them to proceed."

After a long overdue investigation by the Ministry of Justice, Redress Claims's licence to trade was suspended last month due to breaches of the code of conduct. "We will take further action if breaches are not corrected," says an MoJ spokesman.

Given that a suspension can be lifted after three months if a company gets its act together, and given that Redress Claims will have made a consoling profit in the 18 months it has been allowed to operate, this is unlikely to pain its director, Naman Hussain.

Suspension does not stop companies dealing with refund requests from customers whose cases are pending, and the MoJ recommends they write asking for one.

Simon Helliwell, director of Credit Clear Services, which provided "auditing and legal services" for the company, declares that Hussain will be pursuing "other interests" and would not seek to reinstate the licence when the three months is up.

"We've agreed to take the thousands of unresolved Redress Claims' cases off them for no extra charge and will proceed on a no-win no-fee basis," says Helliwell, who insisted that "in comparison with many in the market Redress Claims was not that bad".

He was vague, however, about what percentage of any claim would be deducted in fees. "We'll abide by Redress Claims's terms and conditions," he says and admitted he didn't know what percentage these specified.

As compensation claims for mis-sold PPI can be made for free with a form provided by the Financial Ombudsman Service http://www.fsa.gov.uk/consumerinformation/pro ... /claim-back-ppi , anyone who paid Redress Claims by credit card should consider applying for a refund from their card issuer, which is held jointly liable under section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act. Some debit card companies also offer chargeback if a company is in breach of contract.

Sadly, though, many are likely to be left out of pocket and will have learnt NEVER to hand bank details to a company that COLD CALLS.

Anna Tims writes your wrongs. Got a problem you want Anna to look into? Send your dilemmas to your.problems@observer.co.uk

cover plus or something like that she said wanting to no how much paying for home insurance as says can get it cheaper said it was sorted an she put the phone down

This number called me today saying that their records showed I had a PPI claim, so I disputed this and said their records were wrong. The male caller then called me by my Christian name and expressed surprise that I was not owed any money. - at this I said the call was a 'scam' and said 'Goodbye'. The name of his company was not given - rather rude young man

This caller came out with a mouthfull of bad langauge.

CAll came in middle of dinner. Have had several which are silent on other end. Fed up with cold calling

no message - # on 1471.
(l9 Feb)

call from above number, asked if my husband was there, by name, when he answered, the man promtly started to try and find out about personal details, & tried to tell us he could find out about our mortgage repayments, ,then asked about did we have any loans paid by credit cards, as he could help, when my husband told him ,NO he wasnt interested ,he put the phone down,.. We are fed up of these calls ,& unavailable international, who call us at least twice a day....

Yesterday I had a phone call from this number who said they were ringing to ask if I had taken out PPI Insurance over the last ten years.I am registered with TPA so am going to coplain to them.

Yesterday I had a phone call from this number who said they were ringing to ask if I had taken out PPI Insurance over the last ten years.I am registered with TPA so am going to coplain to them.

Had this call mid day no answer

I work for cover plus so you can all go [removed:lang]

TPA, you mean TPS you absolute knobhead!!

got a call from 08446882753,i rudely told them to [removed:lang] and they rang me back offended telling me not to be rude,by his accent id say he was ringing from his corner shop,give thema buse they will leave you alone

Yes, it's very obvious by your language, attitude and lack of social skills, that you work there. Still, at least while you are in a job, no matter how minimum wage and allowing you to annoy the hell out of us on the phone, at least you are not on the dole. Well done, keep up the good work. LOL

Keep getting call from this number

"Your details have come up on our system showing that you might have been miss-sold insurance..."

Nuisance caller, regular repeats and I'm getting mightily brassed off.