How to stop junk mail

Published 11th Mar 2010

Unlimited quantities of junk mail may soon be delivered to your home due to detail buried in a peace deal between Royal Mail and the Communication Workers Union.



Four billion flyers, leaflets and fast food menus are placed in British letterboxes already each year.

Home-owners can now expect a sharp rise thanks to the agreement that removes a limit of three items per household per week, which was put in place to keep mail bags manageable for postmen.

Royal Mail claims the deal shouldn't mean more junk mail for households, because other operators would now deliver less. The company currently delivers just a quarter of all junk mail in the UK.

Either way, it's a good idea to arm yourself with our essential information on preventing unwanted mail.


How to cut down on junk mail

Simply pinning a 'no junk mail' note to your door won't stop postmen pushing unaddressed envelopes and leaflets through the letter box.

They know you don't want it, but the Post Office earns millions from delivering advertising material to homes all over the country.

You can stop door-to-door deliveries simply by sending an email to optout@royalmail.co.uk with your name and address, stating clearly that you do not want door-to-door mail to be delivered to your home.

Or you can write to your local office telling them to end deliveries of unaddressed mail. To find the address of your local delivery office call 08457 740 740.

Door-to-door, or door drops, as they are sometimes called are a big earner for Royal Mail.


It tells potential business customers: 'While unaddressed mail (or door drops) is often perceived as the poor relation to addressed mail, this effective form of mail marketing has an important role to play, and is becoming an increasingly popular part of the advertising mix.'

Expect lots more of this in the future.

If you want to halt other forms of unsolicited mail, you can register your address with the Mailing Preference Service.

Direct mail marketing companies are legally obliged to ensure they do not target homes that are on the register. Mothers may also want to take advantage of the Baby Mail Preference Service that is specifically designed to stop unwanted baby-related mail shots.

For more information, visit stopjunkmail.org.uk.

Source: ' Daily Mail '

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