GFK Market research

[#1]

I was just phoned by a woman from the above who knew my complete name and that I was with Plusnet.
She said that I had been in contact with them (Plusnet) recently and wanted to know why.  I haven't been in contact at all and I told her that and she kept saying am I sure!
How did she get my name and phone number and know my ISP.  I have her phone number in case someone from Plusnet wants it.
Any ideas please.

[#2]

Hello,
It is annoying; how have you setup your communication preferences found under Account Details in the Member Centre? Mine's set to email only.
iDan.

[#3]

It wasn't someone from Plusnet I don't think.  But they have hold of names and numbers from here.

[#4]

Plusnet do use GFK - Go to http://www.plus.net/home-broadband/satisfaction/ and click on the 'independent survey' link in the first paragraph

[#5]

Well they must have given the market research company my full name and phone number, that can't be right can it?

[#6]

Hopefully someone from PN will confirm that the call was part of genuine research tomorrow but, if PN have commissioned GFK to conduct research on their behalf then I don't see what's wrong with passing on contact info as long as the customer has agreed to be contacted.
As iDan has done, my communications preferences are set to 'email only' so I wouldn't expect to be called by GFK...

[#7]

Quote from: maryf

that can't be right can it?

Yes it is http://ico.org.uk/for_the_public/personal_information/sharing_my_info
However the use must be compatible with the original purpose of the data having been collected (See Data Protection act: Second Principle). So a company contacting you on behalf of Plusnet to see how they are doing is compatible, using it to sell you DVDs for example would not be compatible.
You can ask Plusnet to stop sharing your information which any reasonable organisation would do for the sake of customer service.

[#8]

I will ask them not to share my information as I'm not happy with that.  Thank you all for your input.

[#9]

Hi maryf,
I can confirm that we are indeed under way with a customer satisfaction survey, this is being carried out with our appointed agent which is GFK as you rightly mention.
At the point of sign up (or at customer request) we have an opt in/opt out system which allows customers to select their level of involvement with regards to marketing material and contact. For those who chose to opt in, we may at times use some of the their data to pass onto our appointed agent to run things like the satisfaction survey. This is only ever for research purposes, of which the results are fed directly back into us.
None of this information is shared with any 3rd parties and we ensure the utmost security and DPA laws are upheld throughout the process.
If you wish to have the opt out option turned on then you can send me a direct message with your username and I'll change this option for you. Please be aware though, this will opt you out of all marketing activity which will include any emails we may send out with special offers or new products we launch.

[#10]

Thanks Adam.  I have now reset my communications from  Plusnet to email and post only.  So hopefully no more phone calls from GFK as quite honestly I get more than enough annoying marketing calls from other sources.

[#11]

For any other person who is interesting this is where you change them  https://portal.plus.net/my.html?action=modifyMailOptions

[#12]

I assume this customer satisfaction survey is a new thing that has been introduced recently for people signing up.
Adam , are you sure that's correct? why would opting out of receiving phone calls, opt you out  receiving "special offers"  via emails , post , or sms .?
In the PN member centre you can choose how you want or not want to be contacted
Regards
Mike

[#13]

Glad you have this set the way you want now!
Sorry this has caused you some distress, we appreciate that this type of contact may not be for everyone. Moving forward you should just see the reduced levels of marketing contact.
@ I.T.Works  - If you chose to opt out of all marketing then we wouldn't send anything at all, when it comes to selecting the relevant segments of the base for the particular marketing material, we would add in a suppression to remove these customer from the data set. The only contact you would receive would be billing emails and notifications of action taken on your account. As for the satisfaction survey, this has been running for at least the last 3 years.

[#14]

Adam i fully understand that, the point i was making that, was that you can opt out of the phone calls and still get the "special offers" via other email etc , if you so wish.
I wrongly took your post to mean, if you don't want to be contacted by phone , you cannot have the "special offers"  
Regards
Mike

[#15]

Ah I see, apologies if that wasn't made clear. I meant that opting out of all marketing would also affect the additional contact we make regarding the launch of new products and offers.