Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Legal matters

Mumsnet has not checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you have any legal concerns we suggest you consult a solicitor.

Original poster

Charging for unwanted emails

29 replies

HolidayHattie · 14/01/2025 15:36

Typed a long post and lost it.

In a nutshell, I'm receiving unwanted emails (appointment confirmations, marketing) from a company, presumably because they made a mistake entering their customer's email address.

I notified them and asked to be unsubscribed AND for my email address to be deleted from their system under GDPR. They replied saying they would.

I continued to receive marketing messages and then another appointment confirmation. I sent a complaint to Customer Services asking how I had received further emails if they had deleted it and notifying them that I would charge them £100 for each email subsequently received (except specific replies to the complaint.) Mentioned GDPR and reserved the right to contact Information Commissioner.

Received a response, apologetic, taking it seriously etc. Didn't mention the £100 but neither did they say it was unreasonable and they wouldn't be paying it.

I did get a marketing email the following day but am prepared to let that go as having not had enough time to action it. However, today I've got another.

Assuming they don't pay me, would I have grounds for going to Small Claims Court? It's probably not worth it for just £100 but if I get a couple more emails, it would be.

OP posts:
Original poster
HolidayHattie · 14/01/2025 15:36

That wasn't so much of a nutshell; sorry!

OP posts:
Mingenious · 14/01/2025 15:37

Just block them.

Ineedaweebutitswarmhere · 14/01/2025 15:37

I am charging you £100 for each word I just had to read on your ridiculous post.

FadedRed · 14/01/2025 15:38

Why didn’t you just ‘block contact’ on your email account?

Original poster
HolidayHattie · 14/01/2025 15:40

FadedRed · 14/01/2025 15:38

Why didn’t you just ‘block contact’ on your email account?

I was trying to be helpful by letting them know they had the wrong email address for their customer, as the customer wouldn't receive possibly important emails.

OP posts:
LittleRedRidingHoody · 14/01/2025 15:46

It's more likely the customer has entered the address incorrectly as yours, and has ticked a box to say you're happy to be contacted tbh. I wouldn't assume it's a company issue.

DaftyLass · 14/01/2025 15:48

Just block the fucking address

socialdilemmawhattodo · 14/01/2025 15:58

Just report them to the ICO. Unsubscribing should be as easy as subscribing. I have found over the last year that most companies quality of knowledge of the Data Protection Acts has fallen a lot compared to 2018. The ICO do need to start to use the penalties that they have access to.

DanceTheDevilBackIntoHisHole · 14/01/2025 16:06

Look at their privacy policy online to find out who their data control contact is, and email them first. If still an issue, go to ICO. You can't charge them for receiving them but I did get £50 once from a pensions company who were misusing my data and I couldn't unsubscribe. Didn't ask for it but they offered it as compensation after an investigation!

mrsm43s · 14/01/2025 16:13

On what basis do you think you can charge them £100 for sending an email? (that you could block, but have chosen not to).

As a PP said, it's about as valid as me deciding to charge you £100 for each word of twaddle you've written. Where shall I send my invoice?

Do you also try to charge people for walking down your street, parking next to you in the car park and other such nonsense.

Seriously, you can't actually believe that you could do this, can you? Where on earth would you get that idea?

By all means take them to small claims court. You'll lose and likely have to pay their costs as your basis for raising a claim is so utterly ridiculous.

Original poster
HolidayHattie · 14/01/2025 16:20

mrsm43s · 14/01/2025 16:13

On what basis do you think you can charge them £100 for sending an email? (that you could block, but have chosen not to).

As a PP said, it's about as valid as me deciding to charge you £100 for each word of twaddle you've written. Where shall I send my invoice?

Do you also try to charge people for walking down your street, parking next to you in the car park and other such nonsense.

Seriously, you can't actually believe that you could do this, can you? Where on earth would you get that idea?

By all means take them to small claims court. You'll lose and likely have to pay their costs as your basis for raising a claim is so utterly ridiculous.

Im not sure that I can do this; that's why im asking in Legal. On the basis of nuisance? Harassment?

OP posts:
CurbsideProphet · 14/01/2025 16:22

HolidayHattie · 14/01/2025 15:40

I was trying to be helpful by letting them know they had the wrong email address for their customer, as the customer wouldn't receive possibly important emails.

Show quote history

You've let them know. They haven't bothered to update their system. Mark as spam /.block the address and forget about it.

Original poster
HolidayHattie · 14/01/2025 16:23

DanceTheDevilBackIntoHisHole · 14/01/2025 16:06

Look at their privacy policy online to find out who their data control contact is, and email them first. If still an issue, go to ICO. You can't charge them for receiving them but I did get £50 once from a pensions company who were misusing my data and I couldn't unsubscribe. Didn't ask for it but they offered it as compensation after an investigation!

Having sent a complaint (indicated as such in the subject line) and mentioning GDPR breach, shouldn't it be up to them to pass it to their data controller?

OP posts:
BitOutOfPractice · 14/01/2025 16:23

I think this might be the origin of the phrase: May all your problems be small ones.

You’ve kindly let them know your mistake. Now you’ve wasted all this energy and ire When you could’ve just blocked them.

mrsm43s · 14/01/2025 16:26

It's not nuisance or harassment, and it's completely within your power to stop - just block the email.

Stop giving this your energy or time. It's such an inconsequential thing, literally a typo that someone has made on an email address. And one click from you could stop it forever! Why, oh why are you dragging this out when you could deal with it in 2 seconds and never have to think about it again.

Original poster
HolidayHattie · 14/01/2025 16:26

LittleRedRidingHoody · 14/01/2025 15:46

It's more likely the customer has entered the address incorrectly as yours, and has ticked a box to say you're happy to be contacted tbh. I wouldn't assume it's a company issue.

Agreed - up to the point at which I notified them, asked them to remove me from their system, and they said they would. After that, it is very much their issue.

OP posts:
Bannedontherun · 14/01/2025 16:31

I seem to recall a case quite a few years ago where a man did just what you are suggesting, took the case to small claims court and won…

Just googled it was one Nigel Roberts 2006 was the case. So not as outlandish as some people on here are suggesting

IButtleSir · 14/01/2025 16:39

Assuming they don't pay me, would I have grounds for going to Small Claims Court?

Of course you fucking wouldn't! What utter nonsense.

Bannedontherun · 14/01/2025 16:40

@IButtleSir Yes she would

Original poster
HolidayHattie · 14/01/2025 16:52

Bannedontherun · 14/01/2025 16:31

I seem to recall a case quite a few years ago where a man did just what you are suggesting, took the case to small claims court and won…

Just googled it was one Nigel Roberts 2006 was the case. So not as outlandish as some people on here are suggesting

Thank you for this - it has alerted me to the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations. However, it appears that you must be able to prove damage.

OP posts:
mrsm43s · 14/01/2025 16:56

Actually if you look into that, it's widely understood that the outcome means nothing since there were no damages to be reclaimed. It just so happened that the company involved in that case paid up rather than defending.

"The Regulations required him to show damage – and to sue for compensation for that damage, not for damage caused by other spammers. Media Logistics did not take the opportunity to argue on damages: it could have admitted liability and claimed that damages should be nil. Its obvious argument would be that there is no quantifiable loss and that it should not be held liable for Roberts' spam filtering costs."

"Struan Robertson, editor of OUT-LAW.COM and a technology lawyer with Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind OUT-LAW, said: "Mr Roberts was right to settle after winning his judgment. If a damages hearing took place in court, he may have won some compensation – but there was a real risk that he would receive nothing at all because proving loss caused by spam and attributing that loss to one spammer would be very difficult."
Robertson believes the settlement figure of £300 holds no significance for future court cases "

https://www.pinsentmasons.com/out-law/news/how-to-sue-a-british-spammer

So, this isn't a court case about someone unilaterally deciding to charge £100 per misdirected email. It was covering costs for the spam filter, and the company involved simply agreed to pay it, rather than challenge it. But emails now how have built in spam filtering, and one press of a button from OP would have stopped this happening. She couldn't claim the Spam Filtering Software costs (since that is nil) so what exactly are the quantifiable damages that OP could claim for? And what would be the reason for her not mitigating the issue by simply clicking on block/spam?

prh47bridge · 14/01/2025 17:10

To claim you would need to show that you had some quantifiable damages or that there was a contract in place, i.e. that they had agreed to pay you £100 for each email they sent. As you don't have either of these, a claim would fail.

iamnotalemon · 14/01/2025 17:17

Ineedaweebutitswarmhere · 14/01/2025 15:37

I am charging you £100 for each word I just had to read on your ridiculous post.

🤣

Original poster
HolidayHattie · 14/01/2025 17:19

I just said in my last post that I had seen you need to be able to prove damage.

OP posts:
heroinechic · 14/01/2025 17:21

If I put a sign on my door saying "if you knock you must give me £100" do you think Royal Mail would pay up?