Marketing Association reacts to Dick Smith's data sale blunder
Members upset to read about receiver's dodgy data sale.
Members of the NZ Marketing Association are “upset” to read about Dick Smith’s sale of customer’s personal data.
Chief executive Gill Stewart says both the Privacy Act and the Marketing Association’s codes of practice are clear that personal data should be used only for the purposes agreed on when the information was collected.
“Trust is a very important factor in the relationship between marketers and their customers. It is highly inappropriate that Ferrier Hodgson thinks it can breach this trust by selling customer information,” Ms Stewart says.
In case you missed it
The failed electronics retailer’s receiver, Ferrier Hodgson, placed an ad in the Australian Financial Review this week advertising its customer data bases and calling for “urgent expressions of interest.”
Concerns were raised over the legality of the sale but Privacy Commissioner John Edwards says he has received assurance from the receivers that the sale would comply with the Privacy Act.
However, he says an assurance on the Dick Smith website that it would “never sell or share your information” was “unequivocal.”
“There could be some problems if any of the customers were aggrieved by the sale,” he says, adding that his office was looking into the sale.
The Marketing Association’s Ms Stewart says she “supports the Privacy Commissioner stepping in to remind Dick Smith of their obligations under the law.”
When confronted with the sale details, Ben Gully senior associate Tania Goatley told NBR questions were being asked “too early in the process.” It would be up to the buyer whether the customer database was included, she says.
Mr Francis says the receivers will communicate with customers first and that they will be given the choice to remove their details from the sale.
Tune into NBR Radio’s Sunday Business with Andrew Patterson, launching this Sunday morning, for analysis and feature-length interviews.
Chelsea Armitage
Fri, 04 Mar 2016
Fri, 04 Mar 2016
© All content copyright NBR. Do not reproduce in any form without permission, even if you have a paid subscription.
Marketing Association reacts to Dick Smith's data sale blunder
56191