Company clamps down on unsolicited e-mail practice

Settled case summary #13

Complaint

An individual complained when a company sent him an unsolicited commercial e-mail encouraging him to purchase the company's products.

Outcome

The company supplies its products to a distributor network through commission sales agents.  Normally, the agents market the company's products by direct contact with potential distributors.  The company was not aware that one of its agents was marketing by e-mail, a technique that the company does not approve of.  It contacted the agent in question and instructed this individual to stop using e-mail as a marketing technique.  We also spoke to the agent in question, who confirmed that he was no longer marketing by e-mail and apologized for any inconvenience he may have caused the complainant.

Although the company does not typically deal with individuals (it collects company information), it has a privacy policy in place that outlines its practices for those situations when it does handle individuals' personal information.  In spite of the company's small size, it has an appointed privacy officer and makes its privacy policies available on its web site.

The complainant was satisfied with the outcome of the investigation, and considered the matter settled.