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Under the Data Protection Act 1998, any organisation has to stop 'processing your personal information for direct marketing purposes' if you directly request them to do so. This makes contacting the sender a very effective way of stopping junk mail. There is no legal way an organisation can refuse to take your name, address and any other personal information off its mailing list. However, your request does need to follow a number of guidelines. Simply phoning an organisation and telling them that you no longer require their advertisements can be effective, but it is not legally binding.
Of all the different ways described in this guide, contacting the sender is the most effective. The main disadvantage is that asking individual organisations to stop sending you junk mail is very time consuming. As a last resort, however, it is extremely useful. The Data Protection Act gives you a clear right not to receive junk mail and the tools to enforce it.
Contacting the sender is rather official and your letter therefore needs to follow a number of guidelines. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the body responsible for enforcing the Data Protection Act, has the following guidelines for writing a notice:
You can use our example notice letter to contact individual bulk mailers:
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