Preventing unsolicited marketing
The Data Protection Act (new window) sets out
rules to make sure that your personal information is handled
properly and gives you the right to stop organisations using
your personal data for direct marketing.
The Privacy and Electronic Communications
Regulations (new window) set out rules for sending you
direct marketing by electronic means. Individuals have the right
to refuse unsolicited marketing messages by fax, phone, email
and text message. Companies or organisations have the right to
refuse marketing by phone and fax.
The Information Commissioner (new window) has legal
powers to ensure that organisations sending direct marketing comply
with the rules. Listed below are a number of free services
supported by the the Information Commissioner that individuals and
businesses can use to easily stop unwanted mail, unsolicited
telephone calls and fax messages.
Stopping unwanted direct mail
Mailing Preference Service (MPS) - is a free
service funded by the direct mail industry which enables consumers
to have their names and home addresses in the UK removed from lists
used by the industry. The Baby Mailing Preference Service (Baby
MPS) is available to help reduce the number of baby-related
mailings you receive.
If a specific organisation is targeting you with direct
marketing information you have the right, under the Data Protection
Act, to send that organisation a notice requiring them to stop or
not to begin using your personal data for the purposes of direct
marketing.
If you want
to stop receiving unaddressed mail (new window)
with your post you can do so by contacting Royal Mail.
Stopping unsolicited direct marketing by phone, fax, email or
text
The sending of unsolicited direct marketing by phone, fax,
email, text or any other electronic means is strictly regulated by
rules set out by the Privacy and Electronic Communications
Regulations. You have the right to object to electronic marketing
messages and can register with the preference services listed
below if you don’t wish to receive sales calls or junk
faxes.
Telephone Preference Service (TPS) - is a
central register on which you can record your preference not to
receive unsolicited sales and marketing telephone calls to your
home or mobile telephone numbers. It is a legal requirement that
all organisations (including charities, voluntary organisations and
political parties) do not make such calls to numbers registered on
the TPS unless they have your consent to do so.
Corporate Telephone Preference Service (CTPS) -
is a central register where corporate subscribers can record their
wish not to receive unsolicited sales and marketing telephone calls
to either all their organisation's telephone numbers, or to certain
numbers.
Fax Preference Service (FPS) - allows
individuals and businesses to register fax numbers on which they do
not wish to receive direct marketing faxes.
Stopping unsolicited marketing material by email
The regulations say that organisations must have prior consent
to send unsolicited marketing material by email (this includes
texts, picture messages and emails) to individual subscribers,
unless they have obtained the details during the course of a sale,
or negotiations towards one, and they give you the opportunity to
object in every message. If you are an individual subscriber
receiving unsolicited marketing by electronic mail, and the
organisation hasn't stopped even though you've tried to opt out,
you can
complain to the Information Commissioner (new
window).
If you are a corporate subscriber the prior consent rule does
not apply but marketing communications should still identify the
sender and provide a valid address.
Preventing spam
Spam emails are ‘unsolicited commercial email sent without
consent’. It is email that you don't want and didn't ask for, and
its content can cause embarrassment and distress. The Privacy and
Electronic Communications Regulations regulations only apply to
spam sent from within the EU. The Information Commisioner's website
gives some useful
tips on how to reduce and report spam (new
window) and information about what is being done to combat
this global problem.