Stop your junk mail!  This website has been set up to make it a bit easier to sign up to junk mail opt-out schemes. There are no less than six opt-out services for junk mail and paper directories in the UK - and before Junk Buster was launched they all had to be contacted separately. In just a few clicks you can now contact up to six junk mail opt-out schemes.

Junk Buster is not just about making opting out easier. I set up Junk Buster out of frustration with the junk mail industry's unwillingness to provide a decent service to the millions of people who have no need for advertisements being pushed through their door. There are many things that could be done to make stopping junk mail easier. This here is Junk Buster's manifesto…

The junk mail industry is currently self-regulating. This largely explains why there are so many opt-out schemes and why they don't co-operate. Put simply; the more opt-out schemes there are, the less likely it is people will sign up to them. Hence we got a scheme for addressed junk mail; a scheme for unaddressed mail delivered by Royal Mail; a scheme for unaddressed mail delivered by members of the Direct Marketing Association; a scheme for the Yellow Pages; a scheme for Thomson Local; and a scheme for the BT Telephone Directory. This nonsense should end; the Direct Marketing Association should set up its own official junk buster (which should also include the Telephone and Fax Preference Service).

None of the opt-out services is properly advertised. Only 198,000 households are currently registered with the Door-to-Door Opt-Out, for instance. That's 0.7 per cent of all UK households. The figure for Your Choice is negligible; only 1,600 households have signed up (0.0006 per cent of UK households). Even the Direct Marketing Association would not dare argue that the take up is so low because people actually like junk mail. The simple truth is that people don't know they can opt out. It's time junk mailers start advertising their own opt-out services. Information about opting out should be advertised prominently in every directory; Royal Mail should organise an annual mail-out to tell each and every household in the country about the existence of its opt-out scheme; and that the Mailing Preference Service should be advertised on every piece of junk mail that could have been prevented by signing up to the scheme.

There is no need for opt-out schemes to be run by junk mailers. All opt-out services should be taken away from the industry and run by an independent organisation which cares about people, not junk mailers.

All opt-out schemes should give people the opportunity to register online. Currently, only the Mailing Preference Service allows people to do so. The only reason why the Door-to-Door Opt-Out and Your Choice work with paper confirmation forms is that this makes it more difficult to register. Yell, Thomson Local and BT all refuse to advertise their schemes and don't allow people to opt-out online for that reason - the only way to find out about their opt-out schemes is via websites as these!

You currently need to do no less than three things just to stop unaddressed junk mail. Apart from signing up to the Door-to-Door Opt-Out and Your Choice scheme you also need to get a 'No Junk Mail' sticker (this is because the majority of leaflets coming through the door are not delivered by Royal Mail and or members of the Direct Marketing Association). There is no need for things to be so complicated and discouraging. In Canada, Australia and on mainland Europe people can simply stop commercial leaflets by putting a 'No Junk Mail' sign on their letterbox. Why have all these bureaucratic opt-out schemes if there's such an easy solution?

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Stop your junk mail!

Junk Buster is your one-point-stop for reducing unsolicited mail and paper directories. Using this simple widget you can contact up to three junk mail opt-out schemes and opt out of receiving the three main paper directories delivered door-to-door in the UK.

Registering with these free opt-out schemes can reduce unwanted mail by up to 60 per cent. For the average household, that's a reduction of 250 pieces / 11.3 kilos of junk mail per year.

Opt-out services you can contact via Junk Buster

The junk mail opt-out services you can contact via Junk Buster are:

Please note that you can't opt out directly with any of the three junk mail opt-out services. The Door-to-Door Opt-Out and Your Choice require you to complete a paper opt-out confirmation form. If you contact either opt-out service via Junk Buster the application will request these forms for you.

The Mailing Preference Service is currently blocking the service Junk Buster provides. Please read the important notice below to find out how you can register with the Mailing Preference Service directly.

The paper directories you can cancel via Junk Buster are:

Stopping paper directories is a lot more straightforward than registering with junk mail opt-out schemes. If you contact any of the directories via Junk Buster your address will be marked as opted out. You don't need to complete any form to confirm your opt out request.

More information about the opt-out services can be found under 'Opt-Out' in the Junk Buster widget. Alternatively, read the Guide section on our website or the more detailed Guide to Stamping Out Junk Mail on the Stop Junk Mail website.

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Important notice about the BT Phone Book

26 August 2011

The Information Commissioner's Office has concluded that BT was indeed breaching the Data Protection Act and has recommended they stop demanding people's phone numbers. More information can be found on Stop Junk Mail's news pages and on the blog.

Please let me know if BT tells you that can't opt out without giving your phone number.

2 June 2011

BT is currently sending e-mails to people who have opted out of receiving the phone book via Junk Buster to advise their opt-out request could not be actioned because no telephone number was provided.

The company has confirmed to me that it will not stop delivering the phone book to people who do not give the company a telephone number, claiming that the telephone number is needed as "a point of contact". I have made a complaint about this to the Information Commissioner's Office as it appears BT is excessively collecting people's personally details. Junk Buster already gives BT your name and full address; there's no need for the company to collect people's private telephone numbers as well.

My advice is not to give BT your telephone number as yet and to await the verdict of the Information Commissioner's Office on whether or not BT is handling people's personal details in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998.

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Important notice about the Mailing Preference Service

In response to Junk Buster the Direct Marketing Association has taken the decision to no longer accept requests for a Mailing Preference Service opt-out form via e-mail. If you choose to contact the Mailing Preference Service via Junk Buster the application will therefore not send an e-mail to the opt-out scheme. There would be little point in doing so; your request would be ignored.

You can register directly with the Mailing Preference Service and a number of other opt-out schemes (including the Telephone and Fax Preference Service) run by the Direct Marketing Association via Stay Private. This is an opt-out website set up by Consumer Focus in response to the industry's reluctance to make opting out of unsolicited marketing easier. Alternatively, you can register with the Mailing Preference Service via its website.

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You're almost there…

Registering with the three junk mail opt-out schemes will stop about 60 per cent of unsolicited mail. Although that's quite a reduction, you'll still have to dispose of some 100 pieces of junk mail per year. To really get rid of junk mail there are a number of other things we recommend you do as well. The two 'top tips' are mentioned here; for a full guide, please refer to our Stop Junk Mail Guide.

  1. Get a 'No Junk Mail' sign. There's no other way to stop all those leaflets and other unaddressed items that are not delivered by Royal Mail and leaflet distribution companies that are members of the Direct Marketing Association. You can get a sticker to stop leaflets and/or free newspapers from our 'No Junk' Shop.

  2. Opt out of being on the edited electoral register. If you are not yet opted out of being on the edited version of the electoral register, contact your local election office and ask them to take your details off this list. The edited version of the electoral roll can be bought by any person and may be used for any purpose. As you would expect, bulk mailers use the register to create junk mail list.

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Donate

Junk Buster is the brainchild of Stop Junk Mail, a not-for-profit campaign group giving free and independent advice on reducing unsolicited mail. You can use the Junk Buster application free of charge and you don't need to feel guilty about this. Reducing junk mail should be easy and free; after all, you never asked for the stuff! However, if Junk Buster has helped you reducing junk mail and if you're fortunate enough to be able to spare a couple pounds, any donations towards the project are gratefully received.

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