Experian hit by US fine for unlawful marketing emails

Experian might be off the hook from the UK Information Commissioner’s Office’s enforcement notice – appeal pending – but the firm has now been battered for breaking US law on sending marketing emails.

The Federal Trade Commission has ordered Experian to pay a $650,000 (£511,384) civil penalty after finding the company in breach of the CAN-SPAM Act (Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography & Marketing Act)
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Like the UK’s Privacy & Electronic Communication Regulations (PECR), the legislation requires all companies or individuals that send out marketing emails to provide consumers with an option to opt out.

The move follows a complaint filed by the US District Court in central California which claimed that anyone who set up a free Experian credit check account was inundated with unsolicited emails without the option to unsubscribe.

“For consumers who create a Free Membership account rather than a Service Account, [Experian] then sends to these consumers’ email addresses commercial email masquerading as messages that provide account updates,” the complaint claimed.

The emails allegedly implied that it contained important information, but instead asked the consumer to confirm if a car Experian had identified was theirs, suggested consumers use their service to increase their credit score, or offered a “Dark Web Scan”.

The complaint said the emails were not focused on the consumer’s account as they claimed but were instead “commercial in nature”, the FTC reported.

The complaint states that “confirm your car” emails were reportedly sent to numerous consumers who said the vehicles were either fake, many years old, or had nothing to do with them or their identity, among other issues. They also complained that Experian did not permit them to remove the vehicles “without agreeing to share their personal information with third-party marketers,” the complaint stated.

The emails, shown in court documents, read: “This is not a marketing email” at the bottom, while claiming it was an update on the status of the person’s account. The email did not provide a link to unsubscribe from all Experian emails, but instead said the recipient could “update some alerts and communications preferences”. However, it added: “You’ll continue to receive notifications like this one on the status of your account.”

The court ruled that Experian had “participated in deceptive and unfair acts or practices in violation of the CAN-SPAM Act” and prohibited the company from sending “transactional or relationship” messages to consumers.

In addition to the $650,000, which must be paid within seven days of the filing, the court also requires Experian to include a clear option to opt out of its marketing emails.

FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection director Samuel Levine said: “Signing up for a membership doesn’t mean you’re signing up for unwanted email, especially when all you’re trying to do is freeze your credit to protect your identity. You always have the right to unsubscribe from marketing messages, and the FTC takes enforcing that right seriously.”