Manchester firm fined £300,000 for bombarding people in debt with over 5.5 million unlawful texts

• Nuisance texts led to over 60,000 complaints 
• Fake bailiff threats were sent to people's phones to frighten them into responding  
• “A calculated scheme that caused real fear and distress to people who were already struggling with debt”  

We have fined KRA Consultancy Ltd (KRA) £300,000 after it targeted people who were already in financial difficulty with unlawful spam texts – including fake bailiff messages.  

The Manchester-based company sent 5,575,715 unsolicited direct marketing texts between April 2022 and May 2025, promoting debt solutions to people who had already been turned down for loans.  

This led to more than 60,000 complaints being made to us and Mobile UK’s 7726 spam reporting service.  

KRA also sent fabricated bailiff threats, designed to frighten recipients into engaging with the company’s debt services. The fake messages were sent using the sender ID 'DEMAND':  

"We have attempted on numerous occasions to contact you without any success. This matter has escalated further and an Enforcement agent will attend ****** within 48 hours to remove your goods as per Court Order. If you are on any legal/debt plan you will need proof readily available." 

In internal WhatsApp messages uncovered during our investigation, company director Khuram Rezvan Ahmad used the term 'coaching' as a euphemism for these threats: 

"Get through as much as and pitch whatever. Don’t worry about forcing anything back because the coaching will take care of that tomorrow morning." 

During our investigation, search warrants were conducted at KRA's offices and Ahmad’s home. KRA resumed its unlawful marketing activity following the search warrant, leading to 161 new complaints.  

The evidence revealed how the company deliberately tried to evade detection. Ahmad contacted a telecoms provider based in China, seeking assurances that the mass text messages would be "completely untraceable.”  

KRA also made no attempt to check the loan decline data was accurate or whether the recipients had consented to receive marketing messages. When discussing concerns raised about the data being three years old, Ahmad said:   

 "Am I confident on the data set? As long as I'm doing the cases I  don't really give a f*** if it's old as long as it's making money." 

Andy Curry, Head of Investigations at the ICO, said:

“People in financial difficulty deserve support, not exploitation. KRA deliberately sought these people out - knowing they might be especially susceptible to this kind of high-pressure marketing - and bombarded them with illegal texts. When that wasn't enough, they sent fake threats telling people bailiffs were coming to their homes to remove their belongings. This was a calculated, unlawful scheme, and it caused real fear and distress to people who were already struggling with debt. 

"KRA showed complete disregard for the law throughout our investigation and this £300,000 fine - one of the largest for nuisance marketing in recent years - reflects that. It should leave no doubt that we will pursue any company that thinks it can evade the law and prey on the public.”  

Alongside the monetary penalty, we also issued an enforcement notice, ordering the company to stop sending marketing messages without consent within 30 days.  

KRA was also not registered with the Financial Conduct Authority, despite directing people towards debt solutions. 

Steps to protect yourself from unwanted marketing texts  

1. Don’t respond: If you receive a marketing text from an unfamiliar company, do not reply or click any links. Responding confirms your number is active and may lead to more messages.
2. Report it: Forward spam texts to 7726 — it's free. If you receive an unwanted marketing text, forward it to 7726.ICO uses complaints to this service to investigate companies breaking the law and take action. 
3. Register with the TPS: if you’re also receiving nuisance marketing calls, you can add your landline or mobile number to the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) free of charge. If you continue to receive nuisance calls after registering, you can report them to us using the online reporting tool.  

About the rules on marketing texts

The Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 cover the sending of marketing text messages. These rules say that organisations must only send marketing text messages to people if they have agreed to receive them, or the company has a genuine existing relationship with them. 

Organisations sending marketing messages should follow our direct marketing guidance and use our direct marketing advice generator to ensure they are complying with the law.   

Find out more about how to prevent nuisance calls.