RBS rapped over e-mails to customers

RBS has been warned about sending marketing e-mails to customers who have unsubscribed from the service following a complaint to the advertising watchdog.

A woman with a NatWest 
account complained to the 
Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) after receiving two e-mails in May promoting the CashbackPlus scheme, querying whether the bank had her permission to give her details to a third party and pointing out that it had failed to unsubscribe her from its marketing database.

RBS, which owns NatWest, said the terms and conditions for the woman’s account state the bank might share account-holders’ information with other RBS Group members or third parties, and she could receive marketing information that might be of interest to her.

But NatWest confirmed that although the woman had opted out of all marketing communication, this was “captured incorrectly” on the bank’s systems.

RBS said it had received four complaints, including from the woman who contacted the ASA, and had identified 341 customers out of 500,000 affected by the error, which had been fixed.

The ASA said it was concerned RBS had not complied with advertising regulations.