To the Householder mails. Rights of removing details from identified databases.

bluesky on 23/09/2014 - 18:36
Last edited 23/09/2014 - 20:39

Today, I received a “To The Householder” mail from HSBC (credit card appl invitation).

At the back, it says “For this mailing, your details were obtained from Veda Advantage Solutions Group P/L (Inivio). To be removed from Inivio’s mailing list, or to opt-out from receiving pre-screened offers, goto www.donotcontact.com.au.”

At this link, it asks for more mandatory info – name, telephone etc. Adding “To The Householder” in the name generated an error, and provided a Sydney number to call.

So I called. When requesting the lady to REMOVE my address from being forwarded to advertisers, I was given this account. Does this sound right?

  1. I must give my name. I was reluctant to do so (don’t want to get more spam), after all it was addressed to “The Householder”.

  2. She said I cannot stop “To the Householder” mail to my address from them, only ones that are addressed to me specifically.
    I said that doesn’t sound right – so organisations like Inivio can just pass addresses only, ensuring those mails can never be stopped?

  3. She said even though this mail is to the householder, they probably also have my name in the database, and I should give it. I was reluctant to do so. Following such logic, does that mean I have to supply names of everyone in the household in order to stop such mails? I declined, saying when I receive a mail addressed to me specifically, I will call again. But my request today is simply to remove my address from being passed on. To which she reiterated point 2 again.

  4. Sensing I was not convinced, she took my address details anyway (which earlier she said was pointless, if I didn’t supply my name).
    But still warned that without a name, they may not be able to remove my address from their database. She said she would find out and call me back – so reluctantly, in the end, I still have to provide my name (but only first name) and phone number. Kind of defeating my intention of not supplying more details for spam :-)

Is her account accurate? Many thanks in advance.

TL;DR
What are the rights in terms of request for removal from identified database - if mails are addressed "To the householder", and not specific individual? Is there a way to get it removed without providing every single householder's details (not keen to do this)?

General Discussion

Comments

  • Davo1111 on 23/09/2014 - 19:08
    +1

    Just say your name is "The Householder"??

    Also, do you get credit reports or something from veda? If yes, they might be worth contacting.

    • bluesky on 23/09/2014 - 19:25

      Thanks for the suggestion. Before I tried
      To (firstname) The (Middle) and Householder(surname) at the www.donotcontact.com.au screen :-). That didn't work and produced error. That was why I called Inivio.

      I just tried again - this time using
      The (firstname) Householder (surname)

      And it accepted the submit, and provided the message:

      Do Not Contact

      Thank you for visiting the Veda Solutions Group Do Not Contact web page.

      This page serves as confirmation that you have opted out from our marketing database. Please note that it may take up to a week to update our systems and at most a further 6 weeks to stop receiving mailings on behalf of our clients.

      Well, not too hopeful, as she said the name provided can only be removed if it matches the name they have in their database. I doubt they have "The Householder" as the name in their database :-)

      The difficulty is, how does one know what names they hold, of which household members etc?

      No, I have not requested any credit reports from veda. And Inivio, whom I contacted, is in fact veda's marketing services division.

  • Almost Banned on 23/09/2014 - 19:50
    +1

    Hum…
    Once your details are on a mailing list I would assume that information is the property of whomever compiled the list.
    I am not aware of any mechanism to compel removal with some exceptions.
    You do have a limited right to 'privacy' of your personal details however - most relevantly in this case the right to not have your personal details used for a purpose other than the purpose you provided them for.
    See http://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/privacy-topics/direct-marketi… for info regarding direct marketing.

    • bluesky on 23/09/2014 - 20:07

      Thanks for the info. Well, "To the householder" sounds like non-sensitive personal information, so I suppose this link will not help.

  • Baysew on 24/09/2014 - 09:58
    +2

    You want to preserve your privacy, and stop unsolicited mail, but to do that you have to provide your personal details !

    I think Veda, a Credit Reporting Agency, should not be allowed to sell off information it holds, to make mail outs as you have described.

    But, things will just get worse.

    The shredder is your only true friend.

  • bluesky on 24/09/2014 - 12:54
    +1

    I am just astounded when she said something to the effect that basically the average citizen has no rights or control with respect to mails addressed to the householder. Even after identifying who supplied this info, and politely asking to be removed. She even cited these examples:

    1. what if I move out and someone else move in 6 months later and wants those mails
    2. what if other household members want them

    One can't argue with these (without divulging more personal info). Yet, it doesn't sound right.
    Why should the onus be on us?
    Why can't one opt out?
    The system should have been an opt-in one in the first place.

  • kenm on 24/09/2014 - 22:04
    +1

    You can't hide the existence of your street address. Perhaps you want to lease a PO Box and block mail to your address?

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