How is a company like Comcast able to get away with spam?
I recently signed up for Comcast Xfinity internet (only one available in my area), and ever since I signed up I receive marketing emails almost daily that do not have an unsubscribe link because they are marked as "service related emails".
I've unsubscribed from every single email preference in my account, and even went so far to confirm with their support agents that I did it correctly.
However, almost daily I receive emails about "See what your wifi can do" or "Don't forget about these new features" etc, that are clearly marketing and not service related. Browsing forums online it seems there are countless others who have the same complaints as me.
So, my main question is, how can a company get away with this when it is blatantly in violation of the CAN-SPAM Act? Is it truly just too difficult for any individual to hire a lawyer and go up against Goliath? Does the CAN-SPAM act have any loopholes I'm not aware of that would allow this? I'm genuinely curious to this, and do not want to come off as just an angry customer ranting.
Take a look at the regulations[1] implementing the CAN-SPAM Act, specifically §316.3a(2)-(3) and you can probably figure out where Comcast is technically complying with the letter of the law. You can also check your account agreement. I would imagine they’ve got a broadly phrased paragraph or two saying they’re allowed to contact you with “updates” about the service.
[1] https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/retrieveECFR?gp=1&SID=cea8be427...
It's to their detriment to do this. If this is on your Gmail, mark that email as spam. With enough people doing that, Comcast will either have to be more transparent about those emails or face the consequences of getting dinged by Gmail.
My parents never got a lot of phone calls to their landline until they signed up for Comcast. They had Verizon for years but DSL was aging on their daily usage so I moved them to cable. Non-stop spam calls all day. I had to buy one of those boxes that plugs into the phone line to cut back on the amount they were receiving. This coincidentally started a week after they got Comcast. I am convinced Comcast sells their info or they have data leaking somewhere.
Simple solution: Comcast gives you a free email address when you sign up. Use that for your account’s only contact address.
Whenever I login to their crappy site, and start screaming profanities, I see the unread email count, and feel a little happier. At least their spam is costing them (and only them) money.
I've actually unsubscribed 2 times and Xfinity still sends me marketing emails. I have never been an Xfinity customer myself, put in an address once and never went to their site again.
I’m a Comcast customer and I don’t receive these at all. I just get “your bill is ready to view” and that’s it.
Which makes me wonder what’s wrong with your account. Is it a regional thing where one comcast region is bugged? Do you have a duplicate sub-account that you aren’t aware of that has the setting? I never set up my “comcast email”. Do you have that forwarded to your main email?
Not defending them at all, just trying to understand how this could happen or help you get rid of the emails.
Its not considered illegal if you're actively doing business with them. I believe there is a period after you've done business with a company where they can send you follow-up spam.
Like everyone else I think these emails are legal.
But it is wild that Comcast gets away with performing man-in-the-middle javascript injection attacks on it's customers' HTTP connections.
Not to excuse Comcast if they're doing something shady, but within a month of my unsubscribing from everything they did in fact stop giving me any emails. Is the complaint that this isn't happening for OP, that it shouldn't take a month, or something else?
Same with Uber promos infiltrating push notifications.
This annoys the hell out of me. I'm in the same spot getting spam emails even though I've unsubscribed from everything. What's worse is that I also get their marketing emails even though I've been unsubscribed.
Most recently, "Just for you: Save Big with Xfinity Mobile " and "Welcome to your new Xfinity Retail Store.".
Like fuck you comcast.
In Europe Liberty Global at least offers to pay you ~$2/month for the consent to spam new offers.
I don't have an answer to your question, but do have some security advice:
Never use the same email for utilities in your house as you do for anything else. Have a dedicated e-mail address for the purpose.
Charter calls me almost twice a week. Or at least marketing companies offering charter services. Plus one piece of mail a week offering some kind of deal.
Edit: They are Spectrum now
It's even worse when these emails come from ISPs you've never had an account with. I'm looking at you Charter, Optimum, and Verizon.
It’s so annoying. ALL Comcast emails now go to my spam folder because of this. Pretty sure I’ll never miss anything significant.
Mark them as spam, tell all your friends to do the same. Eventually gmail will auto-delete them not just for you but for everyone.
I hate Comcast and I have to use their service but I don't get SPAM emails about their service while I'm subscribed.
Can spam doesn't really have teeth, I would recommend changing the email on your account.
For other spam, I forward it to "abuse@comcast.net".
I recently signed up for Comcast Xfinity internet (only one available in my area), and ever since I signed up I receive marketing emails almost daily that do not have an unsubscribe link because they are marked as "service related emails".
At least you signed up. I've never lived in a Comcast service area, and I get Comcast business internet spam almost weekly.