Mycar Tyre & Auto fined $1m for marketing email spam
Mycar Tyre & Auto has been fined more than $1 million for failing to provide customers an unsubscribe function on its marketing emails and text messages that were sent over a span of several months.
An investigation by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) found the company sent more than 1.45 million texts and emails without a functioning unsubscribe facility from January to August 2022.
ACMA also found Mycar sent 276,000 emails that required customers to provide vehicle registration details to opt out of receiving further messages, and around 5,000 messages to consumers who had previously asked to unsubscribe from emails.
It accepted a three-year court-enforceable undertaking from Mycar to undertake an independent review of its e-marketing practices and to implement improvements. The company is also required to provide regular compliance reports to the ACMA and train its staff on Australia’s spam laws.
ACMA chair Nerida O’Loughlin said people could not easily opt out of receiving Mycar’s commercial messages and this led to a significant level of consumer frustration.
“In one campaign Mycar sent more than 1 million text messages that didn’t have an unsubscribe function,” O’Loughlin said.
“This is unacceptable, especially from a well-established national retailer.
“The action taken by the ACMA on this matter, as well as our recent action against the Commonwealth Bank, sends a strong message that we will continue to hold businesses to account for spam breaches.”
The Spam Act 2003 requires marketing messages to include the option for customers to unsubscribe, and also does not allow companies to make customers log in or provide personal details to unsubscribe. The law also does not allow sending further marketing messages to customers that have already unsubscribed.
Earlier this month, the ACMA fined Commonwealth Bank $3.55 million for also breaching the spam laws when it sent some 65 million marketing emails that also did not include working unsubscribe facilities.
Mumbrella has contacted Mycar Tyre & Auto for comment.
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