OT - Junk Mail

[Michael Chare]

Should senders of junk mail have to pay local authorities the cost of disposing of the rubbish, especially if the junk mail is for a service that is not available to the recipient?

[Andrew]

Hopefully it is recycled and fed back into a nice furnace somewhere and used to generate more leccy.

[Scott]

I sometimes put them back into the post box marked 'Refused - return to sender'.

[Scott]

PS I believe there is a distinction between addressed and unaddressed items. Am I correct in thinking that you can serve notice (under the GDPR?) on Royal Mail Group prohibiting the delivery of unaddressed items? Does this work in practice?

[Harry Bloomfield]

Michael Chare formulated on Thursday :

Yes, most certainly they should! Along with those who put all the takaway menus etc., through our letter box.

I don't want them, I have a sign on the gate to say I don't want them, I might buy one every few years, but I don't want all the menus, I can look online.

[Malcolm Race]

Am I correct in thinking that you can serve notice (under the

YES - but the notice is only effective for 2 years

>

[Harry Bloomfield]

Scott has brought this to us :

It should do, you have to fill a form in and post it. I just tell the postie to deliver straight into the recycle bin. Stop them officially delivering and they loose out on money.

[Bob Eager]

I have served such notice regularly (in theory it lasts two years). Every now and then the tag on my slot in the sorting office seems to get lost and it starts arriving again.

I have just received the latest grovelling email from Royal Mail saying that it won't happen again. It will.

But it stops nearly all of the unaddressed mail (ignore the dire warnings they give you about missing 'important' stuff)

Nothing to do with GDPR.

[Brian Gaff]

I'd imagine a system like that would cost more to administer than it would bring in as revenue. However. I do feel that if there was some way for all the companies that want to send you flyyers could be brought together one big publication could be sent out and lots of junk avoided. Brian

[Harry Bloomfield]

Bob Eager presented the following explanation :

I would not have thought the junk mail gets sorted at the sorting office, rather it will be all done by the postie on his/her round. They just get a big pile of the junk and deliver from the pile at each address - unless told not to.

[Harry Bloomfield]

Brian Gaff formulated on Thursday :

Now, don't start coming up with sensible ideas :D

[Scott]

I suspect where flats are involved, the poor postman will struggle to achieve 100% accuracy about which flats are opted out.

You're right. No processing of personal data involved.

[spuorgelgoog]

I welcome unaddressed junk mail on the basis it helps pay for the daily delivery.

Addressed junk mail is a pain in the tit; I have to open it to find out whether it's junk or a bill, especially when it's from a credit card company.

Owain

[ss]

Save them up for few weeks then send them ALL in one envelope to the takeaway of your choice ...unstamped.

[Scott]

Who will probably refuse them leaving the rest of us to pick up the cost.

[Steve Walker]

Better to look for the ones that have a pre-paid envelope inside and return all the junk to them. You get rid of it, you cost them money to receive it and they have to pay to dispose of it too!

SteveW

[Steve Walker]

And means that you won't receive general warning letters about disruptive work to be done in the area and the like - for instance the whole of our street had unadressed letters delivered with the normal post when they were going to close it for up to four days for "dressing" it and again when Virgin were going to lift the pavements and dig across everyone's dropped kerbs.

SteveW

[Scott]

I remember when I was at uni one of my mates collected all the reply paid envelopes he could find in the Hall of Residence and put them into the same post box.

[Scott]

I wouldn't opt out as it would not be fair on the postman in a area of flats. I enjoy a good relationship with him (and he supports the same football team!). As you say, it could also result in loss of local knowledge, though in my experience most of the utilities do not use the Royal Mail for their leaflet drops.

I assume election material is still delivered, by law?

[lopt]

In theory that would be useful but in practice it is just not practical with that last bit.