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Concerns Regarding Unsolicited Email and CASL Compliance
Dear TELUS Team, I recently received an email from TELUS requesting that I sign a petition. I have some concerns regarding this communication: 1. Unsolicited Contact: I did not provide con...
This is a public forum and your message isn't an email.
This rundown from another online discussion would seem relevant:
1) The message isn't being sent for a commercial purpose. CEMs doesn't just mean 'coming from a business'. CASL doesn't just generically apply to all messages. A commercial message is one that encourages the recipient to take an action as to:
(a) offers to purchase, sell, barter or lease a product, goods, a service, land or an interest or right in land;
(b) offers to provide a business, investment or gaming opportunity;
(c) advertises or promotes anything referred to in paragraph (a) or (b); or
(d) promotes a person, including the public image of a person, as being a person who does anything referred to in any of paragraphs (a) to (c), or who intends to do so.
This message does none of the above
2) You're confusing express and implied consent. OP has provided implied consent for TELUS to message them via having an existing business relationship, per section 6 (9)(a). So long as OP is a customer of TELUS Corp and continues to receive a service from them, they are providing implied consent to receive messages, CEMs or otherwise. For CEMs, TELUS must provide an option to unsubscribe. This, however, is not a CEM, and TELUS may do so voluntarily, but has no legal requirement to provide an unsubscribe mechanism.
You can also reach out to Telus to unsubscribe. It was quite easy to find: https://unsubscribe.telus.com/ .
Alternately if you're wanting to talk to their privacy team, their number (if called from Alberta or BC) is 310-1000, or 1-800-567-0000 or by email [email protected]. This is another, longer way to get taken off the Telus telemarketing lists by contacting them.
Thank you for providing such a detailed response; it’s clear you’ve put thought into explaining the nuances of CASL and the situation.
While the explanation of CASL is technically correct, its applicability depends on a few factors:
• Content of the message: If the message indirectly promotes TELUS’s services or brand (e.g., asking recipients to sign a petition aligned with their corporate interests), it might fall into a gray area.
• Recipient’s perspective: Even if technically compliant, a message perceived as promotional or intrusive by the customer may feel misaligned with CASL’s intent.
That said, I think the tone could come across as a bit dismissive, particularly with phrases like, “You’re confusing express and implied consent.” While the intention is likely to clarify, wording it this way may unintentionally invalidate the concerns being expressed.
Additionally, the opening line—“This is a public forum and your message isn’t an email”—feels unnecessarily defensive and dismissive, setting the wrong tone for a constructive discussion.
To summarize, the reply offers a thorough rebuttal to the form and content of the question, but it ultimately serves to resolve the concern of the replier, not the original poster or the situation itself.
Finally, it’s 2024—customers have choices. If TELUS wants to retain its customers, they should listen to them. If this message falls into a gray area, including an unsubscribe link seems like common sense. It’s far better than forcing customers to search the web for unsubscribe links or wait on hold for an hour to solve their issues. What’s the point of not including a link? To make it harder for customers to unsubscribe? That approach doesn’t align with customer-centric practices.
Thank you for articulating this so thoroughly; I agree with many of your points about the need for TELUS to prioritize customer convenience.
That said, I want to clarify that in my case, the process was even more frustrating than just "waiting on hold for an hour." It actually took over two hours to resolve the issue. The first attendant became frustrated and hung up on me, the second one transferred me to another department, and there was significant hold time at every stage. The final attendant was very helpful but had to consult with their manager to find a solution, which added even more time while digging for a solution.
What makes this even more ironic is that TELUS provides anti-spam services to protect customers from robocallers. They promote tools like Call Control [https://www.telus.com/en/support/article/call-control-explained] to block unwanted calls, yet they make it unnecessarily difficult for customers to opt out of their own unwanted emails. It’s a contradiction that undermines their commitment to customer care.
