Four-wheel drive and camping accessory retailer Outdoor Supacentre (trading as 4WD Supacentre) was fined $302,500 for sending more than 83,000 marketing text messages that breached spam laws, according to the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA).
Between December 2022 and May 2023, the ACMA found the retailer sent exactly 81,698 text messages to recipients without their consent and 1,575 texts to customers who had previously unsubscribed.
“Businesses have a responsibility not to send unwanted spam and also to respect people’s wishes when they ask to stop receiving these messages,” ACMA member Samantha Yorke stressed.
Nearly a year before the ACMA investigated Outdoor Supacentre, the regulator sent five spam compliance alerts to the retailer after receiving complaints.
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In the 11 months prior to opening its formal investigation, the ACMA sent five spam compliance alerts to Outdoor Supacentre after receiving consumer complaints.
“The alerts serve as a warning that businesses may have compliance issues with their e-marketing systems, so it’s disappointing that Outdoor Supacentre didn’t take the opportunity to adequately address the problems before we had to step in,” Yorke said.
In addition to the fines, Outdoor Supacentre will also appoint an independent consultant to review its compliance with spam rules as part of a three-year court-enforceable undertaking. Outdoor Supacentre must also report regularly to the ACMA.
“Any business that conducts e-marketing needs to follow the rules and the way you do that is by regularly reviewing your processes to ensure they remain within the law,” Yorke said.
“Outdoor Supacentre used a third-party provider for elements of its marketing processes, but companies can’t outsource their compliance obligations.”
The ACMA has also fined big companies for violating spam laws including Kmart, DoorDash, Ticketek, and Uber.
This action follows recent enforcement taken against other companies that have breached the spam laws, including Kmart, DoorDash, Ticketek, and Uber.
The ACMA said in the last 18 months it has fined businesses more than $12.5 million for breaching spam laws.