Stop Junk Mail

It’s possible to slam the metaphorical door in the face of junk mail, calls, faxes, texts and e-mails in minutes. Sadly though, illegal marketers are much tougher to tackle. Yet a few basic steps can help you block out all those people desperately trying to flog you stuff.

• Stop junk calls
• Stop junk mail
• Stop junk faxes
• Stop junk texts
• Stop junk emails
• Is it worth it?
• Realted articles / discussion

Stop junk in minutes

How to stop junk calls

Under government regulation it is illegal for UK companies to call any individual who has indicated they don't want the calls. To do this you simply join the telephone preference service register, it takes about 28 days after registering for all to be stopped.

• Web: TPSOnline
• Phone: 0800 398 893

The calls it won’t stop

Sadly this won't stop all calls. If you are being plagued by competition calls sometimes these are just the product of random number generators. These can be a plague, they call lots of numbers in the hope that some get through. The best thing to do here is to write the number down and then submit a complaint to the regulator PhonePayPlus (it used to be called Icstis) to get it blocked.

If you're getting silent calls, which can be generated by automatic dialling equipment in call centres, you can register with the Silent Callgard Service.

It’s also possible you’ll receive commercial calls from companies based outside the UK. There’s very little that can be done to stop these and they can be annoying and frustrating. The best thing to do is not engage in a discussion, or some MoneySavers suggest pretending you don’t speak English… discuss Ways to stop overseas sales calls.

Another way to avoid receiving sales calls at home is to set up a free VOIP telephone number. Read MoneySaver Thenotsowyzewun's short guide on How to avoid nuisance calls.

Never pay to block these calls

There are reports of companies setting themselves up with names similar to the Telephone Preference Service and then writing or calling offering to block marketing calls. This however entails a fee.

There is no need to pay, do it right and it is ALWAYS free. If you get a call from someone asking for personal details or payment to complete a registration, hang up and inform the official TPS.

How to stop unwanted mail

There are two different types of junk mail we tend to receive, and both can be stopped. It depends on whether the letters have your name and address on or they’re just distributed by the Post Office.

Addressed mail through the post

All members of the Direct Marketing Association agree to a Code of Practice not to send junk mail to any individual who has indicated they don't want it. To stop the junk you simply join the mail preference service register, it takes up to 4 months for the Service to have full effect although you should notice a reduction of the mail before that period.

• Web: The easiest (and cheapest way) is MPSOnline
• Phone: 0845 703 4599

Unaddressed leaflets and mail

The other common types of junk are leaflets, flyers and other unaddressed post which is delivered by the Royal Mail. It's possible to opt out of this too, although it does affect all unadressed items as Royal Mail is not able to know which items are wanted and which are not. It takes about 6 weeks for the items to stop being delivered.

• Post: Freepost RRBT-ZBXB-TTTS, Royal Mail Door to Door Opt Out, Kingsmead House, Oxpens Road, Oxford, OX1 1RX
• Email: optout@royalmail.com and you’ll then be sent a form
• Web Details: Door to Door opt out

How to stop unwanted faxes

Less of a plague than they used to be as faxes aren’t as common as they used to be. However you can opt out of junk here yet again, with (you've probably guessed the name now) the fax preference service register, it takes about 28 days after registering for all to be stopped.

• Web: The easiest (and cheapest way) is FPSOnline
• Phone: 0845 070 0702

Try using a PC based fax machine instead

As an alternative, programs such as eFax free and Faxtastic allow you to receive faxes via your PC. Both give your own special number and faxes are then converted into email format, so even if it is junk there’s no need to print it out. The company's aim is to tempt to you upgrade to its paid fax software which allows you to fax out.

The number people have to fax you on is an 0870/1 number which costs them up to 8-10p/minute during the day. Normally I rail against these (see the Say No To 0870 guide) yet as this provides a service, it works well. However, do let non-junk sending people faxing you know the cost, as effectively they’re subsidising your free fax machine (for similar tools read the Free Office Software guide).

Also to keep Faxtastic active you must receive at least one fax in the first seven days of opening an account, and at least one every 90 days thereafter, else you'll lose the allocated fax number and will have to re-register.

How to stop unwanted texts

Reverse billed text messages, where you get charged for receiving a text to your phone, are becoming increasingly common with people being scammed out of £100s, without realising until it's too late.

However sending texts to people who have explicitly specified they don't want them is unlawful. If you're receiving a premium rate text messages then it’s easy to stop them…

If this fails, get in touch with your network provider and asking them to stop the messages. If you're still tearing your hair out as a last resort get in touch with the premium rate regulator PhonePayPlus and it'll investigate your complaint.

Reclaiming the charges

If you believe you never signed up for the service you can attempt to get a refund either from the service provider or your network provider. To do this you will need to find out the details of the service provider who is sending you the texts, which can be done using PhonePayPlus’s number checker.

What about spam e-mails?

I’m afraid this is the million dollar question which has no million dollar answer. There isn't really a solution that works perfectly.

Think carefully how hard you want to block spam

Blocking spam is a balance, there are many software packages that help to do it, but ultimately it's a trade off between losing legitimate e-mails (such as Martin's Money Tips weekly email!) if they're incorrectly filtered, or keeping more email and having to manually delete spam.

Technology is a quickly evolving entity and as such new ways to generate spam are always being developed, making it difficult to keep on top of. Remember, spam works, someone somewhere is clicking on it - and even one in a million people may mean they earn money.

The best place to start deleting spam is by using the tools available from your own e-mail provider; spam filters and rules are reasonably effective at blocking spam. There are free ‘mail washing' programmes that you can use, as explained in detail in the Free Anti-virus Software guide. You can also discuss tips and impacts with other MoneySavers in the Techie Stuff Forum Board.

Is it worth it?

Even if you do everything listed above, this isn't a foolproof method of stopping junk, yet that isn't a reason not to try, registering for the above services should still reduce the number calls and junk mail that you receive and it definitely won’t increase the number. One good thing is if you're still receiving junk after registering, you know these companies are breaking the law, and are probably not worth dealing with anyway.

Do remember though if you've personally signed up to receive mailings via email or when buying something, you'll have to block these individually.

Stopping junk mail isn't necessarily MoneySaving

You may be surprised to read this but it's important to say, unlike phone messages where it's all a load of ridiculous nonsense, junk mail can sometimes work in your favour.

A lot of best buy financial products, such as credit cards are often only available if you receive them as targeted Direct Mailings. For example, the longest ever 0% balance transfer card lasting 18 months was a direct mail offer. Yet it's only worth keeping this channel open if you’re money savvy and can sort out the wheat from the chaff.

One final way to get your revenge on the ‘bad' junk mail is to rip up the letter, stuff it in the ‘pre-paid' reply envelope and send it back. That way, it'll have to pay to receive its junk back.