National Trading Standards Scams Team to make Royal Mail safer

To combat the ever-increasing onslaught of scandalous mail that is delivered to elderly and vulnerable consumers, Royal Mail is about to cut out access to the biggest perpetrators of scam mail. Thanks to a partnership with the National Trading Standards Scams Team, scammers will find it more difficult to conduct scams on a massive level.

Hosted by East Sussex Trading Standards, the National Trading Standards Scams Team will review the validity of offers and contests that are sent on a massive scale to potential customers. Specifically they are looking for ploys that misrepresent a product or service, or those that mislead consumers through fraudulent claims.

Whenever a company is found to be in violation of consumer protection guidelines, the team will first notify Royal Mail of the violations. Additionally, the company that is sending the misleading or fraudulent mailings will be contacted with an ultimatum to stop mailing the offending materials.

Companies have the option to correct the materials so that there is no conflict, or they must cease all mailings. Companies that refuse face cancellation of their contract with Royal Mail.

The purpose of the partnership is to better protect vulnerable citizens from scams that seek to take advantage from consumers that lack a healthy skepticism. The team identifies the worst perpetrators and then ensures that the misleading advertisements cannot continue to be mailed to unsuspecting recipients.

The team is also conducting training to delivery personnel who are in position to spot potentially fraudulent mailers. This allows for them to spot smaller scams and to provide samples to the experts on the team who may then address the issue directly with the offending companies.

One way to get back at the offenders that keep sending fraudulent junk mail is to report them to the team. Reports may be phoned in at 03456 113413 or emailed at scam.mail@royalmail.com. The best option is to forward the items along with your complaint and mail it for inspection by the team. Mail may be addressed to:

By taking early action, the National Trading Standards Scams Team can reduce the impact of mail fraud. The goal is to achieve a sizable reduction in the number of misleading advertisements that are mailed to UK citizens.