Both Quick Tax Claims Ltd and National Debt Advice Ltd came to the attention of the ICO in May 2023.
An investigation revealed Quick Tax Claims Ltd had sent 7,863,547 unlawful text messages over the course of a month.
Similarly, the ICO found that National Debt Advice Ltd sent 129,902 spam text messages over a four-month period, resulting in more than 4,000 complaints.
The investigation revealed the firm had also purchased personal information from third-party suppliers, including loan decline data, which meant text messages were sent to people who had previously been turned down for loans.
The ICO said they also failed to conduct appropriate consent checks.
head of investigations Andy Curry said: “Both of these companies bombarded people with spam messages, often preying on those who might be experiencing difficult financial circumstances.
“To be hounded by numerous unwarranted text messages just adds further stress to people in those situations.
“It is so important, in these types of circumstances, that companies gain consent to send direct messages.
“Relying on third-party claims of consent, without undertaking the most basic of checks, is far from responsible conduct by these companies, and that’s why we took action.”
