A firm has been fined £200,000 for making over 11 million "unlawful nuisance calls" to the public about PPI claims, a watchdog has said.

Brazier Consulting Services Ltd (BCS) has been ordered to pay the fine by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) after it received 316 complaints.

BCS had "bombarded" people despite being told to stop and had caused "real distress", the data watchdog said.

The Leeds-based company has been approached for a comment.

Following its investigation, the ICO said the claims management company "made repeated nuisance calls to people about PPI" and had "failed to evidence sufficient consent to call any of the complainants".

The watchdog also found "no evidence" to suggest the firm provided staff training on privacy and electronic communications regulations.

Among the complaints received included one describing the caller from BCS as "aggressive in manner and I felt quite threatened by his attitude".

The complainant said they had "never" contacted the company about PPI and wanted them to "stop these aggressive phone calls".

ICO investigations manager Natasha Longson said: "It's clear from the complaints we received that these calls caused real distress. What's more, the firm continued to bombard people by phoning even when they'd been asked to stop.

"It's thanks to members of the public that this firm came to our attention and we could take action to bring a stop to this. I would encourage anyone pestered by other rogue operators to report them to the ICO."

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