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> John Lewis argued that because I had not opted-out of receiving their emails, I had automatically opted-in. I phoned a company which spammed me a few years a

• mnw21cam 12y ago
  I had a bit of a fun exercise that I unfortunately didn't follow through on a while back. A computer parts retailer started sending me spam, so I replied along the lines of: --- Thankyou for contacting the xxxxx proofreading service. Thankyou for choosing this service, providing efficient and accurate proofreading services for all users of email advertising. To use this service, simply send emails to be proofread to xxx@xxx. Proofreading services will be charged at £200 per email, and payment is due within one month of receiving an invoice. By sending emails to be checked, you agree to the charges, and you agree that the primary point of contact for yourselves is the email address from which the emails originate. Results and invoices will be sent to this address, so make sure it is valid. Please do not send emails if you do not agree to these points. Since you are a new customer, this first email is proofread below for free: --- Their email didn't mention that their sending email address would not receive, and British contract law has a presumption that communication that is sent is received, so when they followed up with ten or so subsequent spams, all of which I proofread, I probably would have had a fairly strong case in court to be paid for my work. Especially given one of their emails had "[pre-send]" in the subject line. It's kind of a shame I didn't take it any further than emailing invoices.
  • arethuza 12y ago
    For a legally binding contract to be in place don't you need an offer and acceptance - and silence generally isn't consider acceptance?
    • mnw21cam 12y ago
      That's the point - they weren't silent. They continued to send emails.
      • parallelist 12y ago
        I’m really interested to know if that would stand up in court
        • danielweber 12y ago
          Almost assuredly not. Where did they agree? Just because I define a series of steps that constitutes them agreeing with the contract I design, it doesn't mean that following those steps means they agree. Absurd example: if the New York Times continues to publish, they agree to pay me $1000 a day. (This example is missing consideration[1] but you can imagine that in yourself. It's an absurd example anyway.) [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consideration http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consideration
          • yebyen 12y ago
            Sure, I agree with you, the courts would most certainly not rule in favor of a judgement of £200 per e-mail, but I'm sure that's not the point. They "consented to be billed for proofreading services" every bit as much as this person "consented to receive their spam marketing e-mails". In other words, not at any time or in any reasonable form that could have been construed as consenting or agreement. I have no doubt the point of the joke was lost on the spammers/marketers, even if they even ever actually saw those terms and associated invoices.
            • rahimnathwani 12y ago
              The two examples are not equivalent. One is about whether or not a contract is formed, which requires specific steps under English law (roughly: offer, acceptance and consideration). The other (consent to receive spam emails) has nothing to do with contract law.
• eli 12y ago
  Under US law they were probably correct. CAN-SPAM Act does not require consent. (Though it does require more than just a working unsubscribe)
  • m0nty 12y ago
    UK law, in my case. You need consent and recipient must be able to unsubscribe. Some parts of this are also covered under the Data Protection Act, which is generally taken very seriously (by government, at least) in the UK. You can only use data for the purpose for which it was collected. So just because you have my email address for sending me updates about my order, doesn't mean you can email me with offers unless I agreed to that.