In more stretched economic times, organisations often cut their marketing budget and see the need to squeeze every drop out of the money that is allocated to marketing.
It is not surprising therefore than many organisations decide to 'cold call' or market directly to consumers. But such an approach is not without its difficulties as the High Street opticians, Optical Express recently discovered.
Under the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 (PECR), it is necessary for the sender of electronic communications to obtain the consent of the recipient prior to sending those communications.
As is very typical now, the case evolved from the sale by one company of the customer data it held to another. Thomas Cook the travel agent, sold the customer telephone numbers it held to Optical Express. Thomas Cook did state that the customer details might be shared but not that the customers might subsequently receive texts about laser eye surgery.
The Information Commissioner's Office decided to investigate as it received 4600 complaints about receipt of unsolicited text messages from Optical Express in just seven months.
The outcome was that enforcement proceedings were brought against Optical Express and they lost. The First Tier Tribunal held that the mere fact that Thomas Cook had obtained a generic consent from the customers to share their data elsewhere was not sufficient. Optical Express could not rely on this as deemed consent to send unsolicited texts about laser eye surgery.
If your organisation is deciding how to allocate a tight marketing budget and you are considering buying customer data from another firm, you should consider taking legal advice first to establish what steps you can and cannot take in this complex area. Otherwise your organisation could make a costly mistake.
To discuss this or other business related matters, contact us.
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