Blog: Rules and trust
UK texting rules: PECR, the ICO and Ofcom
23 posts on rules and trust
Rules and trust
Debt collection texts: what the FCA rules say
FCA rules in CONC 7 and the Consumer Duty set how lenders and debt collectors text people in arrears: who's writing, when, who can see it, what never to say.
22 October 2026 · 9 min read
Rules and trust
Does the TPS cover text messages?
No. The TPS is a register for marketing calls under PECR regulation 21. Marketing texts fall under regulation 22, which needs consent whatever the TPS says.
22 October 2026 · 9 min read
Rules and trust
Gambling marketing texts: the Gambling Commission rules
Since 1 May 2025 online gambling operators must let customers opt in to marketing by product and channel, texts included. The consent and self-exclusion rules.
22 October 2026 · 9 min read
Rules and trust
Health information in a text: what is safe to say
NHS England's guidance says a text can show on a locked screen, so a results text should say they're ready and ask for a call. What a clinic can safely send.
22 October 2026 · 9 min read
Rules and trust
Is a customer's mobile number personal data?
Yes, in almost every case: a mobile number singles out one person. What UK GDPR then asks of a texting list, from lawful basis and security to subject access.
22 October 2026 · 9 min read
Rules and trust
Is your SMS provider a data processor?
Usually, yes: it texts your customers on your instructions. What UK GDPR article 28 says the contract must contain, how sub-processors work, and what to ask.
22 October 2026 · 8 min read
Rules and trust
Prices in promotional texts: what the DMCC Act requires
Since 6 April 2025 a text with a price in it is an invitation to purchase under the DMCC Act: total price up front, no dripped fees and no false deadlines.
22 October 2026 · 9 min read
Rules and trust
Questions to ask a UK SMS provider, and how to check them
How to check an SMS provider before you sign: Companies House, the ICO register, processor terms, then sender names, billing by part, failed texts and leaving.
22 October 2026 · 9 min read
Rules and trust
Service text or marketing text? 12 borderline cases
PECR's consent rules apply only to marketing. Twelve borderline texts, from renewal reminders to 'we've missed you', judged against ICO guidance and fines.
22 October 2026 · 8 min read
Rules and trust
Suppression lists and the right to erasure
When a customer opts out and asks to be deleted, the ICO says keep a minimal suppression record so you never text them again. How that fits articles 17 and 21.
22 October 2026 · 9 min read
Rules and trust
Telling customers about a data breach by text
UK GDPR article 34 says tell people without undue delay when a breach puts them at high risk. What to say, and how to text it without looking like a scam.
22 October 2026 · 8 min read
Rules and trust
Bought-in lists: why they fail the PECR test
PECR says the person must have told you, the sender, that they consent. Why a list broker's tick box rarely does that, and the ICO fines that followed.
17 October 2026 · 9 min read
Rules and trust
Charity texting and the new soft opt-in
From 5 February 2026 a charity can text supporters about its cause without a ticked consent box. PECR regulation 22(3A), its conditions and the ICO's view.
17 October 2026 · 10 min read
Rules and trust
How long should you keep text message records?
No one law sets a period for text records. What the ICO, the Limitation Act and HMRC say about consent, opt-outs, message logs and VAT, with a retention table.
17 October 2026 · 10 min read
Rules and trust
Review request texts and the DMCC Act 2024
Fake and hidden-incentive reviews have been banned since 6 April 2025. What the CMA says about incentives and selective asking, and how to ask by text.
17 October 2026 · 9 min read
Rules and trust
Sender ID spoofing and the MEF registry in numbers
The MEF SenderID Protection Registry has grown from 172 trusted sender names in 2020 to over 700, with 3,750 blocked variants. What it stops and what it misses.
17 October 2026 · 9 min read
Rules and trust
Smishing in the UK: what the fraud figures say
About 100 million suspicious texts a year reach UK phones, Ofcom reckons, and APP fraud hit £576.4m in 2025. What scam texts copy and how not to look like one.
17 October 2026 · 9 min read
Rules and trust
Texting other businesses: where PECR draws the line
PECR's consent rule for texts protects individual subscribers, and 57% of UK businesses are sole traders. What that means before you text a trade customer.
17 October 2026 · 9 min read
Rules and trust
The CAP Code and your promotional texts
A marketing text is an advert, so the CAP Code applies. The rules on misleading claims, "free", closing dates and alcohol, with the ASA rulings about texts.
17 October 2026 · 10 min read
Rules and trust
The Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 and your texts
A marketing text that breaks PECR can now cost up to £17.5m, up from £500,000, and charities got a soft opt-in on 5 February 2026. What changed and what didn't.
17 October 2026 · 9 min read
Rules and trust
What happens when someone reports your text to 7726
Ofcom counts 100 million 7726 reports a year. Where a report goes, what the networks and the ICO do with it, and how a real business stays out of the pile.
17 October 2026 · 9 min read
Rules and trust
What the ICO's text marketing fines tell you
Eight ICO penalties for unlawful marketing texts, 2022 to 2026: who sent what, how many, what went wrong, and what a firm texting its own customers can learn.
17 October 2026 · 9 min read
Rules and trust
Writing a consent request that stands up
What UK GDPR article 4(11), article 7 and the ICO require of consent for marketing texts, with worked opt-in wording and the records that prove it.
17 October 2026 · 9 min read