Junk Mail

The Mail Preference Service

You can reduce the amount of unsolicited (junk) mail you recieve by contacting the mail preference service to remove you name and address from their direct mailing lists.

It is free for consumers to register with the mail preference service.

Contact:
Mailing Preference Service (MPS)
DMA House, 70 Margaret Street, London, W1W 8SS

Tel: 020 7291 3310
Fax: 020 7323 4226
or visit their website www.mpsonline.org.uk

What does it stop?

Registering with the Mail Preference service will stop most unsolicited consumer advertising material addressed to individuals personally and delivered to their home address by post.

Advertising from companies with which consumers have done business or charities to which they have donated in the past will continue to be delivered. If this mail is not wanted any more, it can only be stopped by contacting the individual company or charity directly.

MPS cannot stop unaddressed leaflets, items addressed to "The Occupier", "The Householder" or a business, nor free newspapers and inserts in magazines and bills. Some local mailings may also not be stopped.

It may not stop mail from overseas: organisations will often base themselves overseas in order to avoid legal and self regulatory restrictions.

The Royal Mail's 'Opt-Out' Service

If you want to stop receiving unaddressed mail delivered by the Royal Mail to your home, you can register on to the Royal Mail's Opt-Out service.

Contact:

Freepost RRBT-ZBXB-TTTS
Royal Mail Door to Door Opt Outs
Kingsmead House
Oxpens Road
OXFORD
OX1 1RX

or email: optout@royalmail.com

The Royal Mail will send you an opt-out form to your address, which you must sign and return in order to join the service.

What will it stop?

1. Unaddressed mail. It will not stop mail addressed to "the occupier", "the householder", any other general name, or mail personally addressed to your name.
2. It will not stop unaddressed direct mail from overseas.
3. It will not stop direct mail that is hand delivered to your door by other organisations that are not the Royal Mail.

The Royal Mail estimates that about 25% of unaddressed direct mail can be stopped with this service.

Please be aware that it is not possible for the Royal Mail to separate material you don't want from material that you do want, such as advertising leaflets or governments leaflets. You also need to make sure that everyone living in your household is happy to stop receiving unaddressed direct mail.

For more information on the Royal Mail's Opt Out service, please see: The Royal Mail: Door to Door

Junk Mail Tip

Home composting is an ideal way to dispose of any letters which you do not want to put in your wheelie bin for security reasons. It can also deal with small quantities of envelopes which cannot be recycled. click here for more information on home composting