What is the appropriate response time when reporting a client mailing from a stolen list to an ESP?
Summary
What email marketers say8Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Webmaster World suggests giving the ESP 24-48 hours to respond before escalating the issue further or taking independent action, like reporting to blocklists.
Email marketer from Email on Acid recommends monitoring the situation closely after reporting. If the sending continues, escalate to blocklists and consider legal options.
Email marketer from MailPoet Blog recommends a tiered approach, starting with reporting to the ESP and allowing them 24-72 hours to investigate. If no action is taken, consider reporting to anti-spam organizations.
Email marketer from EmailToolTester suggests giving the ESP at least 48 hours to respond, especially if it's a large provider. Smaller ESPs may require more time.
Email marketer from Reddit, recommends that the reporter give a reasonable timeframe to the ESP (24-48 hours). Then if they do not receive a response the reporter escalates to block lists to take action.
Marketer from Email Geeks suggests giving smaller ESPs more time to respond, as they may have limited resources.
Email marketer from StackExchange details how the response time depends on the size and responsiveness of the ESP's abuse desk. Providing detailed information in the initial report can expedite the process.
Marketer from Email Geeks advises to give the ESP at least 24 hours before taking further action.
What the experts say3Expert opinions
Expert from Word to the Wise (Laura Atkins) emphasizes the importance of providing detailed information in your abuse report and recommends following up within 24-48 hours if you don't receive a response. The specific timeframe depends on the ESP's size and responsiveness.
Expert from Email Geeks explains that the appropriate action depends on the previous history with the ESP.
Expert from Spamresource (Steve Linford) suggests immediately reporting the incident and allow 24-72 hours for investigation; Spamresource also states that the time given depends on the ESP and how responsive they are to resolving the problem.
What the documentation says3Technical articles
Documentation from Spamhaus explains that they do not specify a time to report, but says if you have evidence of unsolicited emails, or a stolen list, they recommend submitting the evidence as soon as possible.
Documentation from M3AAWG recommends to follow up on abuse reports within a reasonable timeframe (24-72 hours) to ensure the ESP is taking action. If no action is taken, consider escalating.
Documentation from RFC-Editor details how reporting can take time as it is a human processed system of checks. Therefore a response could take time. Recommends to immediately report the problem but allow time for the ESP to investigate.