Service Seeking fined for Spam Act breach

A penalty has been handed down to Service Seeking Pty Ltd, for breaching the Spam Act.

The company has paid a $50,400 infringement notice for sending SMS messages without consent, for failing to clearly identify who authorised them and for not including an unsubscribe statement.

This follows an investigation by the Australian Communications and Media Authority into consumer complaints about Service Seeking’s marketing practices. Service Seeking offers an online marketplace where people can hire local professionals.

“Businesses that use SMS marketing must make sure the recipient has given permission to be contacted. In this case, the business sent commercial messages to phone numbers obtained from an online directory without the consent of the account holder,” said ACMA Chair Nerida O’Loughlin.

“This is also a timely reminder that all SMS marketing must identify who sent the message and enable the recipient to opt out from future messages.”

The ACMA has been targeting consent-based marketing as one of three priority compliance areas for unsolicited communications. This is one of a number of investigations finalised under the campaign.

The penalties for breaching Australia’s spam rules can be serious for businesses. Where businesses are found to be breaking the rules, the ACMA can seek a civil penalty and/or injunction from the Federal Court; give an infringement notice; accept a court enforceable undertaking; or issue a formal warning.

If you receive an SMS that you think may breach the rules, you can make a complaint at https://acma.gov.au/theACMA/spam-complaint-form.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/Wolfilser

Please follow us and share on Twitter and Facebook. You can also subscribe for FREE to our weekly newsletter and quarterly magazine.