Halfords fined £30,000 over 'annoying' marketing emails

ICO says penalty will serve as a warning to similar organisations to reconsider their use of electronic marketing

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) said on Tuesday that it had fined motoring and cycling retailer Halfords Limited £30,000 for sending unwanted marketing emails to people without their consent.

According to the ICO, Halfords, the largest retailer of cycling products and services in the UK, sent out 498,179 unsolicited marketing emails in July 2020 about the government's "Fix Your Bike" voucher scheme. This voucher allowed individuals to receive a £50 discount on the cost of repairing a bike at any participating store or mechanic in England.

The regulator found after an investigation that the marketing email from Halfords encouraged recipients to arrange a free bike inspection and use the coupon at their preferred Halfords store. This amounted to promoting the company's services, which would ultimately result in financial gain for the organisation.

Under the electronic marketing regulations in the UK, companies are not allowed to send emails or other messages to individuals unless they have either given their prior consent to receive such communications or are existing customers who have purchased a product from the company.

The retailers are also required to provide customers with an easy option to unsubscribe from marketing emails.

The ICO said that Halfords could not rely on the legitimate exemptions since the consumers who got emails from the company had not opted into receiving marketing messages from Halfords.

The ICO has the authority to levy penalties of up to £500,000 to companies that send nuisance marketing. Additionally, the watchdog can also apply to the court for orders to wind up enterprises or to have directors disqualified.

"It is against the law to send marketing emails or texts to people without their permission," said Andy Curry, head of investigations at the ICO.

He added that such acts not only violate the right to privacy of individuals, but they are also "frustrating" and "annoying".

A well-known company like Halfords is supposed to "know and act better," he said.

"This incident does not reflect well on the internal advice or processes and therefore a fine was warranted in this case."

Curry said that the penalty would serve as a warning to similar organisations to reconsider their use of electronic marketing.

The government announced the Fix Your Bike scheme in response to the pandemic, offering users a £50 coupon to help restore neglected bicycles.

The scheme was launched in the end of July 2020, but by the summer of 2021, it was reported to have ended, with just 4 in 5 of the vouchers being distributed.

A spokeswoman for Halfords said that the firm was surprised by the ICO ruling as the email was issued as part of cooperation with the Department for Transport (DfT) and the Energy Saving Trust.

The spokeswoman noted that the email's main purpose was to tell recipients about the DfT's Fix Your Bike voucher programme and how to use the coupons.

"This was an important part of the government's strategy for dealing with the profound and urgent transport issues caused by the pandemic.

"We understand that only one individual complained. We believed at the time - and continue to believe - that the email complied with the rules."

The representative went on to say that it was disappointing that the ICO failed to consider the unique circumstances under which the email was sent.