PPI firm grovels over 'Dear Mr Dick Head' mailshot

PPI claims firms are not exactly renowned for their subtle marketing techniques but one firm – High Street Claims – has to take the biscuit for one of the ruddest opening gambits of all time after sending a mailshot addressed to “Dear Mr Dick Head”.
Tales of such bungling are the stuff of industry legend; none more so than the BA loyalty club member who received a mailing addressed to Dear Rich Bastard in the Nineties. Meanwhile BT was recently in the dock after it sent a missive to Dear Mr Melon Porkface, although the recipient did ultimately see the funny side.
But Sunderland resident Alf Skelton, 64, was not quite so amused after being sent the mailshot offering compensation for missold PPI.
He said: “I just want to warn other people about this because it’s not right at all. After the letter was posted to the house, I thought it was a sick joke, but my wife was quite upset about it.”
In its defence, High Street Claims insisted it had bought the list from “a recognised data marketing company”, adding that it is “very strict as to the sourcing of information, consents and general compliance”.
A spokesman added: “Unfortunately, it must be the case that in this particular circumstance the screening of data did not pick up the individual name due to the format being split between first name and surname.
“As such it must have passed the screening and not been identified as a prohibited word. There was no malicious intent and we adamantly deny any accusation as such. This is merely an unfortunate and unforeseeable administration error.
The firm insists it is taking action to investigate the incident and has sent an apology to Skelton and his wife.
It added: “We strive to maintain the highest levels of compliance as well as customer satisfaction and would object to any implication to the contrary.”

TOPICS:direct mail PPI