Small End User Sales - Past week

[dashu1]

Be careful you don't get reported to the ICO (ico.gov.uk). I did. Just for sending out a sales enquiry to a relevent company via their freely available (i.e. on their site) email address.

I think (although I could be wrong) that they're more interested in looking after the complaints of individuals being contacted by companies, rather than companies contacting companies.

Anyway I once got reported to them too about a competition I'd run on a website each month.

At the end of the month when the winner was drawn we'd send out an email telling people that it had been drawn and giving the initials of the winner and their town.

One particular tosspot, a doctor no less, went ballistic and started ranting and raving about getting unsolicited emails and how he'd report me to the information commissioner if we didn't take his name off the list, which I did manually.

The next month the same thing happened with him again, the thing was he'd asked to be removed, then signed up again (they only needed to add their email address to be in the draw) using a different email!

So I told him to do one because he was being a dick.

Couple of weeks later huge parcel of forms, the complaint, etc dropped through the door from the IOC.

I told them what had happened, supported with emails, etc, and they basically agreed he was being a dick and that was that.

Quite un-nerving though when you start seeing the numbers they reckon they can fine you with - all for sending an email.

Ridiculous.

 

[figleaf007]

My understanding is that you are allowed to send an unsolicited email, as long as it is to and from a business email address and you adhere if they ask you not to send anymore.

 

[tifosi]

My understanding is that you are allowed to send an unsolicited email, as long as it is to and from a business email address and you adhere if they ask you not to send anymore.

Companies/businesses doesn't include sole traders or llp's. How anybody is supposed to get that from a website with basic info & an email is anyone's guess.

According to the regulations there are exemptions so long as:
The email is collected as part of the sales enquiry... ok
The product being sold are their own goods, or similar services... domains being sold by registrars so ok
There is an opt out in the email from further contact... just make sure this is there even if there is no 'actual' list i.e. a one off sales enquiry.

After a bit of investigation the guy I fell foul of is well know for being a bit of a crusader. Well he's pissed me off, and a pissed of techie isn't the best of things!!