Sending as a gift

I’m on an FB UK Etsy sellers group. Won’t be for long, it is doing my head in with PC ness and other snowflake stupidity. Sorry but it is, might be my age.

Someone posted
“Someone has received an order from me but they dont know who has sent it, am I right in thinking I am no allowed to divulge details of who ordered it?”

Response : " Nope, data protection act, so you cant say from whom it is."

Bit of discussion followed and I said :
“If someone asks me to send something to someone as a gift I always add a simple note eg. I hope you like this “???” which has been sent to you by “Jane Smith”. Seems a simple solution to me.”

Response was :“Data protection prevents you from legally doing this though”

Please tell me that the world has not gone totally and utterly mad and that is not just a social media / snowflake interpretation of PC rules and regulations.

(Would be the same as when a 20 year old told me recently , and believed it, that it is illegal to leave a dog in a car at any time and looked affronted when I told her that was incorrect)

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I’m not really sure about that Joy but it seems ok to me. I must agree that the world does seem to have gone mad too :crazy_face: but maybe that’s just me.

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It depends. If you asked the customer if they wanted to include a note saying “this is a gift from x” then you would have their consent to do so and it would be perfectly legal. It’s a consent issue, that’s all! In most cases, I imagine that you have their express or implied consent to do this anyway (without having seen the details of all your orders).

Sam x

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I actually just deleted all my comments and blocked a few responders who told me I need to read the Data protection act etc etc and I just thought…oh no I can’t be bothered with this. Life’s too short ! :slight_smile: :slight_smile:

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I would say that if the customer adds a note to say they are sending it as a gift then that must be all the permission I need.

Surely in any case we should be aware if we are sending something to someone who has not placed the order. I do check the Folksy and Paypal address details are the same.

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The point you have to consider with all of these legal niceties is this. Who would want you to send an anonymous gift to somebody? A stalker maybe? Anybody who is honestly sending a gift is very unlikely to take you to court for revealing their identity.

Sam x

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Thanks Samantha for restoring my sanity. I just don’t think a stalker would be sending a suncatcher and I would like to think if they did, the unhappy recipient would be pleased with their gift ! :slight_smile:

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:laughing::laughing::laughing:

Sam x

Yes you’re right, it is :slight_smile:

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A few times I’ve had a message on the order asking me to leave invoice details out of the package as it’s a gift.
The delivery address is different as it’s going direct to the recipient.

I always send a message to the customer and ask if they would like me to pop a message in with the order.

As the receiver I always think if you weren’t expecting something it could be abit confusing without some form of explanation. Especially if it was a random token gesture from a nice friend and not a birthday or celebration.

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I think these new regulations are going to be getting a lot of attention now they are coming into force. Also seen them under Big discussion on the Ancestry site I frequent re historical genealogy information. Can of worms opening up !

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I’m not too worried, as the main reason for the new rules are to prevent people’s information being used for marketing purposes without their knowledge. Some of the instances where people have had their FB profiles scraped because one of their friends had given consent for this action (without realizing they were doing this) are quite scandalous. If it brings to an end the practice of websites pushing out unreadable tomes of legal terms and conditions in order to insert a consent clause second to bottom and asking customers to tick the box, then that is a very good thing.

Passing the name of one close friend or another on a gift box is the antithesis of what the rules are trying to prevent and will probably never be contested in court.

Sam x

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Just saw someone saying they never enclose an invoice, gift slip or business card if they know it is being sent as a gift so they can’t contact her to ask where it came from !
I am just about to remove myself from ‘that group’ as either my brain cells or some of their’s on there are seriously challenged.

PS If I enclose a business card (and I always do) they can :
: pass it on to someone else (they do)
: buy something else (they do)
: Complain / return (they don’t)

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They’re bonkers on that group, Joy! Just my opinion, of course :laughing: I find that some people like to come at you with “the law says this” and “that’s illegal/compulsory/criminal” because it makes them look powerful.

Sam x

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Well they can bonk along on their own now because I’ve just handed in my notice. Glad it’s not just me. I only joined as some things were quite entertaining but gave up the will to live on this one :slight_smile:

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I seldom post in those groups, but sometimes watch threads unfold with sheer disbelief.

With E I print out the gift invoice, and it usually says a gift from xxx
Unless I’m told otherwise all the paperwork goes in the parcel. If I’m in dialogue with the customer, I offer a personal note.

My friend did have a stalker do this to her through a well known (river) company and despite contacting them, they couldn’t forward the details, and she couldn’t even return the items :frowning: it was very stressful.

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your post got me wondering…

i’ve had customers send me things in the past - nice things (not severed fingers or anything) - always happily & gratefully received by me (because who doesn’t appreciate a kind / thoughtful gesture or an unexpected surprise in the mail?

so now i’m facetious-wondering,
if my lovely customers are retaining my address-data to send prezzies, should i be reporting them to the DGDPRPOLICE? :weary::stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:

eyerolling at the modern times rules

and what about the poor souls who don’t use social media and will have no idea that this is all going on under they get a knock on their door :face_with_head_bandage:

I think I must send a letter to everyone in my personal address book (not my digital one, the one in the drawer that I’ve had since I was about 20 :slight_smile: ) to ask if they are happy to be in there. Will have to be careful though as some people have been in there so long they are now dearly departed. Oh no, they’re ok, I think rules don’t apply to the deceased ! :slight_smile: :slight_smile:

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You mean it’s not in a safe Joy? :joy::laughing:

So you don’t want Gibby to start sending you postcards which may or may not feature random smears of what might (if you’re lucky) be fruit juice?

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