Unsubscribing from an IT service provider (2021-08-05)

Summary

This is a published case summary from the Cayman Islands Ombudsman describing an informally resolved data protection complaint. An individual who was not a customer of an IT service provider received unsolicited marketing emails and could not unsubscribe; her unsubscribe requests had been misdirected to the company's junk mailbox and never actioned.

• Outcome: The Ombudsman's office contacted the company, which apologised, deleted the complainant's details, and could not identify the source of her email address.
• Recommendations: The Ombudsman recommended the company improve Data Protection Act compliance by developing a privacy policy and a policy for handling unsubscribe requests from marketing lists.
• Status: The complainant remained partly dissatisfied but agreed no further action was warranted; the case was closed as an informal resolution.

This document is illustrative of how the Ombudsman handles direct marketing and unsubscribe complaints under the Data Protection Act rather than a binding rule or policy statement; it creates no new formal legal obligations but signals expected good practice for organisations that send electronic marketing.

Applies to

IT service providers, businesses conducting electronic marketing, data controllers