Data protection - when i say delete my details i mean delete my details.

I made the grave mistake to request some information online about a particular service, giving my work telephone and address. Soon after this I frequently started receiving brochures and calls from sales reps. I 'm don't mind the occasional brochure or call, but this company was stalking me! Well, not quite...

Anyway, I ended up calling customer service and asked them to delete ALL my dertails from their records. The polite customer service person confirmed this.

Today I received another brochure, so I called them up again. My details are still in their system but flagged as 'deleted' it seems. The person I spoke to described a "little black box" confirming this on her screen and explained that I had received the brochure possibly because the label had already been printed. Fair enough.

She wasn't able to delete my entry completely, though. Evidently their software hasn't got that functionality.

I'm wondering if this is acceptable from a legal point of view, taking in account new data protection legislation. Or do I have to resign myself to have my personal details forever stored on their system?