More demented spam filters

Today I discovered that Comodo had launched a “wonderful” new anti-spam product. It’s great! It will stop all spam effectively. It will also stop any effective communication via email in the process, but surely that is a small price to pay for keeping your inbox clean?
I think not.
I tried to send a business email to them today but got this really “helpful” message back from them:
Hi, this is XXXX. Your recent email has been delivered to my computer, but because you’re not yet in my trusted senders list, it hasn’t been placed in my inbox. To get added to my trusted senders list, please reply to this message with my AntiSpam passcode.
Here’s all you have to do:
1. Press Reply
2. In the body of the reply, type in my AntiSpam Passcode:
3. Press Send.
When I receive this reply, I will know that it was really you that sent me the email and not a computerized spammer. I will then be able to read all your mail. This authentication will be done only once.
Thank you & have a great day,
XXXX

Easy?
Let’s have a look at what I got in my inbox:

Note the total lack of an image or code of any kind.
What does this mean? Well, basically it means that the idiot is “protecting” his inbox with a defective tool. I don’t care if it’s a transient bug in their software or whether pigs fly. Due to their stupidity my email has not reached the intended recipient, so if I was trying to place an order ie. spend money with them, then they have lost the transaction.
Brilliant, isn’t it?
I’ve never been in favour of CR (challenge response) as a method to “fight” spam, as it breaks the entire communication stream. There are plenty of ways that you can block spam and still maintain your business relationships safely. The Comodo method is obviously not one of them.
I would love to know what they were thinking when they decided to “protect” their inboxes using it. Maybe they’ll learn or maybe they’ll lose business as a result of their stupidity.