21 September 2009 – Stop Junk Mail has today introduced an improved version of its popular 'Junk Buster' widget.
Junk Buster remains a one-point-stop for contacting opt-out services. Via the widget, people can still contact up to six free opt-out schemes. They include Royal Mail's Door-to-Door Opt-Out, the Your Choice Preference Scheme for Unaddressed Mail and the Mailing Preference Service, as well as opt-outs for the three main paper directories delivered door-to-door in the UK: the Yellow Pages, Thomson Local and BT Telephone Book.
The main change is that the new version of Junk Buster now also provides information about all six opt-out schemes. Stop Junk Mail hopes that this change will meet alleged concerns of the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), which operates both the Mailing Preference Service and Your Choice scheme.
Shortly after the launch of Junk Buster, in March this year, the representative of bulk mailers in the UK told Stop Junk Mail that it would be "inappropriate" for the DMA to deal with e-mails send via Junk Buster. The DMA's objection to the service is that people may not be making an "informed decision" about reducing the amount of advertisements that come through the door.
Robert Rijkhoff, co-ordinator of Stop Junk Mail, commented: "Although I do feel that it is rather condescending to argue that people who reduce junk mail don't know what they are doing, the DMA's criticism has led to an improvement. Junk Buster is now not only the first one-point-stop for contacting opt-out schemes; it is also the first widget that provides information about all the services available to the public."
Another change that has been introduced is that people can now only contact opt-out services via Junk Buster if they provide their e-mail address. Mr Rijkhoff explained: "Because of the difficulties we have had with the DMA, we feel it is important that we can contact people who use our service, should new problems arise. Hopefully we will never have to contact anyone, but if needed we will now be able to explain the situation and give appropriate advice. It is unfortunate that this change was necessary, but it is the only way we can ensure that people wanting to reduce junk mail are not ignored."