Did anyone else get this email, and is this legal???

[aussiegirl]

Hi Everyone.
I recieved this email about a week ago and was wondering if anyone else that used to be on a particular other forum might have recieved the same email. I have been asking questions about how they obtained my email address and challenging them on whether there has been a breach of the privacy act by the owners of the previous forum, who passed on the email addresses to the new forum administrators. I was sent back an email with some information about what was deemed to be private information and what was deemed as not private, but the way I read it, the information was private because the email address was linked to personal information about me, ie name, address, phone numbers membership number of previous forum etc.

If there are others out there who recieved this email, how did you feel about it when you read it, and do you feel that your privacy has been breached as well???

Here is the content of the email I recieved

Dear fellow motorhomer,

I have been given information that you may have previously been a member
of a motorhome forum which closed.

Many of the former members of that forum have joined the Aussie
Motorhomers forum, and I invite you to join as well.

The address is http://link_removed.com
I look forward to seeing you register.

Regards,
Georges Kefka.
Forum Convenor.

ADMIN: link changed. We don't advertise other forums... sorry.
Yes, many of us received it. Storm in a teacup. You know that song "we just wanna have fun!" ??

[ALAN 41]

I thought any information given is, or at least should be confidential, and only supplied to a third party with the written consent of the owner of the information.

Al.

[Dot]

Hi Jenny, Same one as I got and also got the same response to the privacy issue..

[BruceS]

Yes Al.
Trouble is proving where it came from.
What I mean is that if it did come from the now defunct CMCA forum then indeed there could be a real case to be answered.
If however it came from the now defunct "Doug's Forum" then it's a case of "too bad, so sad" !! Same gang running it so one hand in each pocket is a given.........

[T1 Terry]

I have to say that I wasn't very happy about the way a certain motorhome club treated my private information and if it simply let a private organisation harvest the information, especially since I am no longer a member there. But rather than creating a female dog fight here, if you are looking for names to support any actions then via PM might be better No point in tipping them off eh

[Dot]

No need to tip em off they are lurking 24/7 ESP is at work

[aussiegirl]

Hi Terry, Sorry, didnt think about removing the link I emailed the sender back and asked how he knew that I was on a particular forum and how did he get my information. He advised me that information had been gleaned from the CMCA - I have keep all correspondance from the admin of this forum site. When I advised them that I thought that the privacy act had been breached I recieved copied text setting out the definition of 'private information". I replied back to them that in this case the text that refered to private information seemed to explain the situation in this case, I have recieved no further email from them. Maybe they are checking with their legal eagles at the moment????

[dream4red]

Jenny, It is clear that the forum has breached it's duty of care for your personal information.
The other aside information for your interest is that as a member of the cmca, but not a member of their latest forum that went kerrfuft, I did not receive the email. So it is obviously forum related information.
I have totally lost interest in this particular organisation, who seem to have lost their way and forgotten the reason for their existence.

[ALAN 41]

Jenny, It is clear that the forum has breached it's duty of care for your personal information.
The other aside information for your interest is that as a member of the cmca, but not a member of their latest forum that went kerrfuft, I did not receive the email. So it is obviously forum related information.
I have totally lost interest in this particular organisation, who seem to have lost their way and forgotten the reason for their existence.

Yes Deborah.
And we know of this and another forum that have real people with a real sense of humour don't we.

No bitching back biting, mine's bigger/ better than yours crap, just good old fashion fair dinkum real people.

[nut17]

I also got that email and have since joined that forum - more as a lurker than anything. There are a number of recognizable names showing up.

The privacy issue did not worry me.

Cheers Chris