Grrrr..... Direct Marketing BUGS Me!

So I went to a seminar earlier this year about managment or something like that. It was an okay seminar which I indicated on the feedback form at the end of the session. On this same feedback form I also checked a little checkbox that said something like, "Please do not send me any marketing materials."

Several weeks later I received a pen in the mail with my name on it. Don't get me wrong, I like nice pens. This one wasn't nice though. It was too light, didn't flow well, and had my company name written, "Dalhousie Comput" on the side. They wanted me to order some of these pens (and would give me a great rate if I ordered 100!). I was a little annoyed that I received this pen so I called the company and politely asked them where they received my mailing information. I was surprised when they didn't give me the usual, "Sorry.... we don't have information specific to you. We just buy lists." They redirected me to the company that sold them my information: National Seminars.

That's when all the fun began. Not only did I get this pen, I also started getting weekly mailings about seminars. I called National Seminars' customer service line and requested my name and address be removed from their mailing list. Then the e-mails started coming. I filled out the "Do not send me e-mail" form on their website. The e-mails stopped.... but the direct mail continuted. I attempted to have a supervisor call me back about why I started getting mail in the first place (I assumed in 8 weeks the direct mail would stop). 8 weeks later, nobody had called me back and I still received my weekly direct mail.

Finally, I decided to contact the Direct Marketing Association (the DMA). The DMA represents companies that send direct marketing. They boast of the ethical practices their member organizations hold to. They responded to me emmediately. They indicated they would have someone from National Seminars contact me. And, true to their word, within a few days someone did call me. Unfortunately they got my voicemail. I attempted about half a dozen times to call them back, but I never did get to speak with a person.

Since my complaint, I'm now on their mailing list about 5 times. I know this, because the agent at customer service told me each entry on the list has a unique identifier printed on the label. I'm collecting the labels.

Today I got fed up after receiving two more peices of mail. It has been the better part of 6 months now and nobody seems interested in resolving the issue. So I send another e-mail to the DMA, CC'd to National Seminars. Then I went to the web site of the Federal Trade Commision. These are the guys taking on Microsoft for their anti-trust practices. I also filed a report to them.

And now for what I've learned so far from this experience:

1. Don't trust National Seminars
2. Don't trust checkboxes that say, "Do not share my information" or "Do not send me mail/e-mail"
3. Once you're on a mailing list, you're never getting off!
4. Having your name on a pen doesn't necessarily make it cool