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There is a curious story in one of the newspapers, buried beneath those of the strike by British Airways staff, which attracted my attention this morning. It concerns the data bases which some companies compile and then sell on to others who want to use them to send out consumer mail shots or to solicit charitable donations.
Last week, Virgin Media used one of these data bases for a mail shot. The result was that a gentleman in Strelley, Nottingham, received a letter addressed to ‘Mr Illegal Immigrant’ and which started off ‘Dear Immigrant’. As it happened, the gentleman concerned was neither an immigrant nor illegal and he was naturally upset to receive a letter addressed in this way. Virgin Media apologised and explained that there was a fault with the data base they purchased.
I suppose there is a comic side to this tale but, on the other hand, I did wonder if there was a more sinister side.
Marketing data bases are sold by companies that compile information on us. The chances are that if you buy something in a shop or a supermarket or order something online, details of your purchases will be sold to one of these companies. You may also have filled in a questionnaire as part of an entry to a newspaper competition that will also be used by data base compilers.
Thus, the chances are that on a data base somewhere, I am noted for buying books of a historical nature, that I am keen on Japanese food, that I generally use certain supermarkets, that I like to cruise as my main holiday, travel to France by train now and again and that I read the Times and the Telegraph every day. A data base might have more information on me, such as my sex, age, socio-economic grouping and, possibly, other stuff as well.
In my previous incarnations, my companies have often used such data bases for mail shots aimed at folk in a particular socio-economic group, who read certain newspapers or magazines and who are likely to be interested in, say, a cruise to the Caribbean at a certain time of the year. The chances are that a mail shot based on these sort of criteria would more than justify the purchase of the data base plus the cost of sending the mail shot out to, perhaps, many thousands of people.
But I do wonder if the compilers of data bases are using more information than they should. How would they know that anyone might be an illegal immigrant?
Is there more than meets the eye to this particular story I wonder?
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There is a curious story in one of the newspapers, buried beneath those of the strike by British Airways staff, which attracted my attention this morning. It concerns the data bases which some companies compile and then sell on to others who want to use them to send out consumer mail shots or to solicit charitable donations.
Last week, Virgin Media used one of these data bases for a mail shot. The result was that a gentleman in Strelley, Nottingham, received a letter addressed to ‘Mr Illegal Immigrant’ and which started off ‘Dear Immigrant’. As it happened, the gentleman concerned was neither an immigrant nor illegal and he was naturally upset to receive a letter addressed in this way. Virgin Media apologised and explained that there was a fault with the data base they purchased.
I suppose there is a comic side to this tale but, on the other hand, I did wonder if there was a more sinister side.
Marketing data bases are sold by companies that compile information on us. The chances are that if you buy something in a shop or a supermarket or order something online, details of your purchases will be sold to one of these companies. You may also have filled in a questionnaire as part of an entry to a newspaper competition that will also be used by data base compilers.
Thus, the chances are that on a data base somewhere, I am noted for buying books of a historical nature, that I am keen on Japanese food, that I generally use certain supermarkets, that I like to cruise as my main holiday, travel to France by train now and again and that I read the Times and the Telegraph every day. A data base might have more information on me, such as my sex, age, socio-economic grouping and, possibly, other stuff as well.
In my previous incarnations, my companies have often used such data bases for mail shots aimed at folk in a particular socio-economic group, who read certain newspapers or magazines and who are likely to be interested in, say, a cruise to the Caribbean at a certain time of the year. The chances are that a mail shot based on these sort of criteria would more than justify the purchase of the data base plus the cost of sending the mail shot out to, perhaps, many thousands of people.
But I do wonder if the compilers of data bases are using more information than they should. How would they know that anyone might be an illegal immigrant?
Is there more than meets the eye to this particular story I wonder?
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