Everything DM gets direct message slap: Marketing biz cops £60k ICO fine

A scurrilous marketing agency that fired 1.42 million emails at prospective customers was today saddled with a £60,000 fine by the UK’s data watchdog.

The Information Commissioner’s Office said Stevenage-based Everything DM Ltd (EDML) pestered people for a year from May 2016 via its direct marketing system, Touchpoint.

EDML, which was paid to send the mailers on behalf of agency clients, was unable to prove the recipients had ever agreed to receive them from itself or its customers.

A probe of the circumstances by the ICO found EDML had relied on the consent of third parties but had failed to take necessary steps to ensure the data compiled with the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR).

ICO director of investigations Steve Eckersley, said:

“Firms providing marketing services to other organisations need to double-check whether they have valid consent from people to send marketing emails to them.”

He added that “generic third party consent is not enough” and that companies that don’t verify their position will discover they are breaking the law.

EDML has been issued with an enforcement notice warning it to meet PECR regulations head on.

According to Companies House, EDML was previously called Marketing File but updated its naming in November last year. The business has filed abbreviated accounts meaning it has a turnover less than £6.5m or fewer than 50 employees. ®

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