Many common Watchdog complaints can be avoided. Over the next few months, the TRUSTe compliance team will be publishing a series of “Tech Tips” that will review TRUSTe’s program requirements, outline some simple actions to take to reduce Watchdog complaints, and recommend best practices for complaint-related issues.

“Unable to unsubscribe” complaints often arise when the site user has improperly entered his or her information during the subscription process. TRUSTe receives many complaints from consumers who are unintentionally subscribed to a list because another user has inadvertently entered the wrong email address into a subscription form. TRUSTe member sites can reduce the incidence of these Watchdog complaints by adding an email verification mechanism to their subscription process. The simplest form of this mechanism entails requiring an email response from the user prior to adding his or her address to a distribution list.

In addition, TRUSTe suggests that you make the unsubscribe process as straightforward as possible. Do not place the unsubscribe mechanism behind a registration or login page, since it keeps users who cannot remember a login name, password, or incorrectly entered email address from unsubscribing from your distribution list -- leading them to submit a Watchdog complaint. For another suggestion on how to improve your site’s unsubscribe process, read the July 2003 Tech Tip.

Alex Yap is a senior compliance analyst at TRUSTe.

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