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Haart promises to delete data after complaint about touting letter

Advertising watchdog says the matter has been resolved informally after homeowner complained about letter sent to them even though their property was not on the market.

Nigel Lewis

haart touting letter

Estate agent Haart has promised to remove a member of the public’s contact data from its marketing communications database after a complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) about a touting letter.

The complaint was prompted by the unnamed homeowner, who received a personally addressed touting letter from Haart which said the agency had noticed their property was on the market, and that they might want to consider using the company’s services.

Unfortunately for the agency, their data appears to have been out of date, and the property was not for sale – which incensed the recipient enough for them to contact the ASA.

“The complainant said they had no interest in the services Haart had to offer, and that they did not sign up to receive marketing emails,” says a spokesperson from the ASA.

“We contacted the advertiser, who said they had since removed the complainant from their marketing communications email list. We therefore considered this case to be informally resolved.”

The branch involved may have got off relatively lightly with a telling off from the ASA.

GDPR rules

As The Neg reported earlier this year, the company is one of many agencies within the industry working to ensure its staff stick to GDPR guidelines when handling customer information.

Experts had warned the industry that it has become too relaxed about the pitfalls of data management errors, leaving it exposed to claims or censure by the Information Commissioner’s Office.

In August the government announced that it is to overhaul the GDPR regulations, which were introduced as part of an EU-wide attempt to stop the misuse of personal data.

October 27, 2021

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