Company insight Nuisance noise
Unsolicited calls and texts aren’t just a nuisance for the recipient – they can damage the good reputation of a company too. Alain Desmier, managing director of Contact State, warns change is coming and it’s better to be ahead if your business is going to make the grade.
“N
uisance calls are an invasion of people’s privacy that can cause great distress and
worry,” recently announced Andy Curry, head of investigations at the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) – noting that his organisation had levelled almost £500,000 in fines against those that flouted the law. According to ICO figures, there were more than 46,000 complaints relating to nuisance calls and texts between September and December 2020 – a 27% rise on the same period the previous year. The independent body established to protect data rights added that the figure for the entire year was lower than the previous year – but that nuisance calls and texts would likely rise again as lockdown restrictions eased around the world.
Alain Desmier, managing director, Contact State
Nor is the UK alone in facing down the problem – it’s a plague that has touched almost every corner of the world, as data increasingly becomes the target for rogue elements. “There’s been a sort of commoditisation of the way the consumers are targeted,” says Alain Desmier, managing director of Contact State, adding that much of this rogue element is the result of a shift online, in terms of sourcing financial products and services.
“Clearly, we all go online to research and speak to advisers who can help us with insurance products, mortgages, or whatever it might be,” continues Desmier. “So, you’ve got a situation where most of the leading banks and insurers, and all the intermediaries that sell products on their behalf, are buying leads from comparison websites or others that promise to make those introductions.” In itself, this isn’t a problem, Desmier adds, it’s the lack of transparency that comes with it. For Desmier, then, there is a clear reason for this avalanche of unwelcome calls and he does not shy away from acknowledging it. “There hasn’t been a coherent and proper approach by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), ever, quite frankly,” he explains. “They
Alain Desmier (pictured) explains that there has been a commoditisation of the way consumers are targeted due to a shift in consumer behaviour online. 50 Future Banking /
www.nsbanking.com
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