BRIEFING PAPER

Number CBP5762, 11 May 2017

How can I stop junk mail By Lorraine Conway

and emails?
Contents:
1. Unsolicited mail (junk mail)
2. How is misleading content in
promotional material
regulated?
3. Unsolicited emails (spam)
4. Nuisance Calls: Unsolicited
sales and marketing, and
silent calls

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2 How can I stop junk mail and emails?

Contents
Summary 3
1. Unsolicited mail (junk mail) 4
1.1 Can the delivery of unsolicited mail be stopped? 4
Mailing Preference Service (MPS) 4
Royal Mail’s ‘door to door opt-out’ 5
2. How is misleading content in promotional material regulated? 6
2.1 Unfair commercial practices 6
2.2 Misleading, harmful or offensive advertisements 6
2.3 Data protection rights 7
2.4 Scams and fraudulent activity 7
The scope of the problem 7
Reporting a scam or fraud 8
3. Unsolicited emails (spam) 10
3.1 How can unsolicited emails be stopped? 10
3.2 Protective filtering services or software 10
4. Nuisance Calls: Unsolicited sales and marketing, and silent calls 11
4.1 Silent and unwanted marketing calls 11
4.2 Recent Government actions 11
Calling Line Identification 11
Enforcement action 12
Trends in nuisance calls and texts 12

Cover page image copyright Junk mail by Dvortygirl. Licensed by CC BY-SA 2.0 / image
cropped.
3 Commons Library Briefing, 11 May 2017

Summary
Some individuals object to the amount of unsolicited direct marketing mail or promotions
they receive through their letter box (often referred to as ‘junk mail’). They find unsolicited
mail intrusive and annoying. There are available options to reduce the amount of mail
received.
An individual can register with the Mailing Preference Service (MPS) and thereby have
their details removed from direct marketing mailing lists to reduce the amount of
addressed advertising literature they receive. The MPS covers around 90 per cent of
mailing lists. However, the MPS is not designed to stop unaddressed items of mail, direct
mail delivered to the door or the delivery of free newspapers.
Although mail addressed to the ‘occupant’, ‘resident’ or ‘homeowner’ is not covered by
the MPS scheme, it may be possible for an individual to ‘opt out’ of receiving door-to-door
mail items delivered by Royal Mail or other operators. However, it is fair to say that it is
difficult to stop junk mail that is sent from another country.
This Commons briefing paper provides an outline of what an individual can do to stop
junk mail. It also briefly considers how unsolicited emails (known as ‘spam’) can be
stopped through the use of the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive)
Regulations 2003.
A separate Library briefing paper (CBP 6033) (dated 24 June 2016) sets out the
regulations which seek to address “Nuisance calls, unsolicited sales and marketing, and
silent calls”.
4 How can I stop junk mail and emails?

1. Unsolicited mail (junk mail)

1.1 Can the delivery of unsolicited mail be
stopped?
It is not illegal for a company to send unsolicited mail, unless the
material is obscene or threatening. No legislation exists which can
protect a householder from receiving it.
If postage has been paid, Royal Mail is legally obliged to deliver all
addressed mail, which includes mail that is addressed “to the occupier”
as well as mail that is personally addressed.
However, there are various options available to an individual who
wishes to stop unwanted and unsolicited direct marketing mail.

Mailing Preference Service (MPS)

Individuals who do not wish to receive unsolicited addressed mail can
register with the Mailing Preference Service (MPS) to have their names
removed from mailing lists. 1 They can register online.
The MPS is a free service created in the 1980s and funded by the direct
mail industry to allow consumers to have their names and home
addresses in the UK removed from mailing lists used by the industry.
The MPS is supported by: the Government, through the Information
Commissioner’s Office; the directly involved trade associations; and
Royal Mail.
By registering with the MPS, an individual’s name and address would be
removed from up to 95 percent of direct mail lists. It usually takes up to
four months for registration to take full effect. After registration, the
individual would still receive direct mail from companies with whom
they have done business in the past, charities previously contacted and
mailings from small, local companies. Those who wish to stop mailings
from an organisation that is not part of the MPS or with whom they
already have a relationship (such as a charity, bank or building society)
must make direct contact with the relevant organisation.
It should be noted that the extent to which the MPS can stop
unsolicited mail from overseas is limited. The MPS website states:
We do make the file available to overseas based companies under
licence for the purpose of suppression so they know whom not to
mail but many companies who mail the UK from overseas do so
to avoid legal and self-regulatory restrictions. We would advise
caution in responding to unsolicited mail posted from overseas
especially if they are asking you to send them money. 2
There does appear to be rather more scope for dealing with unsolicited
mail from within the EU. Enforcement agencies in the UK, such as

1
Information on the Mailing Preference Service is available on their website:
www.mpsonline.org.uk
2
Mailing Preference Service [online] (accessed 8 December 2014)
5 Commons Library Briefing, 11 May 2017

Trading Standards Services, often work closely with their overseas

counterparts.
Royal Mail’s ‘door to door opt-out’
As already mentioned, Royal Mail is legally obliged to deliver all
addressed mail, which includes mail that is addressed ‘To the Occupier’
(or with any other generic recipient information), as well as mail that is
personally addressed to an individual by name. If the individual wants to
stop receiving unaddressed mail delivered by Royal Mail to their home
they can do so by contacting Royal Mail.
The opt-out will last for a period of two years from the date that Royal
Mail receives the opt-out form. To continue the opt-out after the two-
year period, requires completion of a new opt-out form which can be
obtained by contacting Royal Mail by email at: optout@royalmail.com or
via telephone on 01865 796964, or at the address above.
Opting-out from Royal Mail’s ‘door to door’ delivery operation stops all
unaddressed items from being delivered by Royal Mail. It is not possible
for Royal Mail to separate material that the recipient may want from
material that they do not want, such as advertising offers or leaflets
from central and local government and other public bodies. Moreover,
Royal Mail’s ‘door to door opt-out’ does not cover any other
distributors, who will continue to deliver unaddressed mail items.
6 How can I stop junk mail and emails?

2. How is misleading content in

promotional material
regulated?
Often recipients of unsolicited direct marketing mail are more upset
about the content of the promotion than the fact that this mail was
sent to them.

2.1 Unfair commercial practices

If the unsolicited direct marketing letters are deliberately misleading,
then a complaint could be made to Trading Standards under the
Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008. 3
In brief, the 2008 Regulations implement in the UK the Unfair
Commercial Practices Directive (2005/29/EC). The Regulations introduce
a general prohibition on traders in all sectors engaging in unfair
commercial practices (mainly marketing and selling). For a practice to be
‘unfair’, they must harm, or be likely to harm, the economic interests of
the average consumer. For example, an unfair trading practice could
include:
• promoting fake free offers
• advertising products which cannot be sold legally
• bait advertising (e.g. a trader falsely stating that a product will
only be available for a limited time)
Local authority Trading Standards Services have a duty to enforce the
Regulations. A wide range of sanctions are available depending on the
seriousness of the offence, from guidance and codes of conduct to
unlimited fines and prison sentences.
However, the biggest problem is from mailings that originate from
countries outside the EU. Trading Standards have no power to stop
infringements of consumer law outside the European Economic Area
(EEA) and they must rely on informal co-operation with their
international counterparts.

2.2 Misleading, harmful or offensive

advertisements
If the unsolicited mail contains a dishonest advertisement, a complaint
could also be made to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). The
ASA is the UK’s independent regulator of advertising across all media. It
applies the Advertising Codes, which are written by the Committees of
Advertising Practice. The ASA’s work includes acting on complaints and
proactively checking the media to take action against misleading,
harmful or offensive advertisements.

3
The 2008 Regulations replaced the Control of Misleading Advertisements
Regulations 1988
7 Commons Library Briefing, 11 May 2017

To make a complaint to the ASA, a complaint form can be completed

online.

2.3 Data protection rights

Under the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA 1998), those who handle
personal data (known as data controllers) have to register with the
Information Commissioner. Registration under the Act requires
specifying:
• the type of personal data to be held and its intended use;
• the sources from which personal data is collected; and
• to whom this personal data will be disclosed
The Information Commissioner then enters these details on a Register of
Data Controllers. Once registered the data user must act within the
limits of its notification and is under an obligation to obtain and treat
data fairly and only to disclose it to authorised parties (i.e. parties
specified in the registration). Organisations are expected to be open
with an individual about how they intend to use their personal
information. If an individual is asked for personal information for non-
essential uses such as direct marketing, they should be told why such
information is being sought and given the choice of whether to supply
it.
Under the DPA 1998, the individual has the right to require
organisations to stop using their personal information for direct
marketing purposes. Specifically, section 11 of Part II of the Act states:
11. - (1) An individual is entitled at any time by notice in writing to
a data controller to require the data controller at the end of such
period as is reasonable in the circumstances to cease, or not to
begin, processing for the purposes of direct marketing personal
data in respect of which he is the data subject.
(2) If the court is satisfied, on the application (of any person who
has given a notice under subsection (1), that the data controller
has failed to comply with the notice, the court may order him to
take such steps for complying with the notice as the court thinks
fit.
(3) In this section "direct marketing" means the communication
(by whatever means) of any advertising or marketing material
which is directed to particular individuals.
In this way, the DPA 1998 places obligations on those who record
and use personal data. They must be open about that use
(through the data Protection Register) and follow proper practices
(the Data Protection Principles). It should be noted, however, that
the DPA 1998 applies only to the UK; it would have little effect on
a foreign company holding names on its own database outside
UK jurisdiction.

2.4 Scams and fraudulent activity

The scope of the problem
There was a backbench business debate on 8 September 2016 on the
following motion:
8 How can I stop junk mail and emails?

SCAMMING AND ITS EFFECT ON VULNERABLE INDIVIDUALS

Julian Knight
Patricia Gibson
That this House believes that the elderly and vulnerable are a
high-risk group from having harm done to their financial,
emotional and psychological wellbeing from criminals who target
them with scam calls, post and visits; praises the work that trading
standards does to combat scams; calls on financial institutions and
the communications industry to put in place mechanisms to
protect potential victims from scams; further calls on the
Government to recognise the threat from scams to victims’ ability
to live independently; draws attention to the measures proposed
by Bournemouth University, the Chartered Trading Standards
Institute and National Trading Standards Scams Team on financial
harm as useful first steps in tackling such scams; and calls on the
Government to make suggestions on further steps to tackle such
criminality. 4
The annual cost of fraud against individuals – including mass marketing
fraud and identity fraud – has been estimated at some £9.7 billion.
Research conducted in April 2015 by Age UK suggested that 53 per
cent of people aged 65+ believed they have been targeted by
fraudsters.
There are many different types of consumer scams. Scams can operate
by post, phone call, text message or email, or even from an unsolicited
visit to the person’s home. Advances in technology have enabled
scammers to become increasingly sophisticated in their methods. For
example, some websites or phone numbers can look like official
government sites, with the result that people pay for services that they
could get cheaper or for free if they used the official government service
(for instance, renewing a passport or driving licence). Phishing emails
and texts try to trick the consumer into giving out their personal bank
details.
Although anyone can fall for a scam, vulnerable people (such as the
elderly and those with mental health problems, learning difficulties or
dementia) are especially susceptible and are more likely to be targeted.
Reporting a scam or fraud
If an individual has received material through the post or by other
means, which appears to promote a scam or fraud of some kind, they
can report the matter online to Trading Standards (via the Citizens
Advice online portal) and to Action Fraud (or by telephone on: 0300
123 2040).
From time-to-time, Trading Standards teams have joined with Citizens
Advice to operate ‘Scam awareness campaigns’. The aim being to
increase public awareness of scams and to provide people with practical
advice on how to avoid being scammed (see Box 1 below).

4
HC Deb 8 September 2016 c.507-531
9 Commons Library Briefing, 11 May 2017

Box 1: Practical advice on how to avoid being scammed

To combat scams, trading standards promote the following tips:
• Stop, think and be sceptical. If something sounds too good to be true it probably is.
• Do not be rushed into sending off money to someone you do not know, however plausible they
might sound and even where an approach is personalised.
• Ask yourself how likely it is that you have been especially chosen for this offer – thousands of
other people will probably have received the same offer.
• Think about how much money you could lose from relying to a potential scam – it’s not a
gamble worth taking.
• If you are unsure of an offer, speak to family or friends and seek advice from Citizens Advice
before sending any money or giving out any banking or credit card details.
10 How can I stop junk mail and emails?

3. Unsolicited emails (spam)

Spam is digital junk mail, comprising emails that the recipient didn’t
Spam is digital junk
want or ask to receive. The recipient may have entered their email mail, usually
address in a website, thereby inadvertently agreeing to receive comprising
information. Details might have been added to a mailing list that is then unsolicited direct
sold on to scammers (although most reputable traders do not sell their marketing emails
marketing lists). Whilst spam is annoying, it is generally harmless, unlike
phishing emails, which try to trick people into revealing personal
information.

3.1 How can unsolicited emails be stopped?

Individuals are protected from unsolicited spam emails through the
Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003,
which came into force on 11 December 2003. They provide a safeguard Relevant legislation
against the kind of unsolicited emails that many people object to where
they have no knowledge of the advertiser or the products being
marketed. Under the Regulations, unsolicited spam emails cannot be
sent to an individual subscriber unless prior permission has been
obtained or unless there is a previous relationship between the parties.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has responsibility for the
enforcement of the Regulations and considers complaints about
breaches. A breach of their enforcement notice is a criminal offence
subject to a fine of up to £5,000 in Magistrate’s Court. However, the
ICO can only investigate concerns about marketing emails from
identifiable UK senders. As a lot of spam comes from overseas, the
Information Commissioner has an agreement with a number of overseas
bodies to cooperate and exchange information to try and stop spam
emails that are sent from those places.

3.2 Protective filtering services or software

Some Internet Service Providers (ISPs) offer a free filtering service where
A free filtering
emails are re-directed to a dedicated inbox folder. The subscriber can
service offered by
then either check this folder for any emails they do not want to receive, some internet
or choose not to check the folder in which case the filtered emails will service providers
usually be deleted automatically after a certain period of time. (ISPs)
Alternatively, an individual could purchase an email filtering product.
It is worth noting that some email handling software may have some
filtering functions built-in that can be configured to delete emails
without downloading them, based on criteria such as certain words in
the title of the body of the email, or the blocking of certain senders.
11 Commons Library Briefing, 11 May 2017

4. Nuisance Calls: Unsolicited sales

and marketing, and silent calls
A separate Library briefing paper (CBP 6033) (dated 24 June 2016) sets
out the regulations which seek to address nuisance calls, including
unsolicited sales and marketing calls, and the main ways in which
individuals can try to reduce the number of unwanted calls or texts they
receive.

4.1 Silent and unwanted marketing calls

Nuisance calls (i.e. unsolicited and unwanted marketing messages, silent
or abandoned calls) and spam texts cause widespread harm and
inconvenience as acknowledged by previous and current Governments
and the relevant regulators – Ofcom (the communications regulator)
and the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
Ofcom deals with silent calls while the ICO deals with marketing
calls. As well as Ofcom and the ICO, the Telephone Preference Service
(TPS) and Silent CallGuard offer advice and assistance. If a person is
concerned about unwanted marketing calls, he/she can register their
phone number with the TPS. There are also other options, including call-
blocking technology, available.

4.2 Recent Government actions

The Coalition Government took a number of actions to tackle the
problem of nuisance calls as part of their Action Plan announced in
March 2014. This followed on from a campaign by Which? and reports
from the All Party Group on nuisance calls and the Culture, Media and
Sport Committee in 2013.
• In July 2014 section 393 of the Communications Act 2003 was
amended to permit Ofcom to share information about companies
involved in nuisance calls with the ICO.
• The Claims Management Regulator (CMR), which is responsible
for regulating claims management companies, was given new
powers in December 2014 which allowed it to fine claims
management companies up to 20% of turnover for offences
including making nuisance calls and texts.
• In April 2015 the legal threshold before the ICO can issue fines
was lowered removing the need to demonstrate ‘substantial
damage or substantial distress’.
Calling Line Identification
In April 2016 the Government introduced regulations to force
marketing companies to use ‘Calling Line Identification’ (CLI). A CLI
service displays a caller’s telephone number on the recipient’s
handset/caller display system (where available) before the recipient
accepts the call, allowing them to reject it if they choose.
12 How can I stop junk mail and emails?

Enforcement action
Ofcom takes enforcement action against companies for persistent
misuse of a communications network, including silent and abandoned
calls. Formal enforcement activity Ofcom has taken includes a £750,000
fine on TalkTalk in April 2013, a £60,000 fine on npower in December
2012, and a £750,000 fine on HomeServe in April 2012.
The ICO is able to issue fines up to £500,000 to companies responsible
for nuisance calls and texts. In 2015 the ICO issued over £1 million in
fines to 11 companies relating to nuisance marketing. This included
£400,000 for nuisance texts and £375,000 for nuisance calls.
Trends in nuisance calls and texts
In 2015, the ICO received a total of 168,159 concerns about nuisance
calls and texts, down 4% from 2014. This small fall from a record high
in 2014 might be attributable to enforcement action by the ICO, Ofcom
and the Claims Management Regulator and the widespread media
coverage of nuisance calls in 2015. However, the BBC recently reported
that Which? research shows just 2% of people who receive unwanted
calls report them.
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11 May 2017