A legal notice can be likened to a cold email. In this example, an individual receives an email from a source not identified. The subject line of the email states “Dear [first name], I am receiving legal notice (or rather the enforcement of an alleged violation of statute) on [first name]. If you do not wish to receive these electronic communications on a future basis, please respond to this email with the required legal action.”
Once the individual has replied, the sender requests further information. This is known as the “opt-out” procedure. The sender will again ask for the same information as in the previous email and again request that the recipient respond via legal notice. The difference here is that this time the sender is requesting permission to send a reminder about the same legal notice to the recipient, even after the person has opted-out from receiving such emails on a continuous or recurring basis.
At this point, many will argue that a person is not obligated to respond to unsolicited emails. They may also state that it would not be a “fair” or “just” to engage in such practices. However, the law is very clear on the matter. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) & our nation’s laws, whether or not the act of cold calling or other illegal practices should have any bearing on whether the person is given the opportunity to opt out of future solicitations is immaterial. If a consumer’s legal right to an opt-out has been waived by the company in question, then such conduct is ipso facto illegal.
There are a number of different reasons why a person may wish to opt-out from receiving email solicitations. Perhaps they are new to the world of marketing and would prefer not to learn from others about their legal rights. Perhaps they do not wish to be bombarded with constant marketing messages and are tired of constantly receiving unsolicited ads in their inbox. Perhaps someone owns a website where they would like to keep visitors away. Whatever the reason may be, opting-out will remain in place as long as the email company has not abused its legal right to send email solicitations. Only then can theFCRA be used to have such conduct taken against the company.
There are a few important steps that must be taken when using the legal notice option to attempt to terminate a relationship. The first step is for the recipient of the email to confirm that they do indeed wish to opt-out from future communications. They must also provide valid legal advice as to their decision. Finally, the sender of the mail must inform the recipient of any opt-out request in a prompt manner.
The second step in attempting to terminate a relationship via legal notice is for the company offering the email to provide the contact information of the sender. This contact information can be obtained through the privacy policy section of the email, where it should be noted that the sender has permission to send emails to a given email address. If a company does not include such information, the recipient should not consider themselves bound by it. It is also recommended that recipients notify the sender that they have requested that they not be contacted via email address.
If a company fails to abide by these instructions, the legal notice option is available. In addition to terminating a relationship, legal notice can also be used to ensure that a company is keeping proper records of past correspondence. Without proper records, there is no way for the company or recipient to determine whether or not a lawsuit has been filed against them. This type of notice is often used in labor and employment disputes.
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