A Will writing firm has been hit with a £30,000 fine after bombarding members of the public with nuisance phone calls.

Over a 12-month period Assist Law allowed its staff to contact people who had registered with the Telephone Preference Service (TPS), which should have meant they were off limits for sales calls.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) launched a probe after around 100 TPS subscribers complained.

Its investigation revealed that the Somerset-based business obtained names and phone numbers from a third party firm that falsely claimed it was providing a list of people who were happy to receive such approaches.

“Despite repeated warnings, this company failed to take the basic steps required by law,” said ICO enforcement manager Andy Curry.

“They should have asked for evidence of consent and screened against the TPS list to check whether people had chosen not to receive marketing calls.

“They relied on a separate company to do this which wasn’t good enough. Any company that instigates a marketing campaign is responsible for taking these steps. Assist Law broke the law.”

The firm does not fall under the remit of the Solicitors Regulation Authority or any other body that regulates legal services.

Earlier this year the government revealed plans to close a legal loophole by introducing direct fines of up to £500,000 for directors of companies who break nuisance calls laws.