Shopping from home: unsolicited phone calls, spam and junk mail
You also have rights if you find yourself receiving:
- "Cold calls" from marketing people
- Text messages or multimedia messages to your mobile phone, or messages to your email account, from marketing people with whom you've had no previous dealings and to whom you've never given consent to send you such messages.
- Junk mail in the post
This kind of direct marketing is now an offence in some situations, and the sender of the message could be liable to a fine of up to €5,000 per call or message.
If the call or message came from within Ireland, you can ask the Data Protection Commissioner to investigate it.
While other European countries are adopting similar laws, you may find it harder to follow up a complaint if the message or call comes from outside Ireland.
Direct marketing
Under the Data Protection laws, you have the right to have your details removed from a direct marketing database.
Write directly to whichever organisation is keeping the database (ask the seller if you are unsure how they got your details), and instruct them to remove your personal details from their files.
The Irish Direct Marketing Association, the representative body for direct marketers in Ireland, operates a "Mailing Preference Service".
By submitting your details, you will be removed from the marketing databases of some of the main direct marketers in Ireland, and you should receive fewer unwanted mailings.
You can also ask your telecom provider to register your objection to telephone marketing calls in the National Directory Database.
Learn about your rights when shopping from home
