Wall, Head, Bang!

[Pilli]

>:( My request to a well known mail order company in the UK :

My Request: Sorry, their site email created the All caps

THIS IS A POLITE REQUEST -
I AM A "PRIVATE" PERSON & REQUIRE INTEGRITY OF THE COMPANIES I PURCHASE FROM ON THE NET. WOULD YOU PLEASE PUBLISH YOUR PRIVACY STATEMENT ON YOUR SITE SO THAT I CAN BE RE-ASSURED THAT MY PRIVACY WILL BE HONOURED.
1. I REQUIRE THAT I DO NOT GET ADVERTISING FROM YOU VIA EMAIL UNLESS I GIVE MY EXPLICIT PERMISSION I.E. AN OPT IN TICK BOX OR SIMILAR.
2. AN ASSURANCE THAT ANY OF MY PERSONAL DETAILS ARE NOT FORWARDED TO OTHERS FOR COMMERCIAL USE.

THANK YOU ******** (ALIAS ALNILAM)

Their reply:

>Thank you for your recent email.

>Unfortunately to enable us to look into this matter for
you we require the following information:-

>Account Number (if applicable)
>House ID:
>Street:
>District:
>Town:
>County:
>Post Code:

>On receipt of the above we will contact you again.


>If you have any further queries please e-mail again.
When replying to this e-mail, please attach your original e-mail to ensure a speedy and accurate response.

>Diana *******
>************* Customer Services
>HCSPMJB
>We have a rigidly enforced E-Mail Standards Policy.Any E-Mail or
>attachment that is in contravention of this policy would be outside the
>scope of authority of our employees.

My Reply:

Diana, This is my point - There is nothing on your site that I could find that can be seen as a "Privacy" statement. Why should I trust you with personal information with no such policy to judge you by?

Your internal email handling sounds admirable but just not prevent your company from "spamming" customers or, as far as I can see, prevent passing marketing information to other companies.

I will give you my Post code & proper name only until you can assure me of your privacy policies

Best Regards Proper Name - Proper Post/Zip code

Their Reply:

>The customer has asked for feedback on a query he/she has, please could
>you >deal with this query. Thank you for your e-mail. Unfortunately as
>requested we require your full name and address so that we can deal
>with your enquiry, if you are unwilling to supply us with the
>information that we require, we are unable to assist you any further.
>Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience that this may cause.
>If you have any further queries please e-mail again. When replying to
>this e-mail, please attach your original e-mail to ensure a speedy and
>accurate response.

>The relevant information about the customer is listed below :

>Title : MR
>Forename : ********
>Surname : PILLIWINKS

>Address :
:
:
:
:
>Postcode :


My Final reply: I give up!!!

Sorry Diana - No,
Would you please pass the my request for information on to your superior.

You have given me no assurance of your company's credibility. - Why should I give mine?

The Internet is not a safe playground. My request was fair - A simple published privacy statement would have sufficed.

This conversation will be published without names (as I do respect your company's privacy) to the GRC privacy news group news.grc.com & www.wilders.org (forums) for comment.

Regards *********

END

Guess I will not be doing business with them!

[Checkout]

Take your documentation to the Trading Standards Authority of your nearest Council. Report them to Watchdog. Stick pins in their effigy. Most of all, pin a pillow to the wall you use for head banging.

[Prince_Serendip]

How to Succeed at Business Without Really Crying!

Not much in for Customer Service, are they? What I would do, being me, is find out who the company CEO is and send him/her a snail mail. A very formal letter letting him/her know exactly why they lost me as a customer. I've done this before. It really works most of the time. Of course, with snail mail you need to provide a return address. That's fine in that context. It is a different context when you are online. Another thing you can do is send your letter by registered delivery (someone has to sign for it). Then call his office using a telephone and leave a message, politely that the letter that this CEO is expecting from you is on its way. A little sneaky perhaps, but it works. The CEO will get the letter! If you talk to a real person on the phone and they ask who you are, tell them it is personal and private. He will still get it! It takes guts to do this, but you would be surprised by the positive results I've enjoyed! (Don't get mad, get even!) ;)

[Rickster]

You're wise to take that position. Even if they gave you a nice sounding privacy policy, what's their incentive to comply anyway? If they violate a policy, or rip you off, what's your recourse? Never send info or money to anyone on the net whose e- links can't be traced to a known source and further traced to a physical address. Then determine what you can or cannot do about a problem without ludicrous amounts of time and money. E-commerce is convenient but demands accountability.

When I walk into a store and a manager sees a situation where I've clearly been wronged and tries to pass the buck, I remind him who I hold personally accountable. By virtue of physical stature and demeanor people rarely get the idea they can wrong me with impunity. In e-commerce, the principle is no different just because it's convenient. I not only consider legal recourse, I know exactly where I'll go for a face to face 'discussion' in their parking lot when they leave work. It may just be near my next vacation.

I recall a case where I got lazy and broke my own rule with a Southern California software company who didn't respond after getting my money. All e-mail inquires were blocked, no phone number and their office address turned out to be a Mail Boxes Etc. mail drop store in Sunnyvale. But they forgot they left an LLC corporate filing trail in California's Secretary of State records. I called one of the principles at his home and explained it wasn't money, but both principle and the fact they obtained my banking information in the process, thus viewed them as a threat on that basis alone. When I explained my travel plans, I got both the order and a series of apologies in less than three hours. Not likely they'll ever misappropriate my information either, knowing I have a profile on everyone connected with their operation. The rule is good old fashioned accountability with everyone you deal with. The computer should be viewed as convenience tool, not a place to hide behind in matters of commerce.

[FanJ]

{QUOTE-> I know exactly where I'll go for a face to face 'discussion' in their parking lot when they leave work. <-QUOTE}

Hi Rickster,

This sentence of yours could maybe be read as some kind of "physical violence". I'm not sure whether that's what you're meaning. In case it is, may I kindly ask you to refrain from such a posting.

[Rickster]

Not at all. It's my experience that people are more responsive face-to-face. The emphisis on 'discussion' is meant to emphasize discussion, not as a pseudonym.

[FanJ]

OK, thanks Rickster !
It's clear that I did read something in your words that wasn't there. Sorry for my mis-reading.

Regards, Jan.