英国信息专员办公室（ICO）周三在伦敦、利物浦、博尔顿、伯恩利和斯旺西对五家索赔管理公司进行了搜查行动[1]。这次突击检查旨在打击向消费者发送关于汽车金融错售丑闻索赔的垃圾短信。被搜查公司的电子设备和文件已被查封，以调查涉嫌的非法营销行为。
垃圾短信问题严重。自2025年9月以来，公众提交了超过1200万份投诉[1]。被搜查的公司据信在2025年9月至今年5月间共发送了1.7亿条短信[1]。ICO主管Andy Curry表示："人们厌倦了被骚扰，我们正在采取行动"[1]。与此同时，ICO自2024年1月以来已删除或修改了超过1200个误导性广告[1]。
这次打击行动背景是金融行为监管局（FCA）在2024年3月宣布的£7.5bn行业范围内赔偿方案[1]，预期平均赔付额为£829[1]。法院已命令监管机构暂停该方案的部分内容，直至12月或明年2月举行听证会[1]。为提高消费者认知，FCA的国家性广告宣传活动将持续至9月6日[1]。
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) conducted search warrants against five claims management companies on Wednesday across five UK cities—London, Liverpool, Bolton, Burnley, and Swansea—targeting firms sending unsolicited text messages about car finance misselling compensation claims [1]. The operation was launched in response to a surge in complaints from the public; since September 2025, over 12 million spam text complaints have been submitted [1]. The companies under investigation are believed to have collectively sent 1.7 million text messages between September 2025 and May of this year in connection with unauthorized marketing practices [1].
The crackdown comes as Britain's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) works to resolve the widespread car finance misselling scandal. In March 2024, the FCA announced a £7.5 billion industry-wide compensation scheme, with the average payout expected to reach £829 per eligible claimant [1]. However, a court order has suspended elements of the scheme pending a hearing scheduled for December or February [1]. Andy Curry, the ICO's lead official, stated that "people are tired of being harassed, and we are taking action" [1]. The regulator has removed or modified over 1,200 misleading advertisements since January 2024, and the FCA's national advertising campaign is set to continue through September 6 [1].