The company is also the subject of one complaint made to the data watchdog, the Information Commissioner's Office. An ICO spokesman confirmed it was looking into the complaint and had been passed information by the DMC.
Phruit said it had not had any notification of an investigation by the ICO.
The DMC's investigation examined more than 100 Telephone Preference Service (TPS) complaints and hundreds more web-based complaints and comments about Phruit, and the activities of third-party businesses making sales calls based on contact data provided by Phruit.
The DMC concluded Phruit was in breach of the following provisions of the DM Code of Practice:
- 21.18 and 21.80 on TPS compliance and data cleansing
- 3.11 under which Phruit has a responsibility for compliance by suppliers
- 3.18 on "sugging" (market research carried out in the guise of research)
It recommended the DMA suspend Phruit from membership for a year. The suspension will apply until June this year, as Phruit advised the DMA in December it was not going to renew its membership for the 2011-12 period.
Phruit has taken issue with the DMA's actions, which it described as "extraordinary" and said it was not provided with details about the complaints.
It denied it has ever undertaken marketing under the guise of research, although it acknowledged data cleansing had been "overlooked" due to operational issues over a two-month period during 2009/10.
It acknowledged 81 TPS complaints during 2010, but said this should be set against the context of approximately 1.5 million customer calls made – a rate of 0.0054%.
David Coghill, general manager at Phruit, said: "We believe that the actions taken by the DMA are quite extraordinary. As a company which strives for perfection, we are willing to be more honest and open than most.
"Rather than hide from criticism, we welcome it in an open forum as an opportunity to convey that we do aim to be the best in the industry. We would have gladly taken the opportunity to have this discussion with the DMA or DMC, which clearly they were unwilling to undertake, unfortunately."
Coghill said the company was taking legal advice when asked whether the company was considering taking action to contest the suspension.
. Its membership was terminated – a more severe action than suspension – in December 2008, for not completing its annual compliance questionnaire.
Scott Logie, chair of the DMA, said: "Our code of practice is the cornerstone in our efforts to build and maintain political, commercial and consumer faith in direct marketing. Therefore, any company that fails to operate within these standards brings both the association and the industry as a whole into disrepute."
George Kidd, chair of the DMC, said: "Our recommendation to the DMA to suspend Phruit from membership clearly illustrates the seriousness of failure to comply with the DMA Code, and reinforces the importance of responsible business practice."