topic Re: Update marketing preferences in Plusnet Feedback

Update marketing preferences

jab1 — Thu, 16 May 2019 07:10:54 GMT

If this is in the wrong place, mods, please feel free to move. EVERY time I log into the Members Centre, I am told I 'haven't updated my preferences for 6 months'. Two problems here - (1) I have! and (2) Once I have set them, I am highly unlikely to want to change them. IF I did, I am capable of doing so without being nagged.

Re: Update marketing preferences

jgb — Thu, 16 May 2019 07:38:24 GMT

I have been having exactly the same issue for a few weeks now.

I have updated (i.e. gone into the link provided, reviewed my preferences and submitted them) three times and each time I get a confirmatory email from Plusnet. However, the same message in a blue box appears on my Dashboard each time I log into the Member Centre.

This is mildly annoying and so can some staff member please pick this issue up and sort it out?

Re: Update marketing preferences

VileReynard — Fri, 17 May 2019 07:20:31 GMT

Not to mention that if you go to change your preferences and hover over a "what's this" link you see this:-

Re: Update marketing preferences

jab1 — Mon, 20 May 2019 17:45:40 GMT

Still no response from PN on this subject?

Re: Update marketing preferences

VileReynard — Mon, 20 May 2019 19:34:01 GMT

I've received a reply from Plusnet only yesterday - for some reason its in a Word format, but still perfectly readable by Libre Office.

The significant part says:-

The information you have communicated has been investigated and has been confirmed as erroneous on Plusnet’s side and will be removed. Plusnet does not gather this type of information. We have liaised with the compliance department, and [...] our digital team in this regard.

We do appreciate you bringing this to our attention and for enabling us to clarify and amend this erroneous information/statement.

(my emphasis)

I did receive a separate PM explaining in more detail the causes behind the original error - so I will be happy if the message is dealt with in a few weeks, rather than many months.

However, if you look at their "privacy" policy - https://www.plus.net/help/legal/privacy-policy/

You will not be impressed:-

We'll use your personal information to send you direct marketing and to better identify products and services that interest you. We do that if you're one of our customers or if you've been in touch with us another way (such as entering a prize promotion or competition).

This means we'll:

create a profile about you to better understand you as a customer and tailor the communications we send you (including our marketing messages);

tell you about other products and services you might be interested in;

recommend better ways to manage what you spend with us, like suggesting a more suitable product based on what you use;

try to identify products and services you’re interested in; and

show you more relevant online advertising and work with other well-known brands to make theirs more suitable too.

We use the following for marketing and to identify the products and services you're interested in.

Your contact details. This includes your name, gender, address, phone number, date of birth and email address.

Your payment and financial information.

Information from cookies and tags placed on your connected devices.

Information from other organisations such as aggregated demographic data, data brokers (such as Acxiom and Edit), our partners and publicly available sources like the electoral roll and business directories.

Details of the products and services you've bought and how you use them – including your call, browser (including IP address) and TV records.

We'll send you information (about the products and services we provide) by phone, post, email, text message, online banner advertising or a notice using our apps or on your TV set-top box. We also use the information we have about you to personalise these messages wherever we can as we believe it is important to make them relevant to you. We do this because we have a legitimate business interest in keeping you up to date with our products and services, making them relevant to you and making sure you manage your spending with us. We also check that you are happy for us to send you marketing messages by text or email before we do so. In each message we send, you also have the option to opt out.

We'll only use your call, browser and some TV records (such as programmes you watch on channels we provide that are produced by other organisations) to personalise our offers as long as you are happy for us to do so.

We'll only market other organisations’ products and services if you have said it is OK for us to do so.

You can ask us to stop sending you marketing information or withdraw your permission at any time, as set out above.

Read our cookie policy for more details on how we use cookies.

Personally, I thought you were required to opt-in to such a wholesale invasion of privacy...

Re: Update marketing preferences

jab1 — Mon, 20 May 2019 19:47:51 GMT

Thanks for that info, @VileReynard , but useful as it is, it does not answer my original question to Plusnet as to why, after 'updating my preferences' - twice - I still have the banner message in my Members Centre page.

BTW, I agree with you that parts of that PN privacy policy read like an attempt to circumvent legislation - but I bet you can find similar in other companies 'Privacy Policies'.

Re: Update marketing preferences

VileReynard — Mon, 20 May 2019 20:27:05 GMT

The super-big blue banner is because Plusnet can't/won't design a decent web site.

BTW If you have a ticket open you get a second extra big banner displayed. [yuck!]

I wonder if I open a second ticket, will I get 3 big blue banners?

If they are so keen on gathering my info, I could easily set-up a background job to visit a few thousand or so randomised web pages each day.

Re: Update marketing preferences

DS — Mon, 20 May 2019 21:47:46 GMT

Is this the communication preferences for 6 months?

Or is there another blue banner waiting for me with marketing preferences too?

fwiw, here's what I see (yes I have a ticket open, but for other matters)

If it is the same, then is there an option to untick everything?

I wonder if unticking some of the options is why it comes back?

(though I'd guess to say it could be a cookie thing...?)

Re: Update marketing preferences

VileReynard — Mon, 20 May 2019 22:31:02 GMT

You can review your communications and any sensible web site would stop pestering you. Plusnet don't do this.

Don't say you'd love to be pestered by their analysis of what you would find to be interesting adverts.

BTW I suffer worse than you, because I don't have their mobile phone, I get an extra large piece of spam.

Note that each banner is (according to my browser) 1116 x 244 pixels.

Re: Update marketing preferences

DS — Mon, 20 May 2019 23:42:20 GMT

I'd condensed mine for posting, but yes normally they're almost right across the blooming screen

(I only get one advert (in pink) below the blue banners for their mobile offerings, they wrongly assume I'm already a BTS user)

I wonder if their pestering is because users are turning off too many of the options and PN (and BT) don't like it...?

I always had this mentality, if I pay then no additional ads, if it's free then fair enough, but random is my preference.

I've never been one to like tailored adverts, that was one of the reasons why I left BT - more so when their PVR gave me different adverts to normal digital OTA TV. They of course denied it. Same reason for listening devices, can't see me ever having one (unless their router has a hidden mic!). My phone, to my knowledge, has all of the listening stuff disabled or uninstalled or turned off

SWMBO is the named account holder, and thus far, probably due to not ticking boxes etc, the only comms from PN are sent to her mobile via email, which tend to be your bill is ready anyway. She does get the odd text about OR engineer visits.

So it does really sound like those whom have ticked or unticked these preferences keep getting the same message each time they log into their account, sumfink ain't right there

(and why are the majority not mentioning this too - I thought we were only getting them as we've not ticked any options)

Re: Update marketing preferences

jab1 — Tue, 21 May 2019 07:21:19 GMT

@DS My marketing preferences are, and always have been ever since I joined 7 years ago, for email only - they are easy to delete if the subject header doesn't interest me.

As I said in my original post, I have reconfirmed that twice since the banner first turned up, and have closed service notifications acknowledging those actions - but the bleep-bleep banner won't go away!

I too am rather mystified as to why there haven't been more complaints - but I will keep bumping this until PN pick it up and explain.

Re: Update marketing preferences

jab1 — Tue, 21 May 2019 07:54:55 GMT

For the benefit of any PN staff who deign to reply, service notices #412771503 and #414586167 both confirm exactly the same - i.e I have opted out of receiving marketing communications (but do not acknowledge that this does not apply to emails)

Re: Update marketing preferences

JonoH — Tue, 21 May 2019 09:18:59 GMT

@jab1 wrote:
EVERY time I log into the Members Centre, I am told I 'haven't updated my preferences for 6 months'.

Sorry that this is happening, the correct behaviour here is you should be presented with this message every 6 months, not every time you log in. I've raised it internally.

@DS wrote:

I'd condensed mine for posting, but yes normally they're almost right across the blooming screen

Thanks for the feedback about the size I'll pass it on.

I wonder if their pestering is because users are turning off too many of the options and PN (and BT) don't like it...?

Actually, most of our customers have opted in, would we like more? Sure, but this is a simple mistake.

I always had this mentality, if I pay then no additional ads, if it's free then fair enough, but random is my preference.

We get a number of complaints from customers is about price increases that occur at the end of a contract/discounted period. With the right marketing options accepted we can target these customers before the end of their contracts and offer them a new deal before they start paying extra.

Re: Update marketing preferences

jab1 — Tue, 21 May 2019 09:27:29 GMT

@JonoH Thanks for that.

I admit, for me, it is not a big irritation - I just ignore it every month when I go to check my bill, or the odd occasion I need to check something in the Members Centre, but it is obviously coding bug you needed to be made aware of.

Re: Update marketing preferences

DS — Tue, 21 May 2019 09:30:17 GMT

Thanks for clarifying John

I had no idea what was lurking behind the blue banner, so they want to send you emails based on your browsing/viewing/call history. I'm starting to understand this better now.

I wonder if these banners are coming from Plusnet or from one of their third party marketing partners (I've not checked this, but assume they do have partners for this type of stuff).

I honestly thought we got ours due to not clicking on them, but as you've kindly pointed out, even if you do they don't go away.

I guess it isn't classed as a service restricting issue and thus they won't jump on this any time soon, but you'd have thought that they would have at least acknowledged this issue.

(I will keep, when I remember to, asking you via this thread to see if you hear back from them and you forget to update this thread, as I would like to know when I may decide to click the link and not have to keep doing this, as I'd be annoyed by this too). Don't forget bumping a topic is against forums rules, but I guess asking for updates is not bumping.

(I nearly addressed you wrong then John in my first sentence, I almost wrote JonoH, guess it must be habit. I'm glad I spotted it too or else Jono would have thought it was a deliberate attempt to get him to read this)

Hang on a mo, I'm getting alerts to replies

Re: Update marketing preferences

jgb — Tue, 21 May 2019 09:47:24 GMT

@JonoH

As I said above in post #2, I am also getting this every time I log into the member centre despite updating my preferences at least three times in the last month and getting emails acknowledging I have done so with matching closed tickets on my account. Hopefully you can stop this minor irritation.Thanks.

Re: Update marketing preferences

JonoH — Tue, 21 May 2019 10:15:51 GMT

@DS wrote:

so they want to send you emails based on your browsing/viewing/call history. I'm starting to understand this better now.

To clarify, we're not emailing you based off of what websites you visit, whom you call and that kind of thing.

I wonder if these banners are coming from Plusnet or from one of their third party marketing partners (I've not checked this, but assume they do have partners for this type of stuff).

They're ours.

I guess it isn't classed as a service restricting issue and thus they won't jump on this any time soon, but you'd have thought that they would have at least acknowledged this issue.

This was the first our development team had heard of the issue, but, as they're doing something in that space shortly they're hoping to pick it up in that release (if you're already fiddling with it you might as well fix it whilst you're there).

Re: Update marketing preferences

DS — Tue, 21 May 2019 10:39:33 GMT

To clarify, we're not emailing you based off of what websites you visit, whom you call and that kind of thing.

Thanks for clarifying Jono

I misunderstood what was written here

We use the following for marketing and to identify the products and services you're interested in.

Your contact details. This includes your name, gender, address, phone number, date of birth and email address.

Your payment and financial information.

Information from cookies and tags placed on your connected devices.

Information from other organisations such as aggregated demographic data, data brokers (such as Acxiom and Edit), our partners and publicly available sources like the electoral roll and business directories.

Details of the products and services you've bought and how you use them – including your call, browser(including IP address) and TV records.

I read it that for marketing, you do all of the above. Maybe there should be one for marketing and one for identifying us?

They're ours.

Great!:) Make them a bit smaller then..... (so small we can't see them!)

This was the first our development team had heard of the issue, but, as they're doing something in that space shortly they're hoping to pick it up in that release (if you're already fiddling with it you might as well fix it whilst you're there).

Oopsie. I thought that when the member centre was taken down on the previous 2 occasions (yes I was online during both), possibly to include the extra tab (refer a friend) on the account, or for the pop up surveys if you use Edge browser, your dev' team would have seen the same blue banners and observed their length during the intensive testing, plus that these blue banners were not going away

Oooh, what shall we see instead, or will they also be there (but smaller) to divert our thoughts as to why we logged into the account in the first place

(reminds me of the time when I was with BT and used BTMail (powered by Yahsnoop) and had an advert for a rival TV platform (Now TV) when I went to check my BT TV email notification. When I pointed that out BT were PDQ to have that fixed!!)

Re: Update marketing preferences

JonoH — Tue, 21 May 2019 10:48:09 GMT

We don't use the vast majority of the things that it says we do, we have no sight at all how you use TV for example, I'm already having those words re-written. I don't even know why we've asked for permission to use things we don't possess the technology to collect. I think it was a simple copy and paste from BT's terms.

Re: Update marketing preferences

DS — Tue, 21 May 2019 11:07:03 GMT

Thanks again Jono:). You never get this sort of input from BT.

I'm guessing either BT do have the tech for their customers, or they also do not have the ability yet.

I hope you get this all revised as it would certainly save a lot of confusion.

(maybe even consider having a tick box on the options that the account holder wishes to have those preferences set for life, rather than every 6 months - assuming they stick with the products and services they currently have)