Mobile phone retailer The Carphone Warehouse said it was
"extremely surprised" by a ruling the Advertising Standards
Authority made against it concerning a text message advertising
campaign.
The ASA upheld last week two complaints about an SMS message
sent by Carphone Warehouse to its customers.
The message said, "For fantastic free handsets, inc up to 6
months free line rental or a free DVD player, call Carphone
Warehouse on ... t&c's apply ...".
The ASA received two complaints, one saying that the message was
misleading regarding the free DVD player and the conditions
necessary to get one, and another saying that the customer had not
given consent to be contacted.
Carphone Warehouse "clearly stated that terms and conditions
applied in the most appropriate way for a limited character text
message".
The company also obtained its database from "a very well known
company that guarantees that all members of the list have opted in"
to receiving advertising messages, the statement said.
Both complaints came from the same man, the only one out of
80,000 customer to complain, said Carphone Warehouse.
The use of SMS advertising is growing in Europe and analysts say
that companies will have to strike a balance between promoting
products and antagonising customers.
Gillian Law writes for IDG News Service
Carphone Warehouse slammed over SMS spam >>