Royal Mail Failing NOT To Deliver
22 June 2009 - David Lynch
A group of campaigners fighting against the delivery of unaddressed mail, better known as 'junk mail', are accusing Royal Mail of delivering too much and in some cases dismissing requests to stop junk mail deliveries.
Campaigners say that Unaddressed mail is rising as mail volume falls and are angry that Royal Mail is "failing not to deliver” when it comes to unsolicited mail. The campaign group 'Stop junk Mail' says that under current rules. Royal Mail is currently allowed to deliver up to three pieces of unaddressed mail per household per week.
Stop Junk Mail said that Householders wanting to reduce leaflets can sign up to Royal Mail’s ‘door-to-door opt-out’, but according to their own survey published today, opt-out requests are frequently ignored.
The survey reveals that less than one in three people find that the opt-out stops unaddressed leaflets delivered by the postman.
Of the 100 people who took part in the survey, 15 said they had not registered with the opt-out service because they either never received an opt-out form or because they were put off by Royal Mail’s warning that householders who sign up to the service “may miss information from local and national government”.
Another 13% of respondents did opt-out but continued to receive just as much junk mail from their postman as before. One in four people said they did now receive less door-drops, and a meagre one in three people could confirm that the opt-out did what it says on the label.
Robert Rijkhoff, founder of Stop Junk Mail and a former postman himself, said he was disappointed but not surprised with the outcome of the research: “Over the years we have received many hundreds of complaints about the door-to-door opt-out. The most common complaint is that opt-out requests are being ignored, often repeatedly. This survey confirms that the opt-out service needs some drastic improvements.
One of the improvements suggested by Mr Rijkhoff is for Royal Mail to send a reminder to householders who have not returned their opt-out confirmation form within two weeks time:
“Sending people a follow up letter would make sure that people are not being ignored. If you request information from a company you are bound to get a follow up letter if you don't respond within a couple of weeks time. Why would
people wanting to reduce unsolicited mail not be entitled to the same level of service?” he said.
© Hellmail.co.uk - The Global Postal News Site
This is a print-friendly page. Clck below for the latest news and features