Duncan Paul, the former director of CRDNN Limited, a company notorious for making millions of unsolicited cold calls, has been banned from running a business for eight years. This decision follows a similar ban imposed on Paul’s co-director, Stephen Foote, in January 2023. The bans were enforced due to their roles in managing a firm that made over 63 million nuisance calls within just a few months in 2018.
CRDNN Limited, based in Clydebank, Dunbartonshire, was involved in making automated calls across the UK, pitching services ranging from window scrappage to boiler sales. Notably, some calls falsely claimed affiliation with Scottish and UK government energy-saving schemes. In one severe incident, the company’s calls congested the phone lines of a Network Rail control centre near Fort William, posing significant safety risks.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) fined the company £500,000 in 2020 for these transgressions, the maximum penalty possible under the law. However, CRDNN Limited went into liquidation in January 2021 without paying the fine.
Mike Smith, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, commented on the ban, stating, “Duncan Paul’s company plagued homes and businesses with nuisance cold-calls, disrupting the lives of millions. The calls were persistent and unsolicited, and to add to people’s frustration, they received further calls when they attempted to opt-out of receiving them.”
The ICO received nearly 3,000 complaints about CRDNN through its online reporting tool during the active period of these calls, with an additional 411 complaints logged via the Telephone Preference Service. Investigation revealed that CRDNN had no evidence that the recipients had consented to receive the calls, a clear violation of the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003.
Trevor Callaghan, the ICO’s Director of Enforcement and Investigations, emphasized the reckless nature of the directors’ actions. They harassed millions of people, causing disruption, annoyance, and distress and recklessly affected important services potentially putting the wider public in danger. That’s why their conduct called for the maximum fine possible under the law,” he said.
This disqualification prevents Duncan Paul and Stephen Foote from being involved in the promotion, formation, or management of any company, without the permission of the court, marking a significant step towards curbing nuisance calls and protecting public safety. The ICO continues to work closely with other agencies, like the Insolvency Service, to ensure that such rogue operations do not resurface under different guises.
