ING Direct N.V. 410 Thames Valley Park Drive Reading Berkshire RG6 1RH Number of complaints: 1

Date: 5 March 2008 Media: Direct mail Sector: Financial Agency: Claydon Heeley

Ad
A direct mailing from ING Direct N.V. comprised a letter, which was personally addressed to the recipient, and a newsletter.  The letter stated "Dear X I am pleased to enclose the autumn issue of our customer newsletter.  I'd like to use this opportunity to update you on some of the things that we currently have going on.  In this edition, amongst other things, we take a look at our growing family of products, reflect on some of the recent research we have conducted and hear from Channel 4's Kirstie Allsopp, so there's no reason not to read on!  We currently have you recorded as having opted out from receiving marketing promotions from ING Direct.  If you'd like to change this decision and keep up-to-date about new products and services from us, as well as special offers for ING Direct customers, please call our customer service helpline ... It's worth remembering that we never, under any circumstances, pass your details onto other companies or businesses for marketing purposes.  We will only send you information that we think you will be interested in.  I hope you enjoy the newsletter ...".  The newsletter contained information on some of ING Direct N.V.'s products, including their "Flexible Mortgage" and "Home Insurance".

Issue
One recipient of the mailing pointed out that, despite it being evident that ING Direct N.V. were aware that she had opted out of receiving marketing communications from them, they had nevertheless sent her a mailing about their products.

The CAP Code:

43.2c

Response
ING Direct N.V. (ING Direct) said two versions of the newsletter were produced.  The first version, which was for customers who had opted into receiving marketing promotions, offered M&S vouchers to customers who applied for a Home Insurance policy by the end of October 2007 and £500 to customers who applied for a mortgage by the end of 2007 and completed by September 2008; it also contained inserts relating to those two offers.  The second version, which was for customers who had opted out of receiving ING Direct marketing, did not contain any promotional offers but was otherwise exactly the same as the first version.  ING Direct provided the ASA with copies of both versions of the newsletter, copies of the promotional inserts and sample customer letters.

ING Direct explained that customers opted into or out of receiving promotional material at the point of applying for an account but were able to reverse their decision at any time.  They said their application form stated "ING Direct would like to tell you by letter, phone, mobile phone (including text messages) and e-mail, about other ING Direct products and services which we believe would be of interest to you and which are offered by us.  If you do not want us to do this, please tick the box.  Please note that ticking the box means that we will not be able to tell you about additional benefits available to our customers."  If applying by phone, customers were given the same information and were asked to confirm whether they were happy to be contacted for marketing purposes.

ING Direct stated that, as a result of sending the mailing, they had received seven complaints and 18 customer requests for no further newsletters; however 283 customers had opted back into receiving marketing promotions.

Assessment
Upheld
The ASA considered that, although it did not contain any promotional offers, the second version of the newsletter was nevertheless likely to be viewed by recipients as a marketing communication, because it promoted ING Directs "Flexible Mortgage", "Home Insurance", "Guaranteed Investment Account" and "Cash ISA".  We considered that, by ticking the opt out box on the application form, customers would expect to receive no communications at all from ING Direct about their other products and services; those customers were likely to interpret the receipt of an ING Direct promotional newsletter, accompanied by a letter that stated "We currently have you recorded as having opted out from receiving marketing promotions from ING Direct", as ING Direct being aware of, yet ignoring, their wishes.

The ad breached CAP Code clause 43.2c (Database practice).

Action
We told ING Direct not to send any marketing communications at all to customers who had opted out of receiving them.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Non-broadcast)