The application, which was introduced in March this year, makes it possible for people to contact up to six junk mail opt-out services via a single web form. Since the widget was launched more than 12,000 e-mails have been sent to the various opt-out schemes.

However, the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), which runs the Mailing Preference Service (MPS) as well as a ‘Your Choice’ opt-out for unaddressed junk mail, has told the campaigners that they will no longer be dealing with the e-mails. The DMA argues the Junk Buster website lacks information about the consequences of opting out and feels that requesting an opt-out pack is essentially the same as registering with an opt-out service.

Robert Rijkhoff, the co-ordinator of Stop Junk Mail, is not convinced by the DMA’s arguments: “I have repeatedly asked the DMA to let us know what information they feel is not present on our websites. As they have not given me a single example, I can only assume that they simply don’t like our approach. We tell people how they can get rid of junk mail completely, whereas the DMA is concerned that people who ‘turn off the tap’ may miss advertisements they are potentially interested in.

“I appreciate that the representative of bulk mailers in the UK feels that unsolicited mail is extremely valuable. However, that does not give them the right to claim a monopoly on what information people should be given, let alone that it allows them to simply ignore people who wish to stop unwanted mail.

The 34-year-old former postman said that the saga calls into question whether opt-out services should be operated by bulk mailers: “This is self-regulation at its worst. We are offering a free, effective and popular service. In a way we are doing what bulk mailers have failed to do; giving householders wanting stop unsolicited mail an easy way to opt out. Yet, they are refusing any co-operation based on arguments that are vague at best.”

“If they are really so concerned that people are contacting them via our websites, why don’t they set up a similar service themselves? If anything, we have showed the DMA that there is a great demand for a ‘one-point-stop’ for reducing unsolicited mail and contacting opt-out services.”

The campaigners are confident that the DMA will, sooner or later, start accepting the e-mails again: “The DMA cannot deny that contacting up to six opt-out schemes separately is preventing people from using the services available to them. Last year we revealed that less than 0.5% of British households are registered with the Royal Mail’s Door-to-Door Opt-Out - despite the fact that this is the most effective opt-out service available to the public. It just goes to show that these services need to be widely advertised and easy to contact.”

Householders can still use Junk Buster to contact opt-out schemes. However, they are being advised to send a second e-mail to the MPS and/or Your Choice, to confirm that they do want to receive the opt-out pack they had requested. The website can be found at www.junkbuster.org.uk.