Stop direct marketing on behalf of someone?

LollipopSiouxsie

Hi,

I'm trying to find some information on what sort of restrictions the data protection act might impose on someone wanting to stop direct marketing on behalf of someone, such as a terminally ill relative.

For example, would I need to have power of attorney in order to remove a terminally ill relative's details from the mailing list of a catalogue company? Some companies are quite sensitive and will stop mailings without requesting power of attorney, but some (such as JDWilliams) want proof of power of attorney before stopping further mailings from being sent out.

It just seems excessive to request POA to stop catalogues and leaflets from being sent to a dying person.

wealdroam

Well if you want to act on behalf of someone else, then, in the circumstances you describe, strictly you do need POA.

Clearly some organisations understand the situation and are happy to help. Others feel the need to protect themselves from 'something'.

There is no consumer rights issue here... just the need to recognise that some are more helpful than others.

ILW

The person may like reading the catalogues.

JReacher1

POA is needed for you to even discuss the account if you're not the account holder. If they've a JDWilliams account then they've got a credit account with them.

I don't think any credit company would speak to a 3rd party without POA being given.

The companies that have stopped sending the catalogues will have your relative on a mailing list which is different to having a credit account.

Hintza

Can they not just be thrown in the bin?

Can it be done online if you get the password?

earthstorm

Can this person not call them up when you are their and they just tell them that they give the company permission to speak to you on their behalf.

LollipopSiouxsie

The terminally ill person in question (a friend of the family) is not in any state to get to the phone. She is quite literally at death's door. Her daughter finds the volume of mail excessive and wants it to stop, and JDW will not do anything without POA. Yes, it could go straight in the bin but she would prefer none to be sent at all during what is surely a very distressing time.

I have worked for mail order companies before and I know letters of authority and POA are necessary if a third party wants information about the customer's account, such as the balance, credit limit, statements, etc. JDW won't disclose any details about the customer's account without verbal/written authority, but requesting the mailings to be stopped doesn't require JDW to disclose any account details at all, so personally I can't see why they should request POA given the circumstances.

I can't find much useful information on this subject online, but it seems it may come down to the discretion of the company in question. It just seems to me that requesting POA for something as simple as stopping unwanted catalogues and leaflets is heavy handed.