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Rav joined us to share his advice on why we receive so much junk mail and what we can do to take back control!

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THE TWO TYPES OF JUNK MAIL

Unaddressed Mail

Also known as door to door, which is where a company will pay Royal Mail to deliver their material to houses based on location or demographic, regardless of whether you've signed up for it or not. It's often got no name on it, or it's simply labelled 'To The Occupier' on the front. Pizza leaflets or pamphlets about double glazing that are posted through your door by someone paid to do so are also types of unaddressed mail.

Addressed Mail

This is the type that has your name and address on the front of it meaning it's come directly to you, more often than not because you have agreed to it in some way. What's quite commonplace now is when we use a website to buy something, we get to the checkout and we're presented with the marketing consent box. Although this one is completely optional for you to tick by law, if you do give your consent for them to send you advertising, you may be unwittingly opening the floodgates for that business to send or sell your data to other businesses for them to send you marketing too.

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HOW CAN WE STOP RECEIVING UNWANTED JUNK MAIL?

1. If you're receiving junk mail from a company you recognise that you've shopped with before, it can be as easy as logging back into your account on their website and changing your marketing preferences to opt out.

2. If you don't recognise the company, you can still let them know that you no longer consent if you can find their contact details on their website for example. An quick email to them revoking your consent should be enough to make them stop sending you junk mail. Copy and paste this wording to let them know you mean business!

"Please stop processing my personal data for direct marketing purposes within one month in accordance with Article 21 of the General Data Protection Regulations.”

Don't forget to include your name and contact details so they know where to stop sending the junk mail

3. For unaddressed junk mail delivered by the postman, you can use Royal Mail's Opt Out Form to stop this. You simply fill it out and they'll action the request within six weeks of receiving your completed form. The opt out will last for a period of two years and during this time Royal Mail say that every effort will be made to prevent the delivery of the unaddressed mail that firms pay them to deliver.

to view the form

4. Another useful thing to look at is The Mailing Preference Service, or MPS. This is a free service that enables consumers to have their names and home addresses in the UK removed from lists used by the industry. This is as simple as accessing their website and registering your details, and they'll take care of the rest. They say that once registered, you should see a gradual reduction of unsolicited mail but it can take up to four months before it takes full effect.

to visit the Mailing Preference Service