Junk Mail Magic

Check a paid mail-removal service before buying

Before paying a mail-removal service, get a written answer on which senders and types of mail the fee covers. A service may handle only certain lists or companies. Mail from senders outside that list can keep arriving.

By Junk Mail Magic. Updated .

Questions to ask first

  1. Ask which senders the fee covers: a fixed list of companies or the senders on your own mail.
  2. Ask which kinds of advertising are included and which are excluded. A service should distinguish prospect mail, customer promotions and prescreened offers. Required account and official notices do not belong in an advertising cleanup.
  3. Ask what happens when a covered sender keeps mailing, and whether repeat requests cost extra.
  4. Ask what qualifies you for a refund and how to request one.
  5. Ask what personal information the service collects, how long it keeps the information and why it needs each item.

Compare the price with other routes

Compare the paid offer with what you can do directly. You can contact individual advertisers yourself, while broader programs serve particular kinds of mail. DMAchoice is one example of a paid program with defined prospect-mail coverage.

Check whether the price buys preparation, submission, follow-up or a recurring service. Ask what evidence you receive for the work. A sent request and a sender’s agreement to stop are different outcomes, so the service should explain which result it promises.

Questions worksheet

Example for your own use. Replace the bracketed details and review what you share.

Service name: [name] Fee: [amount] Senders covered: [fixed list / my senders / unclear] Mail types covered: [list] Repeat requests included: [yes / no / extra cost] Refund terms: [text] Data collected and retention: [list] My unwanted senders NOT covered: [list] Date asked: [date]

Check the answers against your mail

Write each answer and the date next to its question. If the service will not name the senders or mail types it covers, record that too. Before paying, mark which of your unwanted senders the fee would actually reach.

Official sources

Make a free plan for contacting unwanted mail sendersCombine mailing-list programs without duplicate workCount repeat senders before choosing requestsSet a useful expectation for a mail requestMailing-list programsAll practical mail guides

Choose the route that matches the mailing

Use the official route described in this guide for this kind of mail. For a separate ordinary advertisement, Junk Mail Magic can help prepare a sender-specific removal request.

Compare removal routes