Incentives offered for signing up to spam

CONSUMERS are being bribed with offers and cash prizes if they consent to receiving spam ahead of a data protection crackdown.

Next month the introduction of stricter EU spam rules will ban companies from sending out unsolicited marketing emails, meaning inboxes are now bulging with permission requests.

In a bid to encourage people to agree to keep receiving promotional emails following the May 25 deadline, companies including Pizza Express and Betfred are resorting to warnings of missing out on offers if they do not respond. An email from the popular pizza chain reads: “Click keep me in and in two clicks you’ll confirm you want to receive extra treats like birthday gifts. Alternatively, if you don’t want any exclusive treats, click sorry, I’m out.”

Meanwhile, Betfred is offering customers the chance to win a share of £5,000, but only if they respond to an email stating their data preferences by a set deadline.

Both companies insisted the emails fell within the Information Commissioner’s Office rules on using offers and prizes to incentivise people to share data.

A spokesman at Betfred said: “The promotional mechanic does not incentivise a customer for consenting nor does it disallow a customer qualification for opting out. The promotion is simply asking customers to update their preferences for their chance to win £5,000 – regardless of the communication preferences they select.”

A spokesman at Pizza Express said: “We are confident that our communications are compliant with the law, and guidance issued by the ICO. We have incentivised customers to take control of their data by responding, and this is not subject to whether they choose to opt into or out of our communications. The ICO’S guidance is clear that this is legitimate and does not amount to a detriment for refusing to opt-in.”