FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
The answers to the most recent questions you've been asking. If you have a question not covered here, please Ask Us.- I don't really understand what direct marketing is. What does it cover and do people really use it?
- So what is the DMA and how can it help me?
- How do I find out which organisations are members of the DMA?
- I want to make a complaint about a DMA member. How do I do this?
- I want to make a complaint about an organisation that isn't a member of the DMA, how do I do this?
- I am concerned about what details organisations have on me. Are they kept in one place? How can I find out what the details are? Do I have any say in what they can and cannot know about me?
- Are organisations allowed to pass on my personal information to other organisations?
- How do I stop receiving junk mail? I have a pile of it in my letterbox and I am also concerned about the impact on the environment of all this glossy printed paper and card?
- How do I stop flyers that come through my letterbox and unaddressed mail?
- What can I do to stop receiving spam on my email or unwanted promotional text messages? Is that direct marketing?
- I was not happy about the credentials of the man who came round to sell me some cover on my household appliances. How do I check up on him? Does he need to be a member of some trade association?
- I keep getting faxes in the middle of the night on my private line. They wake me up and are a waste of paper - is there anything I can do about it?
- What can I do to stop receiving sales and marketing calls from organisations?
- Sometimes I receive a call and there's nobody at the other end. Is this a telemarketing call and if so, why is this and what can I do to stop it?
- How can I stop mail being sent to a deceased person?
- I am registered with the Telephone Preference Service but this has no effect on the US tape recorded 'You've won a prize…' calls. Can you help?
I don't really understand what direct marketing is. What does it cover and do people really use it?
You are using Direct Marketing (DM) every time you purchase goods or request information in response to receiving marketing information from an organisation about the product or service.
Companies use direct marketing to contact you with information about products and services that you may be interested in, and in a way which most suits your lifestyle.
Covering everything from online marketing, interactive television and text messages to inserts, direct mail and product demonstrations in your local supermarket - direct marketing is there to enable you to buy the goods that you want in the quickest and easiest way possible, while providing you with value for money.
The public spend £67 billion each year through direct marketing. This includes everything from buying holidays online, donating to charities following receipt of a fundraising pack, or making the most of the offers in their local supermarket advertised in a door drop leaflet. Direct marketing covers a huge number of the communications you receive each day, to many of which people respond.
So what is the DMA and how can it help me?
The DMA seeks to help you get the most out of direct marketing by raising awareness of its benefits, providing you with choices in the type of direct marketing you receive and protecting you from bad practice.
To achieve these objectives, the DMA has 6 key goals:- Demonstrate the benefits of direct marketing
- Listen and react to consumer concerns by raising awareness of the Direct Marketing Code of Practice to maintain and improve industry standards.
- Investigate all bad practice by DMA members and take appropriate action.
- Provide additional information on the channels available to consumers to report bad practice.
- Provide consumers with the information they need to protect their rights in relation to direct marketing.
- Protect the environment and improve the industry's environmental record.
Click here to find out more about how we aim to achieve these goals.
How do I find out which organisations are members of the DMA?
The DMA website has a list of all present DMA members. Find out if a company is a DMA member.
Please contact us if you are unsure whether an organisation is a member or not.
I want to make a complaint about a DMA member. How do I do this?
If an organisation is a member of the DMA you can report them to the Direct Marketing Authority, an independent body set up to ensure compliance with the DMA Code of Practice and provide a service to anyone who wishes to complain about a DMA member organisation.
The DMA is committed to stamping out bad practice within the industry and takes complaints against its members extremely seriously. Members not complying with the Code could ultimately be ejected from the DMA, although we aim to give an organisation the opportunity to improve its practices and stop breaching the Code before expulsion is considered.
I want to make a complaint about an organisation that isn't a member of the DMA, how do I do this?
If the organisation you are having problems with is not a DMA member, and your complaint relates to a misleading, offensive or inaccurate advertisement, you should contact the Advertising Standards Authority (the ASA), who administer the British Code of Advertising, Sales Promotion and Direct Marketing (the CAP Code). The ASA can, if appropriate, order an advertiser to cease their campaign immediately.
If the complaint relates to the possibility of fraudulent or criminal activity, then you should contact your local Trading Standards Office, the police, or other appropriate authority, for further investigation.
I am concerned about what details organisations have on me. Are they kept in one place? How can I find out what the details are? Do I have any say in what they can and cannot know about me?
Organisations may keep the information about you in several places. However they are required by law (Data Protection Act 1998) to take appropriate security measures to ensure that the personal information they hold about you is kept safe and secure. You can find out what information they hold about you by writing to the organisation and ask it to provide you with a copy of all the personal information it holds about you. They can charge you an administration fee up to a maximum of £10 for providing this information. They must provide you with a copy of this information within 40 days of you supplying all requested information and payment of the fee by law.
If you find out that the information an organisation is holding about you is inaccurate you can ask it to make the necessary corrections, or have the information removed and or destroyed. If you have suffered damage or distress as a result of the processing of inaccurate information about you, you can ask the civil courts to award you compensation. You may always refrain from providing information about yourself to a specific organisation, but it may obtain the information from another source. If you are concerned about this you should always tell organisations that you do not want information about you passed on to other organisations. If you are unable to resolve any problems about the use of information about you by the organisation, you should contact the Information Commissioner's Office, or if they are DMA members, the Direct Marketing Authority.
Are organisations allowed to pass on my personal information to other organisations?
Organisations must ask you whether you are happy for information about you to be passed on to other organisations for direct marketing purposes. Normally this is done by means of a tick box when the organisation collects information about you and will be next to a sentence along the following lines, "Please tick here if you do not want information about you to be passed on to other organisations for direct marketing purposes." If you do not want information about you to be passed on to other organisations for direct marketing purposes, you should tick the box. This question could also be asked orally over the telephone. Organisations are not allowed to pass on your email address or your mobile phone number for text (SMS) messages to other organisations for direct marketing purposes unless you have given your express consent. Organisations can pass information about you to other organisations without asking your permission for certain purposes, for example, fraud prevention.
How do I stop receiving junk mail? I have a pile of it in my letterbox and I am also concerned about the impact on the environment of all this glossy printed paper and card?
If you want to stop receiving mail from a specific organisation you should contact the company directly and ask them to stop sending you information, they are obliged to do so by law. By registering with the Mailing Preference Service, you can stop up to 95% of addressed direct mail.
The simplest way to register is online at
www.mpsonline.org.uk
or call 0845 7034 599 to request an application form.
For unaddressed mail please see
How do I stop flyers that come through my letterbox and unaddressed mail?
The DMA has developed an environmental responsibility scheme with the Government and is working with the direct marketing industry to make it more environmentally responsible. The majority of direct mail can be recycled so please recycle your used or unwanted direct mail.
If you receive a mailing, especially from overseas, which you think is a scam you can send it to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) at:
Office of Fair TradingEuropean Enforcement
Fleetbank House
2-6 Salisbury Square
London
EC4Y 8JX
The OFT lists three things to look out for in terms of scam mailings:
- they ask you to send money straight away
- they give you a PO BOX number as their address
- they ask you not to tell anyone about the deal
How do I stop flyers that come through my letterbox and unaddressed mail?
Many local and national organisations like to communicate information to people using unaddressed mail and door to door material delivered directly to their homes. Such items can include free newspapers, free magazines, catalogues, information leaflets, advertising brochures & money-off coupons, local directories and free product samples.
Organisations who communicate in this way include local authorities, central government, utility companies (e.g. gas, water, electricity), public service organisations, charities, political parties, local education bodies, local shops and providers of local services.
These kinds of items are delivered to most homes within a given area and do not involve the householders name and address being asked for or kept on record.
Unaddressed Mail or ‘door to door’ items (i.e. items that do not have individual names or addresses recorded on them) are delivered to homes by a number of different companies.
How to Contact the DMA to find out about stopping delivery of Unaddressed Mail
Although the communications they carry are usually valued and informative, door to door distribution companies recognise that not everyone may want to receive these items.
Those companies that are members of the DMA agree to abide by the expressed wishes of householders who do not wish to receive unaddressed material through their letterbox.
For details on how you can exercise ‘Your Choice’ and ask distribution companies to stop the delivery of unaddressed mail to your home, please contact the DMA by letter, fax, telephone or e-mail and ask for details of the ‘Your Choice’ Preference Service for Unaddressed Mail.
Contact details for Your ChoiceYour Choice Preference Scheme
Direct Marketing Association (UK) Ltd
DMA House
70, Margaret Street,
London W1W 8SS
Telephone: 020 7291 3300
Fax: 020 7323 4165
Email: yourchoice@dma.org.uk
What can I do to stop receiving spam on my email or unwanted promotional text messages? Is that direct marketing?
Email marketing and promotional text messages to your mobile are both forms of direct marketing but organisations in the UK are only allowed to email/text you if you have given them permission to do so, or if you have purchased goods and services from them.
If you are receiving unsolicited emails or text messages please contact the Information Commissioner's Office or if they are DMA members, the DM Authority.
Most spam does however, come from outside of the UK so is difficult to stop completely but registering with the Email Preference Service will help decrease the amount of unsolicited marketing emails you receive from outside the UK and Europe.
I was not happy about the credentials of the man who came round to sell me some cover on my household appliances. How do I check up on him? Does he need to be a member of some trade association?
The person who sold you the household insurance appliance, should have been employed by a firm or an agent of a firm that is authorised by the Financial Services Authority. If you know the name of the firm and the postcode you can check online on the FSA Register, that the firm is authorized for insurance products as the cover you have bought on your household appliances would fall into this category.
I keep getting faxes in the middle of the night on my private line. They wake me up and are a waste of paper - is there anything I can do about it?
It is unlawful for an organisation to send marketing information via fax unless you have given them your express permission. However, the Fax Preference Service (FPS) is a central opt out register whereby businesses and individuals can register their choice not to receive unsolicited sales and marketing faxes. It is a legal requirement that organisations do not send such faxes to numbers registered on the FPS.
What can I do to stop receiving sales and marketing calls from organisations?
If you'd like to stop receiving telemarketing calls from a specific organisation please contact them directly and ask them to stop contacting you - they are obliged to do this by law. To stop all unsolicited sales and marketing calls you can register on the Telephone Preference Service (TPS). The TPS is a central opt out register whereby individuals can register their wish not to receive such calls. It is a legal requirement that organisations do not make such calls to numbers registered on the TPS.
Sometimes I receive a call and there's nobody at the other end. Is this a telemarketing call and if so, why is this and what can I do to stop it?
These calls, often referred to as silent calls, are generated by automatic dialling equipment which dials more numbers than there are operators available to take the calls. To stop a large proportion of silent calls you can register with Silent Call Guard on 0870 4443969. The DMA is working with Ofcom (the independant regulator which takes action against misuse of the telecommunications network) to stamp out silent calls and the anxiety caused by this nuisance.
How can I stop mail being sent to a deceased person?
We understand that receiving direct mail addressed to a person who has died is very distressing. There are a number of ways that you can stop this mail.
The Bereavement Register is a free service specifically designed to remove the names and addresses of people who have died from databases and mailing files. You can find out about the service and register details online at www.the-bereavement-register.com.
You can also register their details onto the Mailing Preference Service (MPS). This will reduce unsolicited personally addressed mailings received under their name. This is a free service. For more information and to register please visit www.mpsonline.org.uk.
If there are companies that the person had dealings with we would recommend you contact them direct and inform them of the change of circumstances.
I am registered with the Telephone Preference Service but this has no effect on the US tape recorded 'You've won a prize…' calls. Can you help?
The sending of recorded messages by the telephone has never been allowed in the UK, unless the recipient has given their permission to receive them. Such calls from overseas cause annoyance and distress but unfortunately it is difficult for UK Regulators to take action against them. If the call contains a premium rate number (one that begins with 09…) it can be referred to the body that regulates premium rate calls, ICSTIS www.icstis.org.uk. We would advise you to be very careful in responding to any calls of this nature, they are breaking UK law and are often promoting misleading and fraudulent schemes.
