This an minimal, read-only version of the original Stop Junk Mail website.

Royal Mail about the Door-to-Door Opt-Out (3)

As Royal Mail seemed to be in a talkative mood I decided to write back straight away. In my enthusiasm I threw in a question about why Royal Mail is still using a process that involves posting paper forms – after all, they had just told me that they couldn't send people reminders because posting letters is so expensive nowadays. Asking that question was probably a mistake… they suddenly became a lot less willing to discuss the opt-out scheme.

Dear S,

Thank you for your response.

Re my first question, is my understanding about the opt-out scheme and election material also correct? That is, am I right that the opt-out will stop all unaddressed election material with the exception of formal election communications (the one-off, free door-drops to which candidates standing for MP are entitled)?

Re my fourth question, I am aware that it is not possible to register with the opt-out scheme by simply sending an e-mail to Royal Mail and that people who do so will receive an auto-reply message with the letter in the body of the e-mail and the form attached as a PDF. The point I was trying to make is that during this process Royal Mail does not at any stage verify that those resident at the address have requested the opt out, contrary to what is stated on your website. People who get the form via e-mail could print the form several times and give copies to friends, relatives, colleagues. They could even register random addresses if they so wanted (which would be a bit pointless – but it is possible). It is for that reason I asked if the statement on your website about verifying addresses is still correct. The statement dates back to the time when opt-out packs were always sent via snail mail and no longer seems true?

I also would like to ask two questions I thought of after I sent my last e-mail.

The first is whether or not businesses / organisations can register their address with the opt-out scheme. I think this is allowed but I would like to check as the DMA's Your Choice scheme has a strict 'for residential addresses only' policy.

The second question is why it is not possible to register with the opt-out scheme online, in the same way that people can register with the MPS. Royal Mail's confirmation letter states that opting out is extremely simple but it seems to me the registration process is quite outdated – it requires householders to send paper forms via snail mail which then need to be entered onto your database manually. In fact, when Defra and the DMA announced in November 2011 that the two opt-out schemes for unaddressed mail would be replaced by the a new opt-out website for unaddressed mail (the Door-Drop Preference Service) they used the exactly that word: outdated. (The official press release stated that the new opt-out website would replace the current outdated system.)

It seems to me that allowing online registrations would not only be much easier for householders, it should also solve the problem that the current system makes sending registrants confirmation letters and reminders prohibitively expensive. Assuming that registrations would require a valid and confirmed e-mail address it would be possible to send confirmations and reminders via e-mail (a basic cron script could check daily if any registrants need a reminder). And, thinking about it, while a registration is processed the relevant delivery office could be notified instantly of the new opt-out registration, which would reduce the time it takes for opt-out registrations to become effective from up to six week to a single working day.

Defra recently told me that the idea for the Door-Drop Preference Service has been scrapped because the DMA felt that its members would be disadvantaged – DMA members would need to check if households have opted out while non-members could continue to do 'business as usual'. Does Royal Mail share the DMA's concerns, and is that the reason why households are not allowed to register online? And if so, how can that position be squared with the statements in the opt-out letter about Royal Mail being pleased about receiving opt-out requests (because it prevents people get annoyed about "junk mail" and because it improves the targeting of unsolicited, unaddressed mail)?

Kind regards,
Etc