Royal Mail fined for sending 300,000 nuisance emails

The postal group apologises for sending emails to people who had already opted out of receiving marketing

ICO says it hopes to send a message to companies that flouts the rules (PA)

Royal Mail has been fined £12,000 for sending over 300,000 nuisance emails to people who had already opted out of receiving marketing.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) said on Friday that Royal Mail did not have the consent to send emails to recipients, and therefore it had broken the law.

Royal Mail sent emails on two separate dates in July last year.

According to the ICO, Royal Mail has claimed the emails were a service as opposed to marketing information informing customers of a price drop.

The ICO did not agree with Royal Mail’s version of events.

“Royal Mail did not follow the law on direct marketing when it sent such a huge volume of emails, because the recipients had already clearly expressed they did not want to receive them,” said ICO head of enforcement Steve Eckersley.

"These rules are there for a reason - to protect people from the irritation and, on occasions, distress nuisance emails cause. I hope this sends the message that we will take action against companies who flout them."

Royal Mail issued an apology on Friday and said it takes customer privacy “extremely seriously”.

“We are very sorry that we let some of our customers down on this occasion,” said a Royal Mail spokesperson.

“Following this incident, we have tightened up our processes and governance measures still further. We are also launching additional training for colleagues.”