Morrisons has been fined £10,500 after an investigation that saw the grocer send marketing emails to over 130,000 customers who had opted out.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) found Morrisons “deliberately sent” 130,671 emails to people who had previously said they did not want to receive marketing related to their Morrisons More card.
Sent in October and November last year, the emails were titled Your Account Details and invited customers to change preferences so they could start receiving money off coupons, extra More Points as well as the “latest news” from Morrisons.
The ICO concluded that Morrisons was in breach of privacy and electronic communication regulations (PECR) and fined £10,500.
“It is vital that the public can trust companies to respect their wishes when it comes to how their personal information is used for marketing,” ICO deputy commissioner Simon Entwisle said.
READ MORE: Shareholders revolt over Morrisons pay policy
“These customers had explicitly told Morrisons they didn’t want marketing emails about their More card.
“Morrisons ignored their decision and for that we’ve taken action.”
Morrisons said: “We sent out an information message to a small percentage of our customers that aimed to provide some helpful information about our service.
“We did this with the best of intentions and we’re disappointed that this was deemed to be ‘marketing material’.”
Rhe news comes a day after almost half of Morrisons’ shareholders vented their anger over plans to increase chief executive David Potts’ remuneration package at the grocer’s annual general meeting.
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