BUSINESSES in Reading and Wokingham have been warned to put a stop to junk mail or pay the price.
Marie Wilcox, South East chair of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) issued the warning after millions of pounds was claimed in fines.
Figures from the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) revealed £1.7 million has been retrieved this year so far against businesses guilty of sending unsolicited marketing emails and texts.
And in October, the ICO issued £495,000 worth of fines to We Buy Any Car, Saga and Sports Direct following 345 million “nuisance messages”.
According to a survey by OnePoll for the CIM, nearly one third (29%) of customers reported hearing from a business they did not give permission to contact them in the past month.
“While not many companies are sending this volume of email and texts, the ICO has sent a clear message that it will tackle unsolicited marketing, irrespective of whether the messages have been orchestrated by a small business or a leading household name,” Ms Wilcox said.
“Whilst many businesses are aware of the [data protection] rules they often don’t appreciate if they’re sending direct marketing messages, they must first have people’s consent. As this action shows, ignoring the rules can lead to big fines.”