An Internet consultant who won damages in a Scottish court after he received a single unwanted email has launched a campaign to help people tackle “spammers.”

Gordon Dick, 30, has set up a Web site with the motto “Make the Spammers Pay!” that tells people how to take legal action against those who send unsolicited email.

He faces an uphill battle as spam makes up about 80 percent of the billions of emails sent each day, according to U.S. Internet security company Postini.

Dick, who won 750 pounds ($1,452) plus costs in an Edinburgh court after suing over the unwanted email last month, hopes others around the world will follow his lead.

However, the company which sent the email denies sending spam and says his campaign will damage firms by deterring them from using email as a marketing tool.

“It was a major decision to take,” said Dick, from Edinburgh, whose Web site is http://scotchspam.org.uk. “I had never been in a court before, I’d never dealt with the legal process and I was doing this unrepresented.

“The more familiar people are with the legal system, the more likely they are to make use of it, which is why I published how you could actually go about doing it.”

His case has reignited the debate over how companies can use email marketing without breaking anti-spam laws.

The Direct Marketing Association trade body estimates a quarter of legitimate bulk email is not delivered.

Under European law, companies can only send marketing messages to consumers with their prior consent.

This rule is relaxed, however, if a company has gathered someone’s address in the course of a sale and it gives the recipient a chance to object.

LEGAL ROW

Transcom, a British-based Internet and satellite firm which sent the message to Dick, said it was not spam, but a single, annual marketing email to customers.

Company director William Smith said Dick’s address inadvertently entered his company’s system when it received a group email which also contained Dick’s name.

Smith argues that Dick did not even “win” the case, but was awarded damages by default after Transcom dropped its defense to avoid huge legal bills.

“I suppose we should have continued, but I didn’t want a 50,000 pound bill for 750 pounds,” he said. “Our lawyers said ‘well look he’s only asked for 750 pounds, if you persist in defending … it’s just going to run into thousands.”

“We’re not a marketeering company. There’s no need to be labeled a spammer.”

Dick said he did not want to stop companies from sending emails to genuine customers.

He also accepts his campaign can do little to stop the sort of spam that offers drugs, sex aids and weight loss pills. Many are sent by criminal gangs from outside Europe, putting the sender beyond the reach of EU law.

“They have to be dealt with by technological means of filtering,” Dick said.

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