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Online retailer - personal details on the outside of packages?

2K views 16 replies 10 participants last post by  AndyDClements 
#1 ·
This is slightly am I being unreasonable?

I have used them before but was surprised at the details on the outside of their packaging that I noticed this time.

Not sure if I would use them again in the future, sent them the below and waiting to hear back so not naming them.

-------------------

Hi,

I just received my order from you xxxxxxxxxx and I am very unhappy with my personal details that were included in the plastic transparent window.

Can you please explain why you think it is appropriate to show my invoice address, order number, order date, telephone, email and payment method on the outside of the envelope?

Just inviting my personal details to be taken by someone in the transport chain. Definitely not an appropriate use/control of that information under GDPR.

Regards.
 
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#4 ·
@DavecUK - 😂 Obvs it needs the delivery address and my name but not the other bits!

More I was interested in giving the right of reply, i.e. understand my concerns and confirm that it was a mistake or a chance to switch things around on their side. Or to tell me to jog on...

Required on the packet:

- Delivery name and address

- Return address

Not required on the packet:

- Separate invoice name and address

- Order number

- Order date

- Mobile number

- Email address

- Payment method
 
#7 ·
Dave I have never received a parcel without my name and address being printed on the packaging. But never have I been "blessed" with the details @Northern_Monkey mentioned. This is a serious breach of the GDPR.
 
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#8 ·
It does sound excessive & careless to have ALL that data publicly displayed.

Apropos nothing - I am sad to announce the recent death of humour.
 
#12 ·
It does sound excessive & careless to have ALL that data publicly displayed.

Apropos nothing - I am sad to announce the recent death of humour.
The death of humour is not just sad, it is a disaster. I cannot believe Woody Allen's book would be banned.
 
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#11 ·
@Cuprajake Handled by RM. I'm normally pretty careful about my email and phone online etc. in terms of searchable information or sites.

It just gives the equivalent of verified details, which makes attempts at identity theft potentially easier. So they have your name, address, email phone and a recent transaction to use, which I think is pretty close to the minimum sec details needed by some services.
 
#14 ·
It always annoys me when this happens. There's no need to put an email address on packaging, no need for a phone number either. A courier might use it if there's something wrong with the parcel or they can't deliver it or whatever, in which case they can put the label number into a computer and bring up any additional info they need. I hate giving my number and email address out to companies anyway because I'm fairly certain they sell the info to advertisers and cold callers.
 
#15 ·
I I hate giving my number and email address out to companies anyway because I'm fairly certain they sell the info to advertisers and cold callers.
I purchased an Asda PAYG £5 SIM. It has to be used something like every 180 days (??) to maintain the number but the credit does not expire. All those sites that will not proceed without entering a phone number get that one. If it starts attracting lowlifes, it can be binned.

I have a dual SIM phone, but a cheapo second phone would serve the same purpose.
 
#17 ·
There are dedicated dummy numbers, that will never be issued to phone users, people can always use those numbers on those sites that demand it without good need. Also have a look on soap operas for businesses, vans etc that display a number, that will normally be fake as that's what these fake ones are for.

https://fakenumber.org/united-kingdom

Email addresses, I use yahoo now, it has a disposable email service, so each retailer etc gets an email address from me, that's only assigned to that entity eBay is a PITA as it's given to every seller on that site but ho hum)

So If my real yahoo email address is Andy1@Yahoo.com. Yahoo then lets me create a second one on the same account as a framework for the disposable ones, lets say Andy2@Yahoo except Andy2@yahoo.com doesn't work as an email. Instead lets say I choose to deal with Argos and Pizzahut. I then use the framework to create Andy2-Argos@yahoo.com and Andy2-Pizzahut@yahoo.com If an email is sent to one of those addresses it arrives in my Andy1@yahoo.co mailbox. I can log on to Yahoo and send from either of those addresses (just choose it in the from field).

Now, lets pretend Argos got hacked and all email addresses captured. I'd simply close that, and if I choose to still do business with them, I may create Andy2-AArgos@Yahoo.com and it's all backup and running. Any mail to Andy2-Argos@Yahoo.com simply rejects back to the sender.

Even worse, lets pretend that hack got my Argos password (shock horror, they can see that I ordered a table), but the hackers may assume I use paypal, so start trying to get past my password, but it's fine as no such paypal account exists, it would have something like Andy2-ukpaypal@yahoo.com so they'd literally never find a password for paypal that goes with the Andy2-Argos@yahoo.com address. In the case discussed in this topic, even better as the bank / paypal etc would have no account linked to the email address and telephone number at the physical address.

Paranoid?

No, there are hackers, and the big breaches in the past have lead to subsequent account elsewhere being hacked. It also stops the firms who share data, building an accurate online profile for me. So, for example if I used facebook, it would't know that I buy from several roasters,so it wouldn't know to strt dropping adverts for kenco and nescafe all over the place.

Excessive?

Maybe, but it means that for example, the item i purchased that results in spam of a marketing nature (which would be illegal but that doesn't stop retailers), can be stopped immediate just by closing the address, even if the sender of the spam isn't the same as the details of the retailer that I was doing business with.
 
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