A claims manager whose company plagued the public with nuisance calls – then failed to pay the resulting fine – has been banned from acting as a director.

Hassim Iqbal was disqualified for seven years for failing to ensure that his Blackburn-based firm Check Points Claims complied with communications regulations.

The company farmed noise-induced hearing loss claims for local solicitor firms and made almost 6.4m automated marketing calls during less than three years in business. An investigation found a further 11m calls were made but not connected.

The Information Commissioners Office fined Iqbal £250,000 in May 2016, two months after the company went into liquidation.

The ICO said today it will continue its fight against marketing directors who try to ‘duck out’ of fines by putting their firms into liquidation, working alongside the Insolvency Service and Claims Management Regulator.

Enforcement group manager Andy Curry said: ‘We will pursue all options in the event of unpaid fines, and this case shows that directors behind nuisance marketing firms cannot get away with the intrusion and annoyance they cause the public.’

The Insolvency Service confirmed Iqbal signed a disqualification undertaking for seven years, which came into effect last month.

By June 2015, the ICO had identified a total of 248 online complaints which had been made about Check Points Claims.

In October 2015, the Ministry of Justice audited the company’s conduct and subsequently cancelled its authorisation to provide claims management services.

Commenting on Iqbal’s ban, Joanne Covell from the Insolvency Service added: ‘This ban reflects the seriousness of these actions and the robust stance that the Insolvency Service will take against those whose conduct falls below accepted commercial standards.’

According to Companies House records, 34-year-old Iqbal was the sole remaining director of Check Point Claims when it was dissolved in September 2017.