Email spam is annoying, we understand that. Best Buy will only send you promotional email with your consent and in accordance with Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (“CASL”). We hope the information provided here will answer your email-related questions.

What is CASL?

Canada’s new Anti-Spam Legislation (“CASL”) came into force on July 1, 2014. CASL’s aim is to prohibit email “spam” and deter other forms of online fraud such as phishing and malware.

CASL applies to any commercial electronic message (“CEM”) sent from or accessed by a computer system in Canada. Generally, a CEM is any electronic message (e.g., email, text) that advertises, promotes, or otherwise offers the sale of products or services.

CASL prohibits the sending of CEMs unless three conditions are met: (1) the sender must first obtain the recipient’s consent (express or implied) to send CEMs, (2) the CEM must include certain identifying information about the sender, and (3) the CEM must include a simple unsubscribe mechanism.

I don’t remember signing-up for promotional emails from Best Buy but I am receiving them in my inbox. How is that possible if you need my consent?

CASL allows for “implied” consent to receive promotional emails. An in-store or online transaction with Best Buy creates an “existing business relationship.” CASL provides that this existing business relationship gives Best Buy your implied consent to receive our promotional communications for 24 months, or until you choose to unsubscribe. We think our eNewsletter is pretty great but if you don’t agree, an unsubscribe link is included in the footer of every promotional email we send.

If I unsubscribe will I stop receiving all emails from Best Buy?

No, not entirely. You will stop receiving all promotional emails but we will still send you transaction-related emails, such as BestBuy.ca order confirmation emails, shipping notification emails, and emails inviting you to review your recent purchase. If you ask for an eReceipt or send us an email inquiry, we will still send you the requested information via email.

I unsubscribed several days ago but just received the Best Buy eNewsletter again today. Why?

Email addresses are typically pulled from our database a few days in advance of the distribution of our promotional emails so it is possible that you will still receive one or two emails after unsubscribing – but we try our best to make sure this doesn’t happen. CASL requires that an unsubscribe request be honoured within 10 business days.

When using the unsubscribe link, please also ensure that you do not close your browser window before the unsubscribe process finishes. You should see an “Unsubscribe Successful” message on your screen when the process is complete.

What do ‘family’ and ‘personal’ relationships mean?

Under Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation, "family relationship" means the relationship between an individual who sends a message and the individual to whom the message is sent if those individuals are related to one another through a marriage, common-law partnership or any legal parent-child relationship and those individuals have had direct, voluntary, two-way communication.

"Personal relationship" means the relationship between an individual who sends a message and the individual to whom the message is sent, if those individuals have had direct, voluntary, two-way communications and it would be reasonable to conclude that they have a personal relationship, taking into consideration any relevant factors such as the sharing of interests, experiences, opinions and information evidenced in the communications, the frequency of communication, the length of time since the parties communicated or whether the parties have met in person.