national geographic magizine

uck51js9zml2yt

I'm not getting any mail.

Thirdfox

shayser wrote: »

Same situation here with the unsolicited post.

RNLI - Looking for a monthly donation.
Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind - Looking for a monthly donation.
The Folio Society, London - selling The Times Comprehensive Atlas.
CBM -a charity in Monaghan looking for a donation for African relief.

I have witten letters to all organisations who sent me this post. The questions I asked were:

1. Where did you obtain my personal details?
2. What information (in its totality) do you hold on your system that relates to me, whether in manual or computer form?

and the instruction:

3. Please remove all such information from your systems and inform me when this is done

I made this request under the Data Protection Act, 1998 and 2003, and the British-Irish Agreement Act, 1999.

Also, it looks to me like NGS have sold on my email address. I have always been very careful with my email address and have had very little spam over many years. Around a week after subscribing to NGS - BOOM! - buckets of spam started streaming in, and am still getting it.

I suppose because they are in the US the data privacy laws that apply here are useless.

To top it all off, I only ever received a single monthly copy of the magazine subscription.

I've got the lifeboats and guide dogs letters, and probably the others too.

I was wondering about how they got my address...

vicwatson

RNLI - Looking for a monthly donation.
Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind - Looking for a monthly donation.
The Folio Society, London - selling The Times Comprehensive Atlas.
CBM -a charity in Monaghan looking for a donation for African relief

They are the exact 4 that I got

National Geographic sold lists to Proximity London and RNLI bought the list off Proximity London (have been informed of this by RNLI)

Have e-mailed Proximity London. Maybe the others bought the list off them too?

Let's know how you get on with the others when you hear back, I'll keep ye informed on response from Proximity London

eamonnq

Was wondering where the junk mail was coming from. Only got one copy of the magazine and gave up chasing them but am getting the same sort of junk mail as above.

Slunk

Ah so that's where they came from. Same four letters received here. I think you replied to my thread on consumer issues regarding these letters vicwatson. It's seems a few companies may have our details. Demographic Ireland was the one I was told by guide dogs Ireland. That's where they got my information. Maybe proximity sell to many different places. Ill be contacting proximity myself. Thanks for the heads up

vicwatson

Slunk wrote: »

Ah so that's where they came from. Same four letters received here. I think you replied to my thread on consumer issues regarding these letters vicwatson. It's seems a few companies may have our details. Demographic Ireland was the one I was told by guide dogs Ireland. That's where they got my information. Maybe proximity sell to many different places. Ill be contacting proximity myself. Thanks for the heads up

Sorry slunk, yes I did respond over in CI, I meant to post this link for you. I only found out today that Nat Geo sold the names and addresses to Proximity who then sold them to RNLI, don't know on the others.

Perhaps Nat Geo sold them directly to Demographic Ireland ?? Worth asking them where they got them

vicwatson

Interesting stuff here regarding National Geographic selling their database of names and addresses to Direct marketing companies (post no 24 by Eirator)...

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056753055&page=2

Thirdfox

I've emailed the direct marketing firms with my request that they immediately remove my name and address from their mailing lists.

Thirdfox

The response from Bill-Moss is that they purchased my information from Uni-Marketing in the UK - see here:

http://www.uni-marketing.com/admin/upload/featured_list/National%20Geographic%20International.pdf

They (Bill Moss) has promised to get Uni-Marketing to remove me from their lists.

The quick turn-around on my enquiry may have something to do with the fact I work in the legal industry!

donnacha

Fair play to you all for the investigative reporting - not sure which thread to follow now. I'm pretty furious that my name and address details are being sold in this way and I'm conscious of the fact that probably the sooner we stop this the better as its likely to get passed onto further 3rd parties and snowball from here.

Could I be the lazy one though and ask for one of ye to update us with the email address' you contacted to remove your details and content of email being sent?

Thirdfox

enquiries@bill-moss.com - just their general email address.
And info@proximitylondon.com who haven't responded yet. I'll see if I continue getting spam mail.

Dear Sir/Madam,

My name is Thirdfox. I am on a subscription with the National Geographic and have been contacted in recent weeks with unsolicited mail requesting financial contributions. I have been informed that the charities involved purchased these mailing lists from your respective organisations.

I would ask that you remove my name and address from any mailing list you sell to other organisations with immediate effect. I shall be contacting the National Geographic Society separately to inform them of my dissatisfaction with my private information being used in this commercial manner.

Kind regards,

Third


Thirdfox
Foxy Solicitors
t: +353 1 2345678
Fox address, Ireland

vicwatson

Thirdfox wrote: »

enquiries@bill-moss.com - just their general email address.
And info@proximitylondon.com who haven't responded yet. I'll see if I continue getting spam mail.

Dear Sir/Madam,

My name is Thirdfox. I am on a subscription with the National Geographic and have been contacted in recent weeks with unsolicited mail requesting financial contributions. I have been informed that the charities involved purchased these mailing lists from your respective organisations.

I would ask that you remove my name and address from any mailing list you sell to other organisations with immediate effect. I shall be contacting the National Geographic Society separately to inform them of my dissatisfaction with my private information being used in this commercial manner.

Kind regards,

Third


Thirdfox
Foxy Solicitors
t: +353 1 2345678
Fox address, Ireland

For Proximity London the contact details are - Director of Marketing - Robin Trust - trust.r@proximitylondon.com

But you need to send this e-mail to National Geographic, they are the ones that sold/rented the information to the likes of Proximity. They had no right to do so unless when subscribing you opted out - I was never given the option of opting out when I subscribed back at the OP first post.

I am going to e-mail here - ngsintl@customersvc.com and a Mr.Paul Wilson at ngmsupervisor@custserv.com

They are the people that people on here contacted at the outset when they were having problems with delivery etc on the original offer.

Makes me now think that this was all an information gathering exercise by National Geographic and that all the money raised from the sale of the magazine is incidental to the money they can make renting/selling our names and addresses to direct marketing companies.:mad:

vicwatson

Mods - I know this thread has gone a little off course but I think this should be a sticky as magazines and problems and renting/selling of data from NGS are ongoing issue.

So although it's gone slightly off course please don't lock the thread, I think it's really useful for those that bought a subscription and have now learned their private infor is now being rented/sold by NGS.

Any chance of a sticky?

Mountjoy Mugger

It's really a consumer issue.

donnacha

I've already received this response from the mail I sent to enquiries@bill-moss.com as drafted by Thirdfox. I did add a final line to encourage a acknowledgement/response: "Can you kindly acknowledge this email and confirm that my details have been removed from these lists you are selling?"

Dear Donnacha,

I have contacted our supplier in the UK, Uni-Marketing Limited, and instructed them to remove your details for all 3rd party mailings.

Regards
InsertNameHere

The Bill Moss Partnership Limited
24-26 Bridge Street, Ringsend, Dublin 4

Tel: 353 1 6603737 Fax: 353 1 6688505
e-mail: enquiries@bill-moss.com Website: www.bill-moss.com

Thirdfox

vicwatson wrote: »

For Proximity London the contact details are - Director of Marketing - Robin Trust - trust.r@proximitylondon.com

But you need to send this e-mail to National Geographic, they are the ones that sold/rented the information to the likes of Proximity. They had no right to do so unless when subscribing you opted out - I was never given the option of opting out when I subscribed back at the OP first post.

I am going to e-mail here - ngsintl@customersvc.com and a Mr.Paul Wilson at ngmsupervisor@custserv.com

They are the people that people on here contacted at the outset when they were having problems with delivery etc on the original offer.

Makes me now think that this was all an information gathering exercise by National Geographic and that all the money raised from the sale of the magazine is incidental to the money they can make renting/selling our names and addresses to direct marketing companies.:mad:

Very true - NatGeo are the people who could presumably be still selling our private information. Unless they stop the spam won't stop either as these direct marketing firms would be entirely within their rights to purchase my address if I had allowed it in the first place.

All it says to me is that the NatGeo society has stooped to a very low tactic of revenue generation. It's a damn shame

Slunk

Just emailed Bill Moss, Proximity and NGM Supervisor. I think one of the charites I emailed already contacted Bill Moss on my behalf but Im more interested in NGM response now

Hogzy

PLEASE GOD dont link to this thread. They will only find out that none of us have been charged.

Slunk

Hogzy wrote: »

PLEASE GOD dont link to this thread. They will only find out that none of us have been charged.

Ha. Didn't mention this thread but expressed my extreme dissatisfaction and unlikelyness to renew my subscription next year due to their behaviour. Might be lucky and get an extension on my subscription

xpletiv

Great work everyone. Was wondering where this crap was coming from.

EDIT: Just had someone call me about this. Apparently, this is allowed by them and no issue with them sending our info to charities to contact us. However, they will remove us from the mailing list. Unfortunately, they said they couldnt find my details to remove them, so they are contacted NG to find out who they sent the details to! Not sure how this will go.

Slunk

NGM supervisor replied to me and has said my account has now been marked to opt out from this stuff. He claimed there is an opt out button on the subscription page but I may have missed it. Either way, I am removed from any future information sharing.

Slunk

You can expect mail from some religious group, society of the little flower today. They did however include five pretty nice(if your religious) Christmas cards and envelopes.My mother will be happy with them

keredern

Slunk wrote: »

You can expect mail from some religious group, society of the little flower today. They did however include five pretty nice(if your religious) Christmas cards and envelopes.My mother will be happy with them

You too!!!!!:eek:

Gosh, there's gonna be a glut of religious cards going out this Christmas!!! lol :rolleyes:

Thirdfox

In case anyone was looking for wording to use in an email to NG here is what I wrote, you should change and amend the wording so that it's not the exact same.

Dear Mr. X,

Starting off, I wish to thank you for your help in getting the order and delivery issue sorted out for me. The magazines have been arriving monthly and are an insightful read.

However, it has come to my attention that the National Geographic Society has been selling my private contact details to various direct marketing firms. As a result of this I have been contacted by various organisations via unsolicited mail requesting financial contributions.

I have never approved of my information being used by third parties nor sold commercially, and I request that my information be removed these lists as soon as possible.

As I take care to either opt out of direct marketing or opt in to refusing direct marketing it is disappointing that my information has been used against my wishes in such a manner. I hope this matter can be resolved in an expedient manner.

Kind regards,
Thirdfox

Thirdfox
Foxy lawyers
01 234 5678
Foxland

And here is the response I received:

Dear Thirdfox,

Thank you for your email.

Firstly, our sincere apologies for the inconvenience caused and thank you for bringing this to our attention.

Our magazine renewal forms as well as our new member order forms have a tick box for readers to indicate to us their preference for receiving mailings from outside organizations. We can assure you that these organizations can use the name once only and are not allowed to retain the customer information or resell it.

I understand your concerns and have taken the necessary steps to remove your name from the lists that we make available for promotions. The adjustment may take 4-6 weeks and I ask your patience in allowing sufficient time for the correction to take place.

The decision to place our member list on the market was based on several factors. The revenue from the list rental provides funding to support our mission of inspiring people to care about the planet and to continue worldwide exploration and research. However, once a member lets us know their preference regarding receiving mail from these organizations, we promptly adjust their account.

I hope this information is helpful and thank you again for your patience.
Kind Regards,
X
National Geographic Customer Service

I am quite disappointed with NG, I can understand that the commercial operation needs funds to continue its work but the email seems to suggest that you'll be getting spam unless you inform them and get them to readjust for you.

I am almost certain I ticked/unticked the relevant box asking that my details be kept private. And even if it were not the case I would have assumed that NG would only share my information with "selected parties you may be interested in" etc. - not selling to a direct marketing firm who could then sell to anyone they like.

Anyway - I hope this is the end of the matter. I will be a lot more wary dealing with NG in the future as a result of this.

uck51js9zml2yt

Im starting to feel neglected at this stage. All I ever get is the NG magazine:rolleyes:

xpletiv

Despite what they say, is what they have done, actually legal?

I know I for sure didnt consent. If there had been that option, which I dont think there was, I would have opted out.

shayser

xpletiv wrote: »

Despite what they say, is what they have done, actually legal?

I know I for sure didnt consent. If there had been that option, which I dont think there was, I would have opted out.

I think you are right in saying there was no opt out option. I opt out (or don't opt in) without fail wherever and whenever it is presented to me. I think I would have noticed it. Anyone else notice an opt-out option?

keredern

shayser wrote: »

I think you are right in saying there was no opt out option. I opt out (or don't opt in) without fail wherever and whenever it is presented to me. I think I would have noticed it. Anyone else notice an opt-out option?

There was definitely no 'opt out' option.

And just to be sure I went back through the original link & placed another order...but didn't press the final button to submit after credit card details.

NO 'OPT OUT'!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :mad::mad:

Really annoyed about this as I am always so careful about supplying my details!!

asharkman

SOOOOOoooooo...... where do i get my cheap national geographic magazines?
this still the cheapest place?
http://shop.nationalgeographic.com/ngs/product/magazines/national-geographic-magazine/national-geographic-magazine-international-delivery

Thargor

I go home to my parents once a month and theres a giant stack of mail on my desk every time and it is all complete crap, thought it was because I donate to Sightsavers but obviously it was National Geographic all along.

To be honest the quality level of NG has gone through the floor lately, its all human interest now, stories about such and such a community struggling to hold their traditions against modern blah blah or even worse coverage of certain Chinatown/Londons East End/other areas like that, so boring, Im only interested in seeing epic places I want to visit like Yellowstone or the Artic and they dont seem to do these stories any more, the odd bit of human interest is okay but dont make the whole magazine about it...