text: A personal injury claims company has collapsed after being fined £80,000 for plaguing households with nuisance calls (file picture) A personal injury claims company has collapsed after being fined £80,000 by the privacy watchdog for plaguing households with nuisance calls. Direct Assist, based in Bolton, Lancashire, told one complainant that they were likely to be called for three years until they made a claim, despite repeated requests for their details to be removed. The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) and the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) registered 801 concerns about the  company between January 2013 and July last year. Every complaint came from someone who was registered with the TPS and who had not given permission for the company to call them, the ICO said. One elderly and deaf complainant said the callers left them in fear of answering the phone that they relied on to maintain contact with family. Direct Assist, which offered access to solicitors for claims, continued to call despite being given this information, the ICO said. The ICO found that Direct Assist instructed its staff to deliberately use phone numbers from lists that included people on the TPS, even claiming that the calls were being made by someone else using their company name. ICO head of enforcement Steve Eckersley said: 'Direct Assist's behaviour shows a blatant disregard for the law and the customers they tried to contact. 'Even though the TPS contacted them 525 times to warn them about complaints being made they continued to market their services through unsolicited phone calls. 'This penalty sends a clear message that this type of irresponsible marketing is totally unacceptable. Companies need to think about their responsibilities, the law and the consequences if they try to break it.' Direct Assist has now gone into liquidation and the ICO said it intended to register as an unsecured creditor in an attempt to obtain the fine. Direct Assist, based in Bolton, Lancashire, told one complainant that they were likely to be called for three years until they made a claim, despite repeated requests for their details to be removed . Which? executive director Richard Lloyd said: 'This company has driven a coach and horses through cold calling rules and it's good the ICO has acted decisively. 'We want to see more fines when the rules change next week to make it easier for regulators to punish firms making these calls. 'We also want to see senior executives held personally responsible for their company's behaviour on nuisance calls, which could include disqualifying company directors if they flout the rules.' From April 6, the legal requirement on the ICO to prove 'substantial damage or distress' will be removed to make it easier to impose fines.
target: Bolton-based Direct Assist has gone into liquidation after receiving the fine .
  More than 800 concerns registered about the company in just 18 months .
  Firm plagued households offering people access to solicitors for claims .