ThinkJessica Petition
ThinkJessica's petition for more protection for vulnerable people against postal scams closed on 15 September 2009. The petition, which was signed by 925 people, received a rather odd response from the Prime Minister's Office. The response (see below) states that direct mail is "a legitimate way for companies to promote products, services and special offers" and that people can contact the Mailing Preference Service is they prefer not to receive unsolicited mail. Scam letter can of course not be prevented or stopped by signing up to the Mailing Preference Service; they are illegal and the criminals behind scams will not check if you have opted out of receiving junk mail.
Full text of the petition
We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to introduce more protection for those suffering from mental health problems and dementia against postal scams.
Thousands of elderly and vunerable people in the UK are being targeted by scam mail criminals from all over the world. We would like the Prime Minister to offer greater protection for those who become cronic scam mail victims and loose thousands of pounds due to mental health illness.
Response from the Prime Minister's Office
The Government recognises that the lives of those people with mental health difficulties, or dementia, can be challenging. Although the Government has no plans to stop unsolicited direct marketing mail - as it is a legitimate way for companies to promote products, services and special offers to everyone - this type of marketing can represent a nuisance to some people and in particular to people who are vulnerable perhaps because of their state of health.
Fortunately there are steps everyone can take to limit the amount of unsolicited mail they receive. They can register with a scheme called the Mailing Preference Service (MPS) operated by the Direct Mail Association. The contact address for the MPS is: Mailing Preference Service, Freepost 22, LONDON, W1E 7EZ. To register on line you can visit mpsonline.org.uk. If you are calling the MPS, use telephone number 0207 291 3300 (press 1 to register).
If you are a family member, friend, or carer, of a person experiencing mental health difficulties or dementia you should be able to act on their behalf to register with the MPS and lessen the amount of unsolicited mail they receive.
However, some unscrupulous companies do trade names and addresses with other scam promoters. This may mean that the name and address of the person in question continues to circulate on mailing lists that have not been amended.
In addition the Government's Consumer Direct service offers clear, practical consumer advice on areas including how to avoid being caught out by the most common marketing scams. This advice can be found on their web site - consumerdirect.gov.uk or explained by advisors on their contact number 08454 04 05 06.
Although the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) does not take action in individual cases it does consider mass marketed scams as a priority area. Their web site www.oft.gov.uk also contains a range of information and advice for people to help them recognise common scams and protect themselves and others against them.
If you have general questions about the Government's response to mental health issues and dementia you can visit the Department of Health web site www.dh.gov.uk for more information.
About ThinkJessica
ThinkJessica helps scam victims and their relatives and actively campaigns for more protection for vulnerable people against scam mail. Among others the group would like to see a change in the law which would enable Royal Mail to weed out scam letters before they are distributed, an idea which sadly Royal Mail so far has rejected.
Another interesting proposal is the introduction of a 'Criminal Notification Form' which postmen could complete when they suspect someone on their round is being conned. Postmen usually know that someone is being targeted by scammers but at the moment there is nothing they can do to help scam victims. Even if someone on their round gets tens of scam letters a day, they have to deliver the mail.