Plea to stop junk mail by Scottish MP

MAIL bosses are to be asked to stop delivering junk mail by a Glasgow MSP.

Tory Bill Aitken said today so many advertising fliers – and unsolicited letters – were being pushed through letterboxes they were fast becoming a “very real nuisance”.

He warned they created a security problem when left sticking out of doors because they indicated the householders could be on holiday.

And he claimed that in some blocks of flats with rows of mail boxes at ground level, they caused a litter problem because so many people simply threw them away.

Mr Aitken, the Tories’ chief whip, said: “In one week, I received something like 80 pieces of junk mail, none of which I wanted and certainly none of which I read.

“I appreciate people want to advertise their goods and services, but the situation is getting out of hand. “

Mr Aitken has written to Royal Mail chiefs asking them to reconsider whether they should accept contracts to deliver junk mail.

He also urged advertisers to think again about whether the junk mail approach to selling was worthwhile.

He said: “At the end of the day, there’s now a fairly significant problem and I think advertisers should seriously consider whether this approach gets their message across, bearing in mind the vast majority of people simply discard the material.”

A survey last year found 36.5million items of unsolicited direct mail were sent to people in Glasgow – including 500,000 addressed to

people who had died.

A Royal Mail spokeswoman said they had a legal obligation to carry mail and pointed out direct mail brought in money and helped keep Post Office workers in jobs.

She said anyone who didn’t want to get direct mail should contact the Mailing Preference Service, which will filter out mailshots which are of no interest.

Its address is Department 97, Freepost 22, London W1E 7EZ.

A similar scheme operates to deal with unwanted phone calls from companies.

brian.currie@

eveningtimes.co.uk