Junk Mail

Fire_Fox

Before I start I should say I have been signed up with the Mailing Preference Service and with the Post Office not to receive any junk mail since I first moved in (although the Post Office refuse to accept it's rubbish, but that's another story!). I also always tick the "no offers" boxes when completing application forms.

I still receive odd items, both flyers when we get a new postie (our post boxes are inside our building) and, occasionally, addressed stuff. As I have been signing up to rather a lot of websites on my money saving quest I am a bit concerned I am going to start getting loads more junk mail.

Is there anything else I should be doing? I have tried posting advertising back to the company concerned if they provide a prepaid envelope (costs them even more money!) but it doesn't work. I am a bit obsessed on this subject cos I have to walk ten minutes to get to my nearest recycling point!!

Thanks.

Ken68

Compost it, Firefox, or take it to the supermarket and put in their paper bins.
I had to undo my instructions to the P.Office.about junk mail. Ordinary mail was getting delayed, couldn't prove it.
My late B.I.L, a postman said it messes up the sorting.

A_fiend_for_life

I've just started getting the royal mail ones again seems like only a year since the last time i said no thanks.

When I moved into my current flat i got loads of wrongly addressed letters including credit cards or store cards and bank statements (the envelopes were identical to my statements by the way). I just marked them 'return to sender' and they eventually dried up.

There's also an older post on the green and ethical board for cancelling the yellow pages and telephone directory btw.

custardy

what are you referring to?
Dorr2doors eg unaddressed items
or standard junk mail eg addressed to you or the property?

if its D2D's then you can opt out and this is done at the delivery office level
if its 'junk mail' then thats through address opt out data and doesnt affect the sorting at all as its all mail at the DO and is delivered as such.

Fire_Fox

I live in a flat so no composting and no recycling collection. Hence I have to walk for ten minutes with very heavy and clanking bags to the nearest recycling point. :mad:

I opted out of both door-to-door and addressed junk mail two years ago and again since. Still get piles of the door-to-door rubbish dumped in our communal hallway. Have rung Post Office several times and the postie stops for a while .... also still get 'offers' of credit cards (addressed so not postie's fault) which I religiously return in the prepaid envelope.

I am a more concerned about the addressed stuff at the moment as I have completed so many online forms (xmas shopping, insurance quotes, competitions). Just wondered if I had missed any other avenue than Mailing Preference Service and Royal Mail door-to-door opt out?

custardy

Fire_Fox wrote: »

I live in a flat so no composting and no recycling collection. Hence I have to walk for ten minutes with very heavy and clanking bags to the nearest recycling point. :mad:

I opted out of both door-to-door and addressed junk mail two years ago and again since. Still get piles of the door-to-door rubbish dumped in our communal hallway. Have rung Post Office several times and the postie stops for a while .... also still get 'offers' of credit cards (addressed so not postie's fault) which I religiously return in the prepaid envelope.

I am a more concerned about the addressed stuff at the moment as I have completed so many online forms (xmas shopping, insurance quotes, competitions). Just wondered if I had missed any other avenue than Mailing Preference Service and Royal Mail door-to-door opt out?

bear in mind posties deliver 3 items per week
(more for elections) i deliver to tenement stairs and i see all the other D2D companies dumping theirs in the stairs/halfway out the letterbox
i hate D2D's but mine go through the letterbox just like mail

Fire_Fox

A swipe card is needed to access our post boxes, and the regular postie has one; IMO delivery of any unaddressed mail is an abuse of the swipe card, but I do understand the postie has his orders. However, when stacks of flyers are dumped they are in a neat pile, suggesting the person responsible had access and did not just shove them through the street letterbox. I have liaised with the customer care people at Royal Mail, and on every occasion they have admitted the particular flyer is one Royal Mail delivers. It only takes one lazy relief postie ... like any business. I can't understand why he/ she feels the need to litter my hallway rather than use the conveniently located public waste bin which is immediately outside our front door.

A_fiend_for_life

just a thought - are your details available to direct marketers off the electoral role? for the benefit of anyone else reading you can opt out of this too.

door to doors should be an opt in service imho.

Fire_Fox

Thanks, that is a very good point! I just completed an electoral roll form, but can't recall if I ticked the box or not ...

custardy

just thought i would add here an idea of the money involved for companies delivering these items

http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/content1?catId=400049&mediaId=36400685

so for a postie delivering 1000 items could get around 3p an item,RM will be charging between £30-£50 for that same 1000
now 1000 items is nothing an in real terms these contracts are for 100's of 000's or millions
so you can see why its something they want to keep pushing

LittleVoice

Fire_Fox wrote: »

I should be doing? I have tried posting advertising back to the company concerned if they provide a prepaid envelope (costs them even more money!)

You're right - it does cost them more if you send things back - because it isn't really prepaid postage. They pay the regular postage cost plus 1p per item (I think it is still that amount, certainly used to be) when it is delivered.