H&R Block Sold My Email Address Without My Permission
I've been a user of H&R Block's tax software, TaxCut, for several years. When purchasing the software, I gave them a unique email address at a domain I own (i.e. taxcut@mydomain), as I do with all companies to see who's being sneaky. Yesterday, I received spam (unsolicited commercial email) sent to that address from a third party email marketer, CheetahMail, for Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouses.
Though CheetahMail offered an automated unsubscribe-via-email option and they do have a respectable looking website, why should I trust them? They should never have had my email address in the first place and can I reasonably expect them to purge a "live one" from their system? They may, but can I trust them not to use it in a sister company or sell it? I doubt it.
I do have a business relationship with Lowe's and they have their own unique email address for me. I thought Lowe's was a respectable company. What are they doing resorting to spam???
The worst and most unforgivable action is H&R Block's selling of my information without my permission. I cannot prove that I opted out of any third-party advertising, but they cannot "prove" that I didn't. I can say that I am acutely aware of the various techniques used by sellers when gathering personal information. I am so strongly against receiving spam that I carefully examine these forms before submitting my information. It is extremely unlikely that I told H&R Block they could "share" my information with other companies. Databases are mutable, as are privacy policies.
From their site, as of 09/10/2003:
"Changes to Our Privacy Statement
If we make a material change to this Privacy Statement, including a material change in the way we use your personal information, we will notify you by using one of the following methods at least thirty (30) days prior to the effective date of such change: (1) we will post a notice on our Web site describing the change; or (2) we will send you electronic mail notifying you of the change. You may also have additional rights under state or federal law in the event of a change in our Privacy Statement."
Notice that little two-letter word "or" between methods 1 and 2.
I called H&R Block's customer service and spoke with Susan. Susan was nice enough, but what can anyone expect from first-level customer service? The only thing she could do was direct me to the opt-out page on their site or perform opt-out over the phone. That is not the issue at all.
I don't necessarily want to opt out of H&R Block mailings. I want out of ALL CheetahMail mailings. I want every occurrence of my address deleted from CheetahMail systems, any systems with which they are affiliated, and any other systems of businesses to which H&R Block and CheetahMail sold, leased, loaned, gave or, in any other way, provided my email address. I'm sure this is yet another case of wanting in one hand...
Susan seemed to understand my gripe, but was unable to do anything. I asked to speak to a supervisor. After being on hold for a couple of minutes, she informed me that the supervisor had left for the day. I asked what had to be done for me to speak with someone who could rectify this situation. She said I could call the next day; that their business hours are until 5:00PM Central. It was then 5:38PM EASTERN! Then she told me that supervisors leave at 4:30. Uh huh... I wanted better. She (supposedly - I'll know later) produced better: the name and direct phone number of the head of customer relations. I repeated the information she provided, thanked her and ended the call. I called the number she gave and got the voicemail of Stacy Barker. I left a genial message, stating I am a TaxCut customer and would like to talk about an issue and requesting a callback the next day, between 6:30AM (Yeah, I know, but I have actually received business calls before 7:00AM.) and 3:30PM Eastern. I'm waiting for her call...
Though CheetahMail offered an automated unsubscribe-via-email option and they do have a respectable looking website, why should I trust them? They should never have had my email address in the first place and can I reasonably expect them to purge a "live one" from their system? They may, but can I trust them not to use it in a sister company or sell it? I doubt it.
I do have a business relationship with Lowe's and they have their own unique email address for me. I thought Lowe's was a respectable company. What are they doing resorting to spam???
The worst and most unforgivable action is H&R Block's selling of my information without my permission. I cannot prove that I opted out of any third-party advertising, but they cannot "prove" that I didn't. I can say that I am acutely aware of the various techniques used by sellers when gathering personal information. I am so strongly against receiving spam that I carefully examine these forms before submitting my information. It is extremely unlikely that I told H&R Block they could "share" my information with other companies. Databases are mutable, as are privacy policies.
From their site, as of 09/10/2003:
"Changes to Our Privacy Statement
If we make a material change to this Privacy Statement, including a material change in the way we use your personal information, we will notify you by using one of the following methods at least thirty (30) days prior to the effective date of such change: (1) we will post a notice on our Web site describing the change; or (2) we will send you electronic mail notifying you of the change. You may also have additional rights under state or federal law in the event of a change in our Privacy Statement."
Notice that little two-letter word "or" between methods 1 and 2.
I called H&R Block's customer service and spoke with Susan. Susan was nice enough, but what can anyone expect from first-level customer service? The only thing she could do was direct me to the opt-out page on their site or perform opt-out over the phone. That is not the issue at all.
I don't necessarily want to opt out of H&R Block mailings. I want out of ALL CheetahMail mailings. I want every occurrence of my address deleted from CheetahMail systems, any systems with which they are affiliated, and any other systems of businesses to which H&R Block and CheetahMail sold, leased, loaned, gave or, in any other way, provided my email address. I'm sure this is yet another case of wanting in one hand...
Susan seemed to understand my gripe, but was unable to do anything. I asked to speak to a supervisor. After being on hold for a couple of minutes, she informed me that the supervisor had left for the day. I asked what had to be done for me to speak with someone who could rectify this situation. She said I could call the next day; that their business hours are until 5:00PM Central. It was then 5:38PM EASTERN! Then she told me that supervisors leave at 4:30. Uh huh... I wanted better. She (supposedly - I'll know later) produced better: the name and direct phone number of the head of customer relations. I repeated the information she provided, thanked her and ended the call. I called the number she gave and got the voicemail of Stacy Barker. I left a genial message, stating I am a TaxCut customer and would like to talk about an issue and requesting a callback the next day, between 6:30AM (Yeah, I know, but I have actually received business calls before 7:00AM.) and 3:30PM Eastern. I'm waiting for her call...
