Experian Consumer Services Faces $650,000 Fine for Spam Emails

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is hitting Experian Consumer Services (ECS) with a $650,000 fine over charges that it sent its customers unsolicited emails without providing them a way to unsubscribe.

The FTC’s complaint said ECS violated the CAN-SPAM Act, according to a Monday (Aug. 14) press release.

The proposed order, which must be approved by a federal court before going into effect, requires ECS to pay the fine and prohibits them from sending marketing emails that fail to offer an opt-out mechanism.

Reached for comment by PYMNTS, an Experian spokesperson provided an emailed statement in which the company said that it disagrees with the FTC’s allegations, but that the agreement allows it to move forward and focus on serving its customers.

“Consistent with our goal to ensure consumers have clear and relevant information, in addition to the changes requested by the Federal Trade Commission, we also have launched a new Email Preferences Center, found at the bottom of every marketing email communication, that goes further,” ECS said in the statement.

“By providing our customers with account updates and information, we’re empowering them to take control of their financial lives, safeguard their identity and improve their financial health,” ECS added.

According to the complaint filed by the Department of Justice on behalf of the FTC, per the release, ECS (also known as ConsumerInfo.com, Inc.) sent spam emails to individuals who had registered accounts with the company in order to manage their Experian credit reports.

The emails enticed customers to sign up for Experian’s services such as Experian Boost in order to increase their credit scores, and offered a free dark web scan, despite these offers not being related to their accounts, the release said.

Samuel Levine, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in the release that consumers should not have to suffer unwanted emails when trying to protect their identity.

“You always have the right to unsubscribe from marketing messages, and the FTC takes enforcing that right seriously,” he said.

In another recent action, the FTC proposed a new “click to cancel” provision in March that would require businesses to make canceling subscriptions as easy as signing up for them.

In addition, the proposed rule would let companies pitch additional offers or modifications when a customer tries to cancel, only if the sellers first ask customers if they want to hear those offers.