Food delivery giant HelloFresh is slapped with a £140,000 fine by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for a seven-month spamming campaign involving a staggering 79 million emails and one million texts.
The ICO's investigation, launched in March 2022 following 14 direct complaints and 8,729 reports to the spam message reporting service, revealed that HelloFresh failed to adequately inform customers about the use of their data for marketing purposes for up to 24 months post-subscription cancellation.
The probe further exposed that HelloFresh continued contacting individuals even after explicit requests to cease communication.
Andy Curry, head of investigations at the ICO, emphasized the breach of public trust and the barrage of unwanted marketing texts. HelloFresh, responding to the fine, stated its commitment to customer-centric practices, highlighting minimal complaints in comparison to the volume of emails sent.
The company claims to have collaborated with the ICO, made policy changes, and taken data protection obligations seriously.
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