Glossary
What is Service message?
A service message is a text sent for administrative or customer service reasons, such as an appointment reminder or a delivery update, with nothing promotional in it, so PECR's marketing consent rules don't apply.
The ICO's direct marketing guidance describes service messages as "messages that aren't promotional but are for administrative or customer services purposes". Its examples include reminding people how to contact you, checking their contact details are correct, confirming or reminding them about appointments and updating them on your terms. General branding or a logo on the message doesn't change that.
The line is easy to cross. The ICO fined EE £100,000 in June 2019 over 2,590,456 texts sent to customers who had opted out of marketing. EE argued they were service messages; the ICO found they promoted upgrades and the My EE app. What the ICO asks is whether the message is trying to influence what the person does, and one promotional sentence is enough to make the whole text marketing.
A dental practice in Norwich texting 'Your check-up is on Thursday at 10:30, reply C to confirm' is sending a service message, and it can go to every patient with a booking. In CaptiFi Connect, offers belong in a separate campaign to the people who agreed to marketing.
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