NO JUNK MAIL sticker - nobody respects it - what is it for then?

jon81uk

MalMonroe said:

Ena123 said:

I am currently being puzzled by the attitudes of both: the mail service and the leaflet people. When asking why they don't respect the sticker on the door (confronting them personally), each point at the other service that it is for them. I have explored the opt out option on the Royal Mail but there they warn that if we request this exclusion we might miss an important mail. Now speaking to the girl delivering mail she said they must put the junk through with the other legitimate mail (they get paid for it, companies contract RM to deliver their junk). 
Our sticker is just that: NO JUNK MAIL, but there are others including specifically all leaflets, even charity bags (I don't mind those) or newspapers (I want those each Saturday from a local publisher). What is the way out of this littering nightmare but keeping receiving the items I want? I can print my own sign and specify what I don't want, but will they read it and the paper delivery treat me with the local papers each weekend? And as such it will fade under UV as I don't have access to the same materials as the original stickers are of. 

I don't expect the Royal Mail posties to sort out my mail for me. More especially now since a letter I received contained a cheque for £550 but looked very much like junk mail. Not only is it an impossible task, it's also a complete and utter waste of their time. People would soon start complaining if what the postie thought was junk mail wasn't and s/he either threw it away or took it back to the depot.

Not only do I open all letters now, whether they look like junk or not, I'd be very cross if the postie decided what was and was not junk on my behalf. That's my decision to make.

I think the OP is mainly referring to items without an address on.

That type of unaddressed mail can be sorted out by Royal Mail (if it is them delivering it) but it is all-or-nothing, you either only get post with your address on it or you get everything.

This page shows what they will do How do I opt out of receiving any leaflets or unaddressed promotional material? (royalmail.com)

As you say, correctly addressed "junk" mail with your name on it will be delivered no matter what.

Ena123

MalMonroe said:

I don't expect the Royal Mail posties to sort out my mail for me. 

I am not sure whether you understand. They are ADDING extra to my mail, they adding work to themselves. I don't know whether they have it pre-packed, probably they have, but having it separate in the bag: the letters ready and then adding the leaflets where people don't prohibit it with signage would be a better practice. But in that case they wouldn't contribute as much to the recycling. Isn't it ridiculous that most of it ends up in the bin anyway?

Regarding your £550 cheque... it didn't have your name and address on the envelope? Were the money even yours? LOL

My problem is the principle: people express their choice of not wanting something and everyone just ignores it. Not very polite, if you ask me. Even the psychology here suggests we aren't there yet when others just put up with this practice. Things like this usually take time to change. We don't use the N word anymore, even without addressing anyone specific. Some still could say: get on with it, it is just a word. The society has shifted though. Smoking in the pub - not a thing anymore in this country. If you watch a channel for free, or like on Facebook and it bombards you with adverts, I would so so understand. You are using their service for free. But my home is my home. They have no right to litter my letter box with stuff not in my name. You wouldn't like if some leaflet giver on the street insisted you must have their leaflet and if you refused they would chase you and stick it into your back pocket or a handbag. 

IvanOpinion

By all means put up a notice asking not to receive junk, but when you do it is such a trivial task to place it in the appropriate bin along with the addressed stuff that you don't want either.  My mother used to get stressed about this and I never really understood it then either.

jon81uk

Ena123 said:

But my home is my home. They have no right to litter my letter box with stuff not in my name.

You don't have to have a letterbox at all. Postman can knock if they have anything for you.

fb1969

Typing as a postie the posters giving you the link on how to opt out from Royal Mail are correct.  You need to opt out using that methd to stop the postie delivering the general leaflets that they do.

Royal Mail do not view it as "junk" as they are paid by companies to deliver it.  In turn posties are paid to deliver it to any property that has not opted out.  It is not for the postie to determine what "junk" is.  Much as everyone, including me, hates the stuff it is a revenue stream for the company.  The opt out usually applies for two years for the property and can be easily renewed.

No idea why you feel you are "trapped" about this, the cause is the company who use this method of advertising so they are who you should aim your frustration at - maybe by boycotting them.  The big winners in this are the people selling "no junk mail" stickers to people when they can take a free option to opt out.

Incidentally if there is no letterbox you should not expect the postie to knock as they do not have the time. There should be a designated and secure delivery point, without one the postie would be more likely the return things to the sender as 'inaccessible' - that is the correct action to take.  

bargainbetty

Ena123 said:

MalMonroe said:

I don't expect the Royal Mail posties to sort out my mail for me. 

I am not sure whether you understand. They are ADDING extra to my mail, they adding work to themselves. I don't know whether they have it pre-packed, probably they have, but having it separate in the bag: the letters ready and then adding the leaflets where people don't prohibit it with signage would be a better practice. But in that case they wouldn't contribute as much to the recycling. Isn't it ridiculous that most of it ends up in the bin anyway?

And there is a method for you to opt out of this, but you don't want to do it because some of it is useful. You can't have it both ways. 

The post is usually already sorted and bundled for delivery - the posties don't have a list of who gets what and they certainly don't have time to check each address upon arrival. 

It is also a source of significant revenue and unless you are happy for the price of postage to skyrocket, it is here to stay. 

sheramber

How would the postie know what junk mail you want and what junk mail you don't want?  Everybody has their own idea of what they are not interested in getting. 

You want the local paper but maybe your neighbour considers it junk.

You cannot expect the postie to stand and go through your post to decide what is allowed and what is not.  he would never get his round finished if he had to so that at every house.

Torry_Quine

I really don't know why anyone gets so het up about junk mail. Just stick it in the recycling.

Ectophile

My council have given me a big green wheelie bin to put recyclables in. So all I have to do is move the junk from the doormat to that.

SiliconChip

I spent some time yesterday delivering newsletters from one of the candidates in the forthcoming local council elections to every house in my street (around 100 properties). I delivered to all but two of the houses despite the signage on their doors, the two that I decided not to deliver to were houses where I knew the occupant had died. I felt it was more important to ensure that all residents had the information about candidates available to them than trying to guess their interpretation of "junk" mail. If they don't want it they can dispose of it, but I'm delivering it regardless.