Lithia Motors Doesn't Believe You Actually Want To Opt Out Of Their Text Message Spam

Unwanted text message ads are annoying, but if the advertiser lets you opt out that should be the end of it, right? Apparently the folks at Lithia Motors, one of the nation’s largest auto retailers, think you might not have meant it when you told them to stop bugging you.

See the exchange to the left between Consumerist Twitter follower Bucketmouse and the text-bots at Lithia.

On April 11, he got a text ad linking to a Lithia used car sale. Seeing an option to opt out, he replied “Stop” and got a return message reading, “Thank you, Lithia Motors respects the wishes of our customers.”

Except, it looks like Lithia really thinks the wishes of its customers is to save a lot on used cars, because earlier today, there’s the follow-up: “We are serious, 0% on used vehicles,” with a link to the company’s site.

Several subsequent attempts at texting back “stop” kept bringing up that same “thank you” message until he received something that seemed more final: “Your subscription to DME alerts has been cancelled & you will no longer recv msgs or charges.”

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.