The Direct Marketing Association said yesterday that a company cited by its ethics committee was in compliance with DMA guidelines.
In December, the DMA's Committee on Ethical Business Practice said three companies failed to reach appropriate resolutions involving consumer complaints about direct marketing practices. One company was Intelius, Bellevue, WA, an online reference service that locates individuals.
The committee originally alleged that Intelius, which it said was not a DMA member, failed to confirm that its information sources do not include marketing data or whether and how consumers can remove their names from the service.
Since then, Intelius, which is now a DMA member, confirmed that marketing data are not used in its reference service and provided information as to how consumers can remove their names, according to the DMA.
“The vast majority of cases reviewed by DMA ethics committees are usually resolved,” Patricia Kachura, DMA senior vice president for ethics and consumer affairs, said in a statement. “We are pleased that when contacted as part of our investigations, companies almost always take steps to improve their processes and come into compliance with our guidelines.”
From July to November, the committee heard 20 cases, six of which involved general advertising, including offline and online promotions and practices, six involving telemarketing practices and eight on the collection, use and maintenance of marketing data.
Melissa Campanelli covers postal news, CRM and database marketing for DM News and DMNews.com. To keep up with the latest developments in these areas, subscribe to our daily and weekly e-mail newsletters by visiting www.dmnews.com/newsletters
