WHY SHOPS REALLY KEEP BEGGING FOR YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS

I WAS asked for my email address recently in a High Street chain store. I was told it was just for receipts, yet am bombarded with marketing emails every day. C. C., Chelmsford, Essex. LAST year, when visiting the UK, I tried to buy £160 of perfume, but ended up leaving the shop emptyhanded because the assistant refused to do the transaction unless I gave an email address.

I said I had a right not to give it, but he wouldn’t put the purchase through without one. I just put the bottles down and told him to forget it. They lost my business. T. C., Australia, via email. THE most irritating thing about this practice is not the spam emails — it’s the ridiculous amount of time it adds to the transaction.

Several times, I’ve been stuck in long queues because people in front of me have been spelling out their email addresses. E. N., York. SHOPS aren’t only doing this at the tills. They save your email address every time you enter a competition or rate a service. Don’t give up your email address and you won’t be spammed. T. S., Essex. WE GET a lot of customers who return goods to the store without their receipt. That’s where the e-receipt comes into its own. It might be annoying, but it can be a life-saver if you lose the original. N. L., Hull. I WORK in retail and am given targets for the number of email addresses I get. However, I don’t ask for an email outright — I ask if the customer would like an e-receipt. If so, great. If not, fine. Too many people get sarcastic or abusive when we’re just doing our jobs. You can always say ‘no’. L. B., Southampton. I ALWAYS say that I don’t have an email or a mobile phone. It’s funny to watch the shop assistant’s face as they try to comprehend how anyone can live without either. L. H., Cardiff. HAVE one email address for friends and family, and another for shops. That way, all the rubbish goes into an account you can ignore. U. M., Runcorn, Ches. ÷ WRITE to Tony Hazell at Ask Tony, Money Mail, Northcliffe House, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TT or email

asktony@dailymail.co.uk — please include your daytime phone number, postal address and a separate note addressed to the offending organisation giving them permission to talk to Tony Hazell. We regret we cannot reply to individual letters. Please do not send original documents as we cannot take responsibility for them. No legal responsibility can be accepted by the Daily Mail for answers given.