Consumer Focus Labs, the online arm of watchdog Consumer Focus, has extended its StayPrivate.org website to allow businesses to sign up to reduce junk faxes and cold calls.
Almost 30,000 consumers have signed up to StayPrivate.org since last summer. The site provides a free and easy way of opting out of receiving junk mail and sales calls by simplifying the process of registering with the Direct Marketing Association’s (DMA) various preference services.
Business customers can now sign up to the Corporate Telephone Preference Service (CTPS) on the stayprivate.org site. The CTPS deals with cold calling for businesses and the Fax Preference Service (FPS), which deals with junk faxes for businesses as well as households.
Individual consumers opting to use StayPrivate.org can simultaneously sign up to the Mailing Preference Service (MPS) and the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) so they do not receive unsolicited sales and marketing telephone calls. Consumers can now also sign up multiple households under one account – so long as they have the permission of the householder.
Joe Cicero, Head of Consumer Focus Labs, said:
‘Stayprivate.org empowers consumers and makes the process of opting-out simpler and quicker. For many people and businesses junk mail and cold calling is a huge pain. Our site offers a single online form and the option of a user account which means customers only have to give information once and can easily make changes – saving them time and effort.
‘Consumers can now also sign up multiple households under one account – so long as they have the permission of the householder.’
Other services consumers can sign up to include the Baby Mail Preference Service which is a free service which allows you to register not to receive baby related mailings. The stayprivate.org site is secure and people’s personal details remain protected and private.
ENDS
Notes to editors:
For further details or interview requests please contact Jamie Pike on 02920 787110
- Consumer Focus Labs builds online tools to make people’s dealings with companies fairer, save them money, or keep them informed about products or issues that are important to them. www.consumerfocuslabs.org
- Consumer Focus is the independent champion for consumers in the UK. www.consumerfocus.org.uk
- StayPrivate.org is a FREE service. You should never have to pay to opt-out of marketing messages. Below is the list of services that are available on Stayprivate.org:
The Mailing Preference Service (MPS) is a free service set up 20 years ago and funded by the direct mail industry to enable consumers to have their names and home addresses in the UK removed from lists used by the industry. It is actively supported by the Royal Mail and all directly involved trade associations and fully supported by The Information Commissioners Office.
The MPS Consumer File is a list of names and addresses of consumers who wish to limit the amount of direct mail they receive. The use of the Consumer File by list-owners and users is a requirement of the British Code of Advertising, Sales Promotion and Direct Marketing administered by the Advertising Standards Authority. It is also a condition under the Code of Practice of the Direct Marketing Association.
The MPS can remove your name from up to 95% of Direct Mail lists. It will not stop mail that has been sent from overseas, un-addressed material or mail addressed to The Occupier. You can expect to continue to receive mailings from companies with whom you have done business in the past. You may also receive mailings from small, local companies. If you wish these mailings to be stopped, you must notify these companies directly. It will take up to 4 months for the Service to have full effect although you should notice a reduction of the mail during this period.
The Telephone Preference Service (TPS) is a central opt out register whereby individuals can register their wish not to receive unsolicited sales and marketing telephone calls. It is a legal requirement that companies do not make such calls to numbers registered on the TPS.
Baby MPS is a free service which allows you to register not to receive baby related mailings.
By checking the information Baby MPS makes available to them, companies are advised how your circumstances have changed as well as your preference not to receive further mailings about baby products and services. Since Baby MPS information is updated daily, companies have access to the most up-to-date information possible.
The Fax Preference Service (FPS), deals with junk faxes and is intended for corporate use (individuals are covered by law) and for individual households.
The Corporate TPS service (CTPS), deals with cold calling for businesses.
