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FACTSHEET and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Subject:
Unsolicited
Communications or Junk Mail The Government take the view that it is a legitimate method of marketing goods and services and has no plans to prohibit or restrict such mail. The public are being made aware of the solutions available to help prevent them receiving unsolicited mail. Royal Mail is obliged to deliver all mail to the address given. Direct advertising mail generates both extra revenue and traffic volumes for Royal Mail, creating economies of scale that result in letter postage rates being lower than they would otherwise be. Although this type of mail is unwelcome to some customers who regard it as a nuisance, unsolicited mailing can perform a valuable service in advertising goods and services, which people might find useful and would be otherwise unaware of. Royal Mail also run a scheme whereby consumers can register to opt out of receiving unsolicited and undressed letters and leaflets delivered by them. In addition, the Direct Marketing Association runs the Mailing Preference Service, an industry-led scheme which covers around 90% of mailing lists. Member organisations undertake to remove from their mailing lists the addresses of people who indicate that they want this done. It should be noted that once a person has registered it will, naturally, take a few months to have an effect. Key Facts: • You can register with the Mailing Preference Service to stop receiving unwanted mailings • To help reduce the amount of unsolicited unaddressed mail and leaflets being posted through your door, you can register with Royal Mail’s Door to Door service. • There are other various preference schemes which cover unsolicited faxes, telephone calls and SMS messages and details of these are given in the FAQ section of this Factsheet. Q1. How can I
stop receiving unsolicited mail, e-mails, text messages and faxes?
There are a number of Preference Services in operation within the communication sectors which enable consumers to withdraw their names and addresses form marketing circulation lists – some of these are voluntary and some operate on a statutory basis so failure to respect registration will be against the law. However, consumers should note that sources of “scam mailings” tend to trade names and addresses with other scam promoters and those mailing lists may never be updated. Addressed Direct Marketing Mail
Unaddressed Mail and Leaflets delivered by Royal Mail Consumers can also reduce the amount of unsolicited unaddressed mail and leaflets they receive (addressed to occupier and householder etc) by registering with:
Unsolicited Marketing Faxes It is unlawful to send an unsolicited direct marketing fax to an individual, which includes consumers, sole traders and except in Scotland partnerships, without their prior consent. It is also unlawful to send an unsolicited direct marketing fax to anyone, business or individual, who has registered on the fax preference service or previously told the faxer that they do not wish to get fax marketing from them. For further
information visit this web site:
www.fpsonline.org.uk Unsolicited Telephone Sales Calls It is unlawful for a business to make an unsolicited direct marketing telephone call to an individual, which includes consumers, sole traders and except in Scotland partnerships, if that person has either registered with the Telephone Preference Service or has previously told the caller that they do not wish to hear from them.
Unsolicited Marketing E Mails New controls on unsolicited commercial e-mails (UCE) came into force in December 2003. The Regulations require that UCE can only be sent to an individual with the prior consent of the addressee, but with an exemption for UCE where the addressee has already given his or her e-mail address direct to the sender in the context of the purchase of a product or service. This opt-in protection will apply to individual, but not corporate subscribers. The Regulations also state that regardless of who the UCE is sent to, it must contain valid sender and contact details. Complaints about apparent breaches of these regulations should be reported to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) who can be contacted as follows:
There is also a non-statutory scheme that you can register with to not receive UCE - the EMPS (E-mail Preference Scheme) is operated by the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) in the United States. Note that the database is held in the US, and personal data is not, therefore, covered by UK Data Protection legislation. For further details visit this web site: www.e-mps.org/en/ Unsolicited Marketing SMS Messages New controls on SMS messages came into force in December 2003. The Regulations require SMS messages to be sent only with the prior consent of the subscriber, but with an exemption where the subscriber has already given his or her mobile telephone number direct to a company in the context of the purchase of a product or service. This opt-in protection will apply to individual, but not corporate subscribers. The Regulations also state that regardless of who the SMS message is sent to, it must contain valid sender and contact details Complaints about apparent breaches of these regulations should be reported to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) who can be contacted as follows:
In addition, the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) supports It's Your Choice scheme, enabling consumers to register their wish not to receive unsolicited SMS messages. A consumer's guide to SMS text marketing, explaining how to stop receiving messages from a specific company is available from the It's Your Choice web site. Mobile phone numbers may also be registered free of charge with the Telephone Preference Service.
It can be upsetting to receive mail for a loved one that has passed away. You can register your late husbands details with The Bereavement Register. This is a free service operated by The REaD Group (UK) Ltd, who is a member of the Direct Marketing Association. Their freephone number is 0870 600 7222.
This issue concerns the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA). Under DPA, if personal data is being disclosed to a third party for marketing purposes the individual concerned should have the opportunity to opt out. The Information Commissioner, who is responsible for administering and enforcing the legislation, recommends this as good practice. The Department for Constitutional Affairs has policy responsibility for the DPA. You can contact them at:
Their website address is www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk or their helpline is 01625 545745.
Whilst direct marketing is a legitimate means for companies to promote products, services and special offers, it can represent a nuisance.
There are no plans to regulate unsolicited mail, however, the draft Code of Practice launched by the Direct Marketing Association in May 2003 requires members to have in place a structure to enable every effort to be made to respect a householder's wish not to receive unaddressed items, whether such requests are made directly to the member or via an industry scheme approved by the Association.
If you continue to receive mailing approaches from the same source, you should write directly to the organisation concerned requesting that they remove his details from their mailing list. If the mailings continue and the matter cannot be resolved informally, the Information Commissioner can consider whether to take enforcement action against those companies who are in breach of the Data Protection Act.
Contact: The DTI-funded Consumer Direct Website http://www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/ offers information and advice to consumers on a wide range of issues including scams, holidays, travel and timeshare.
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