HIML fired 2.45m automated marketing calls with no opt-out — ICO hit it with a penalty

Between 31 May and 31 August 2023, Home Improvement Marketing Ltd (HIML) instigated the transmission of 2,449,380 automated marketing calls to subscribers without their prior consent, contrary to regulation 19 of PECR. The software responded to recipients' answers interactively, but gave no option to opt out of further calls; several complainants reported receiving multiple recorded calls a day. The calls drew 274 complaints to the Telephone Preference Service and the ICO's reporting tools.

The ICO investigated HIML as part of a wider operation assessing complaint trends in the energy and home-improvements sector, and in March 2024 carried out a search warrant to obtain evidence on its PECR compliance. On 28 August 2025 the Commissioner issued HIML a monetary penalty for the unlawful calls.

The ICO's enforcement page records the penalty and the call volumes but does not state the amount; the figure sits in the monetary penalty notice itself, which the page links as a PDF.

An ICO monetary penalty (amount set out in the penalty notice, not on the enforcement page); 2,449,380 unlawful calls and 274 TPS/ICO complaints on record.

HIML ran recorded marketing calls to subscribers whose prior consent it did not have, which regulation 19 of PECR prohibits outright.

The dialler was interactive — it reacted to answers — yet offered no way to stop future calls, so every contact breached the rules twice over.

Complainants were getting multiple recorded calls per day, which is the pattern that pushes recipients from irritation to formal complaints.

The company sat inside a sector the ICO was already sweeping for complaint trends, so its call volume made it a target rather than an edge case.

Automated dialling turns every shortcut into a violation at machine scale: 2.45m calls in three months is a fine-print problem multiplied by automation, and 'no opt-out' is what regulators read first.

The ICO issued the monetary penalty on 28 August 2025 after a warrant-backed investigation. Its page gives no statement from HIML and no compliance undertaking; the penalty notice PDF carries the detail.