A claims management company which bombarded people with millions of nuisance calls has been fined £850,000.
2,000 people complained to industry regulator Ofcom about Bury-based National Advice Clinic, which also trades as the Industrial Hearing Clinic or the Central Compensation Office.
It made nearly 6 million calls between October 2014 and April 2015 about noise-induced hearing loss claims.
Many of those called were registered with Ofcom’s Telephone Preference Service, which tells companies they don’t want to receive such calls.
It’s the biggest fine issued so far under new laws which came into force in December 2014, bringing the total collected to £1.6 million.
Claims Management Regulator head Kevin Rousell, said: “This company’s cold-calling campaign was deliberate and sustained, and a flagrant breach of our marketing requirements.
“They showed an alarming disregard for the misery their tactics can cause, particularly to elderly and vulnerable people.
“The size of this penalty demonstrates how seriously we take this issue – nuisance calls will not be tolerated.
Justice Minister Lord Faulks said: “Nuisance calls are a real scourge to households, and people have simply had enough.
“I am pleased the regulator has imposed such a substantial fine for such blatant and shocking behaviour. This follows other large fines and the removal of over a thousand licenses from claims management companies since 2010.
“The government is committed to protecting the public from this nuisance – that at best wastes people’s time and at worst causes significant distress.
