David Jenkins
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posted on 18/6/21 at 09:24 AM |
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Halfords... why, oh why...
Just been to get a small bottle of brake fluid, and chose Halfords as it's peeing down with rain and I couldn't be bothered to trek around
in the rain to get a better price.
Went to pay, and the cashier said "What's the best email address for your receipt?" - I couldn't even be bothered to discuss
it, so flatly said "No". Strangely enough, a standard printed till receipt was produced.
Devious bunch of monkeys...
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McLannahan
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posted on 18/6/21 at 09:38 AM |
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I don't mind this to be honest. It makes claiming warranty/guarantees a lot easier? I'd rather save the paper/printing too.
You could always dedicate an email address for this sort of thing? Easy if you have a Gmail address as you can customise those easily
(username+halfords@gmail.com)
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gremlin1234
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posted on 18/6/21 at 09:52 AM |
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one of my cars has its own gmail address, being its numberplate@gmail.com
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McLannahan
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posted on 18/6/21 at 09:55 AM |
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quote: Originally posted by gremlin1234
one of my cars has its own gmail address, being its numberplate@gmail.com
Great idea to keep all invoices and receipts linked to one address - I like it! I suppose you could photograph everything else that didn't
support this and email it to the account. Genius thinking this Gremlin!
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David Jenkins
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posted on 18/6/21 at 10:10 AM |
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All very worthy reasons - but I'm quite certain that all they want is to send me junk emails.
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nick205
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posted on 18/6/21 at 10:40 AM |
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quote: Originally posted by David Jenkins
All very worthy reasons - but I'm quite certain that all they want is to send me junk emails.
David
Halfords are one of many retailers (Screwfix is another) that have been doing this for some time now. Yes, they'd email you the receipt, which
reduces paper + ink + printer use and makes receipts easier/tidier to store.
I've never given them an email address - like you I don't trust them not to bombard me with marketting I don't want.
I have several email addresses already, work, home and scouts. I don't want any more to faff about reading or looking after.
If I want to keep the receipt I've got a free Android app "Tiny Scanner" that you use to take a take a photo of the paper receipt.
It turns it straight to a PDF and files it on my cloud drive - job done.
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craig1410
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posted on 18/6/21 at 11:30 AM |
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As a trade card holder, they already have my email address anyway so I just give them that address. I know this won't work for most people but
honestly I would rather have electronic receipts instead of having to scan thermal paper receipts which tend to get all marked up even just on the
trip home in your pocket.
Also, I find spam from genuine companies quite easy to handle because they are duty bound to provide unsubscribe links and obey GDPR regulations. I
don't find Halfords to be a prolific spammer either, and sometimes I do see special offers that are of interest.
Lastly, if you are a Gmail user then you have bigger problems than Halfords having your email address since you now have Google able to see all your
emails from everyone and using that to drive ads into your web browsers.
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Mr Whippy
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posted on 18/6/21 at 12:05 PM |
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They've been doing that for years, just say no. They only want to gather your info...
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David Jenkins
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posted on 18/6/21 at 12:50 PM |
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quote: Originally posted by Mr Whippy
They've been doing that for years, just say no. They only want to gather your info...
That's what I did - I think the bloke was a bit surprised by my straightforward "No"!
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JC
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posted on 18/6/21 at 02:00 PM |
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They have my email address for receipts but amazingly, haven't bombarded me with spam.....
Get loads of crap from Pandora and Pets at home though - not my doing lol!
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gremlin1234
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posted on 18/6/21 at 04:37 PM |
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quote: Originally posted by JC
They have my email address for receipts but amazingly, haven't bombarded me with spam.....
Get loads of crap from Pandora and Pets at home though - not my doing lol!
I have to agree, a while ago I gave halfords an email address for a
receipt and free mot, and had very few emails from them, one when mot was due again, and another about their opening arrangements last year. so yea,
not spam
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steve m
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posted on 19/6/21 at 07:44 AM |
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I was pretty sceptical about giving my email out to any store, but in fairness to the ones i have, Halfords, screwfix Pc world, are a few, ive never
received an unwanted email from them, just a receipt
I know with Halfrauds and Screwfix, i did ask for no spam emails, to be sent, and im sure they can tick a box to confirm
What i do get daily, is a tirade of absolutely crap emails, from stuff i have never asked for nor want, but even selecting them as spam, does not sort
the problem out
Thats was probably spelt wrong, or had some grammer, that the "grammer police have to have a moan at
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Mr Whippy
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posted on 19/6/21 at 09:06 AM |
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quote: Originally posted by steve m
What i do get daily, is a tirade of absolutely crap emails, from stuff i have never asked for nor want, but even selecting them as spam, does not sort
the problem out
That's because Halfords and Screwfix sold your email address to the Chinese to make a quick buck and the Chinese have sold it to the rest of the
world. If you look at the small print it will usually says "we may share your details with affiliated partners" i.e. anyone they want,
especially if they offer us cash.
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nick205
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posted on 20/6/21 at 12:00 PM |
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quote: Originally posted by Mr Whippy
quote: Originally posted by steve m
What i do get daily, is a tirade of absolutely crap emails, from stuff i have never asked for nor want, but even selecting them as spam, does not sort
the problem out
That's because Halfords and Screwfix sold your email address to the Chinese to make a quick buck and the Chinese have sold it to the rest of the
world. If you look at the small print it will usually says "we may share your details with affiliated partners" i.e. anyone they want,
especially if they offer us cash.
That's the catch - they'll flog data to anyone who'll pay them for it. Simple business really.
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craig1410
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posted on 20/6/21 at 11:47 PM |
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If anyone wants to skip the hand-wavy speculation and look at what Halfords actually do with your data then you can find the privacy policy here:
https://www.halfords.com/customer-services/policies-and-regulations/privacy-policy.html
No mention whatsoever of China for starters (see Overseas Transfer section)
I've got no reason to defend Halfords but I have seen no evidence that they are doing anything shady with our email addresses and I don't
think it's helpful to tar every company with the same brush. For sure there are plenty of shady companies out there but let's stick to the
facts where possible. The GDPR regulations have teeth for any reputable companies who choose to flaunt privacy laws.
As I mentioned before, anyone with a Google mailbox, or for that matter a Facebook account, has way bigger problems than giving Halfords or Screwfix
or most other household UK companies their email address.
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Irony
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posted on 21/6/21 at 12:26 PM |
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Love it when a shop emails me the receipt for such things. I shop at places that do this over places that do not simply because then I know I have
the VAT receipt for TAX purposes
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craig1410
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posted on 21/6/21 at 01:33 PM |
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Ironically, today I'm trying to find the receipt for an Ikea Dishwasher I bought in 2019 which has started tripping my RCD circuit breaker. I
know it has a 5 year warranty but Ikea state that the sales receipt or email is needed as proof of purchase. If only that receipt had been emailed to
me then it would be a lot easier to find!
I'm pretty sure I can still claim the warranty without the receipt as I have found the transaction on my bank statement but still, emailed
receipts are sometimes very useful!
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James
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posted on 22/6/21 at 02:56 PM |
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quote: Originally posted by craig1410
If anyone wants to skip the hand-wavy speculation and look at what Halfords actually do with your data then you can find the privacy policy here:
https://www.halfords.com/customer-services/policies-and-regulations/privacy-policy.html
No mention whatsoever of China for starters (see Overseas Transfer section)
I've got no reason to defend Halfords but I have seen no evidence that they are doing anything shady with our email addresses and I don't
think it's helpful to tar every company with the same brush. For sure there are plenty of shady companies out there but let's stick to the
facts where possible. The GDPR regulations have teeth for any reputable companies who choose to flaunt privacy laws.
As I mentioned before, anyone with a Google mailbox, or for that matter a Facebook account, has way bigger problems than giving Halfords or Screwfix
or most other household UK companies their email address.
Enjoy GDPR whilst you can... Brexit may have rung it's death nell...
https://www.theregister.com/2021/06/17/post_brexit_laws_mps_wishlist/
https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/law/replace-gdpr-says-prime-ministers-regulatory-hit-squad/5108876.article
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"The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses, behind the lines, in the gym and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights."
- Muhammad Ali
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craig1410
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posted on 22/6/21 at 03:36 PM |
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Speaking as someone who works in the IT industry, there's no doubt that GDPR isn't perfect but it has given a welcome boost to privacy. I
don't believe the UK will abandon it just because we are outside the EU now.
But like I said, while people are still using Facebook and Google products privacy clearly isn't their priority. Fortunately Apple is making
life very difficult in recent iOS updates for those who invade our privacy as part of their business model.
"Enjoy GDPR" - that made me chuckle! I can't say I've enjoyed sitting on various seminars and filling in numerous assessments
but if it helps to protect people then I guess it's been worth it.
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James
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posted on 23/6/21 at 01:42 PM |
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quote: Originally posted by craig1410
Speaking as someone who works in the IT industry, there's no doubt that GDPR isn't perfect but it has given a welcome boost to privacy. I
don't believe the UK will abandon it just because we are outside the EU now.
But like I said, while people are still using Facebook and Google products privacy clearly isn't their priority. Fortunately Apple is making
life very difficult in recent iOS updates for those who invade our privacy as part of their business model.
"Enjoy GDPR" - that made me chuckle! I can't say I've enjoyed sitting on various seminars and filling in numerous assessments
but if it helps to protect people then I guess it's been worth it.
I said it with a degree of tongue-in-cheek!
I'm ex-IT and I saw the havoc it wrought amongst the IT team at my last firm!
As for whether it goes... isn't Chairman Jonson planning a post-Brexit bonfire of red tape? And there's definitely money to be
made from selling data (sorry! from "boosting date-based innovation" so I don't see it as that unlikely. IDS has form on this
one!
May we live in interesting times!!!
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"The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses, behind the lines, in the gym and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights."
- Muhammad Ali
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