3rd June 2011
BT has told householders who cancelled the delivery of the unsolicited phone directory via Junk Buster that their request has not be actioned. The company says people who want to opt out need to give BT their phone number.
Junk Buster, a 'one-point-stop' for stopping junk mail and paper directories, was launched by Stop Junk Mail in March 2009. To date, exactly 10,145 people have contacted BT via Junk Buster to cancel the delivery of the phone book to their address. It now appears that none of these requests have been dealt with.
Standard procedure
The issue came to light when BT recently started sending a standard e-mail to people who had opted out via Junk Buster. The e-mail states that BT can only cancel the delivery of the phone book if people give the company their phone number and, if applicable, their account number.
BT's e-mail does not explain why the company feels it can't process opt-out requests without having the requester's telephone number. However, BT's directory enquiries team has confirmed that the number would be used as a point of contact
and that collecting people's phone numbers is a standard procedure
.
Stop Junk Mail has today lodged a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office. The Data Protection Act states quite clearly that organisations collecting people's personal details must make sure that the data they collect is relevant and not excessive in relation to the purpose for which they are collected. When Junk Buster sends an opt-out request to BT it gives the company the requester's name, address, and e-mail address. To say these details are insufficient seems wrong.
Links
- BT refusing to action opt-out requests (Diary blog)