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Privacy in the Information Age | Telemarketing and Direct Mail

Telemarketing and Direct Mail

Most people receive several unsolicited offers through the post or over the phone each week. You can choose to ignore these - but be careful what you do with information you throw away. Credit Card application mailers, for example, may contain enough information to allow someone to steal your identity. So make sure you tear up unwanted offers.

How Marketers Get Information

Every time you provide your name and address to receive a product or service, there's a good chance your name is added to a number of marketing lists. If you're a customer of one company, you most likely receive direct mail from other companies you've never dealt with. That's because many companies sell their mailing lists. So if you subscribe to a computer magazine, you may find yourself receiving direct mail for computers and electronics.

If you don't want your information sold to companies, you can tick the 'No' box on application forms that ask if you would mind your information being provided to other companies.

Services to Protect You

The Direct Marketing Association's Preference Services enable you to register your wish to opt out of receiving unsolicited messages by e-mail, post, telephone or fax. Organisations are obliged either by law or by Codes of Practise to ensure that your wishes are honoured.

For full information on each service and registration details simply click on the appropriate logo.

	The Mailing Preference Service allows you to register your wish not to receive unsolicited direct mail.
	Baby MPS is a service which allows parents who have suffered a miscarriage or bereavement of a baby in the first weeks of life to register their wish not to receive baby related mailings.
	The Telephone Preference Services allows you to register your home phone number not to receive unsolicited sales and marketing calls.
	The Fax Preference Service allows you to register your home or business fax number not to receive unsolicited sales and marketing faxes.
	The Email Preference Service is a global service managed by the DMA in the States which allows you to register your email address so as not to receive unsolicited sales and marketing email messages.

For more information regarding these services, visit http://www.dma.org.uk/

Privacy in the Information Age