Yes! Revenge finally on junk mail senders!

Access

I keep getting sent junk mail from different companies to my home even though i opted out of this last year via the address register.

One particular Irish insurance company keeps sending me info, even though i have rung them up to cancel my address from their mailing list again and again.

(i have never dealt with them but might have gotten a quote from them before in the past - about 5 years ago... and i have even rung them up and did the old "im changing house, could you now update the mailing list with my new address" routine... where i have given my 'new' address as Mr xxxxxx, main street galway)

But this hasn't worked either as i still receive it to my normal address.

BUT MY FRIENDS - REVENGE IS SWEET...

A friend of mine told me about this and i am happy to say that it works....

I received another offers letter from this company again on Friday and it again contained a free post envelope for their main HQ, so i went out to my shed, got a large box that once contained a tv set, and placed one busted alloy wheel that i had behind my shed and sealed it all up. I even went to the trouble of bubble wrapping the inside so that it would not knock around in the box!

I taped the free post envelope onto it at the top and marked the box as fragile documents. I nervously brought it to a non local post office and passed it through the parcel hatch. It was under the an post 20kg weight limit so she accepted it and even thanked me for wrapping it so well!

Now i know that this has not ended my headache of receiving junk offers mail from this company... but i think i still have started the road to recovery and there are still plenty of things behind my shed and in it that need to go!

Now, where are all those half empty paint cans i had....?

Cake Fiend

*makes mental note to research the legality of mailing roadkill...

Karl Hungus

Genius! I've heard of people sending other junk mail with freepost envelopes, but getting rid of junk you've got piled up? Brilliance!

Lazare

Brilliant!

Did you put your name and address in with it?


Edit, I see that you didn't, I would've.

Lazare

Lazare wrote:

Edit, I see that you didn't, I would've.

Nah, you never know what junk they might have lying around.

Bravo, OP.

Jesus Wept

Karl Hungus wrote:

Genius! I've heard of people sending other junk mail with freepost envelopes, but getting rid of junk you've got piled up? Brilliance!

yea, done that, but this is something special.

Access

Thank you!... i did hear about this happening before in the US... so i thought it might work here... and it did!

I posted this to inform others... insurance offices and catalog HQs will be receiving everything from fairy lights to old telephone directories.

Remember the 3 R's.... Recycle - Reuse - Reduce!!!

And you don't have to start big like me... you could always post old train/bus timetables back to the companies who junk mail you in the free post envelope - companies always need to know when the next bus comes in!!!

Feral Mutant

You, sir, are brilliant.
Reminds me of this.

If only there was an online equivalent.

johnp

Feral Mutant wrote:

You, sir, are brilliant.
Reminds me of this.

If only there was an online equivalent.

Both the OP and that guy are brilliant

Ruu_Old

Bravo and well done.

Fad

i cant actually wait for some junk mail soon:D

FX Meister

Oh my god, won't somebody please think of the carbon footprint!!

Fad

wheres the fun in that though?

Access

As i did say in my original post above, i did hear about this happening in the US and from an old work friend, but he only posted an old trainer in a shoe box...

I just took it one step further... but i reckon it might not work in all post offices as it depends on the clerk knowing the rules regarding packages and freepost.
I had a little old lady at my non local PO and id say she wouldn't be up to scratch on the free post rules?

Maybe someone working for an post might clarify?

Regardless... you cannot go over 20kg in weight with normal post through An Post according to the website rates.

If you are trying this out, please report back here to let us know how you got on!

Access

FX Meister wrote:

Oh my god, won't somebody please think of the carbon footprint!!

I feel a benefit gig coming on!

Drax

Access, you have just made my day! That is class....!

I'm off to sign up to some junk lists now... got a broken lawnmower and and a old bed I want rid of....

DonkeyStyle \o/

Hmmm, might be a good way to dispose of a corpse?

Zaph

I've heard of people mailing bricks back using business reply envelopes, but this is fiendishly brilliant. Only problem is that if you haven't included your name and address won't they still keep sending you junk mail?

Drax

DonkeyStyle \o/ wrote:

Hmmm, might be a good way to dispose of a corpse?

If only the scissor sisters had waited a few months to see this thread. Then they wouldnt have had to walk through the Square with human body parts in a sports bag. :eek:

Karl Hungus

zaph wrote:

I've heard of people mailing bricks back using business reply envelopes, but this is fiendishly brilliant. Only problem is that if you haven't included your name and address won't they still keep sending you junk mail?

That's the beauty of it though! They won't know who it came from. If they did, they'd just stop sending applications to that one person. Doing it this way, you could keep on sending them junk untill they put an end to it once and for all.

Access

zaph wrote:

I've heard of people mailing bricks back using business reply envelopes, but this is fiendishly brilliant. Only problem is that if you haven't included your name and address won't they still keep sending you junk mail?

Yes, and like i said... there is still loads of stuff behind my shed!

Fad

DONT include you name/address theyll either send it back, or take you off the list, if they take you off the list you wont be able to send more stuff.

MOULDY FOOD!:)

faceman

somebody please think of the postman!

Access

We recently had a baby, and nappies are an issue!

Im surprised that someone hasn't come on yet saying... thats wrong, tut tut and all that!!!

Karl Hungus

Send them ouderless Talcum Powder. If you're lucky enough, they'll mistake it for anthrax and shut the building down and interupt business in a big way.

Drax

How about starting a company up...

One division of the company calls around and collects reply envelopes for free and the other division could specialise in garbage collection!

Access

Karl Hungus wrote:

Send them ouderless Talcum Powder. If you're lucky enough, they'll mistake it for anthrax and shut the building down and interupt business in a big way.

Ok Karl... i only want a laugh, not a 15 year prison stretch!

Access

Drax wrote:

How about starting a company up...

One devision of the company calls around and collects reply envelopes for free and the other division could specialise in garbage collection!

Nah... Midland waste got there already!

Karl Hungus

Access wrote:

Ok Karl... i only want a laugh, not a 15 year prison stretch!

Coward!

Access

Karl Hungus wrote:

Coward!

Ha Ha! I love it! - but nappies are better to send... especially after a 5 ounce bottle of cow and gate!

Fad

Access wrote:

nappies are better to send... especially after a 5 ounce bottle of cow and gate!

*winces* but seriously the face on the poor soul who gets that box on their desk

Feral Mutant

Fad wrote:

DONT include you name/address theyll either send it back, or take you off the list, if they take you off the list you wont be able to send more stuff.

I'd be more worried about them sending more stuff and passing on my address to their fellow spammers to get their own back.

Fad

stuff gets sent out with your address as a free post

scojones

Moved from After Hours.

johnp

Feral Mutant wrote:

I'd be more worried about them sending more stuff and passing on my address to their fellow spammers to get their own back.

But if you don't send your name/address they won't know who sent it.
So unless they send more stuff to everyone.......

Feral Mutant

johnp wrote:

But if you don't send your name/address they won't know who sent it.
So unless they send more stuff to everyone.......

Which is why I'd worry about including my name and address. Still, if anyone tries this and gets less junk, let us know.

faceman

faceman wrote:

somebody please think of the postman!

Great, it'll keep him in a job.

johnp

Feral Mutant wrote:

Which is why I'd worry about including my name and address. Still, if anyone tries this and gets less junk, let us know.

Sorry, read your previous mail wrong.
Totally agree, don't include you name/address.

Capt'n Midnight

ROFL

20Kg, who needs wheelie bins ?

JIZZLORD

if only we could get back at spam senders, i'm sick and tired of their crap, my penis is big enough dammit!

humbert

scojones wrote:

Moved from After Hours.

/is baffled.

Steoob

haha this is the best idea ive heard in a long time... OP you should never opt out of things, its their way of confirming your address which they sell to other spam companies...

Stephen

wtf is this doing on the security board?

Great take on and old idea though OP

kelle

Now I know what to do when i get yet another letter from a particular credit card company.

Access

How the bloody hell did this get moved to tech - security????

After hours is about general conversation topics - what has revenge got to do with tech? Not happy... can a mod check this??!!

Access

This topic isnt about email - it about getting revenge on AN POST Junk mail senders...

Scojones - Shouldn't mods read posts before moving them and not rely on topic headings???

2 stroke

Great idea OP. I've been returning freepost envelopes for years but never thought of adding weight. Thank you.
Regarding spam, one of my email addresses recieves quite a lot of spam and I have recently started to pick one reply address each day and forwarding all of my spam to that address. Maybe if everyone started to do this we could kill the spammers.

Capt'n Midnight

2 stroke wrote:

Regarding spam, one of my email addresses recieves quite a lot of spam and I have recently started to pick one reply address each day and forwarding all of my spam to that address. Maybe if everyone started to do this we could kill the spammers.

spammers don't user their own addresses so at best it's a complete waste of time and bandwidth, worse you might be spamming an innocent whose address/pc was hijacked

Victor

Feral Mutant wrote:

If only there was an online equivalent.

A group on Israel decided to respond to all their junk mail - crashed something like 19 servers in Taiwan.

Black Swan

Don't post anything that is a powder to a US company, because of the anthrax scares they have had. They may go bananas and send a complaint to the Gardai. If in the USA, you will more than likely get a visit from those men in black with shades (and Gitmo is very hot this time of year!).

Access

It more to do with the normal post junk mail that we get in our doors rather then email.