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Ofcom

Ofcom fines Ageas insurance for 'silent calls'

By James Doleman

October 1, 2014 | 2 min read

Specialist insurer Ageas Retail Limited has been fined for subjecting customers to unwanted “silent calls”.

silent call

Silent call

These occur when call centre automated dialing systems call a number which is answered but there is no agent available to speak to the customer.

Telephone regulator Ofcom said that an investigation into Ageas found the company made 148 silent calls over three separate days during a seven-week period which was in breach of legislation relating to “persistent misuse of a telephone network or service”, although the degree of harm to consumers was at the lower end of the scale.

Ofcom fined Ageas £10,000 which must be paid in the next 30 days.

In a statement, the insurer said: “As soon as we became aware of the issue with our call system we began remedial action, taking all necessary and appropriate steps to limit any re-occurrences. As part of that work, we have also improved our oversight of the telephone operating system.”

The company also sent a £10 shopping vouchers to affected consumers.

Ofcom has also announced it is to implement a review of its ‘persistent misuse’ policy and has asked interested parties to submit responses by 7 November.

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