Great news for the double glazing industry:
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has ordered Brian Kennedy’s Weatherseal Holdings to stop making cold calls to members of the public.
It follows thousands of complaints about the double glazing company to the ICO and the Telephone Preference Service (TPS).
According to the ICO, the company repeatedly made unwanted marketing calls to individuals who were registered with the TPS or who had asked not to receive such calls.
Weatherseal staff also breached the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) by failing to identify themselves when making the marketing calls and refusing to give a company address or phone number to the individuals they were calling, the ICO said.
The ICO, the government’s data privacy watchdog, said it had issued an enforcement notice against Winsford-based Weatherseal, 60 per cent owned by Kennedy, which also trades as Supreme-O-Glaze. Weatherseal also now owns the brand names Zenith / Staybright.
Mick Gorrill, assistant commissioner at the ICO, said: “The majority of us have received unsolicited marketing calls and they can be incredibly irritating. Weatherseal has repeatedly made such calls to members of the public, despite being asked not to do so. Last year we obtained a formal assurance from Weatherseal that this practice would stop, however we and the TPS have continued to receive complaints.
“If Weatherseal continues to make cold calls in breach of our enforcement notice we will not hesitate to use our full enforcement powers, as we demonstrated earlier this year when we prosecuted a company for sending unsolicited marketing faxes.”
Under the terms of the notice, Weatherseal must stop making unsolicited marketing calls to numbers registered with the TPS or to individuals who have stated that they do not wish to be contacted, within 35 days. When making marketing calls in the future Weatherseal staff must identify themselves as representatives of the company and give a telephone number or address to individuals, if requested. Failure to comply with an enforcement notice is a criminal offence and can result in prosecution.
This news is great, as I have long argued that the actions of companies like Weatherseal damage the reputation of our industry so much, it must have an effect on sales for all companies.
I also think it will be interesting to see how Weatherseal performs in the future as tele-canvassing is a major part of their marketing strategy, and without it - where will the sales come from?
Let’s hope that further companies are dealt with in this way in the future.
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4 responses so far ↓
1 Stephanie // Jul 8, 2008 at 11:26 am
I think it’s about time this type of cold calling is stopped altogether! Its such a shame that people are put off from buying double glazing, which could ultimately save them alot of money on their household bills and is far better for the environemnt.
It’s also extreamly invasive when individuals phone unexpectedly to harass others.
2 Renegade Conservatory Guy // Jul 9, 2008 at 1:37 pm
Hi Stephanie
Thank you for your comments
Matthew
3 Up yer bum // Aug 1, 2008 at 10:02 pm
is this the same Brian Kennedy who is backing the McCanns’ and flies to Portugal to speak directly to an arguido????
The same arguido who was actually framed by the McCann’s and he subsequently got a huge pay off once he was cleared????
4 ex weatherseal rep // Aug 19, 2008 at 10:29 am
the general public are not the only people to suffer. work for this company at your peril. Commision, what is that. You will in fact need an overdraft and watch out as working for this lot carries a goverment health warning!!!!
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