Preventing a flood of advertising in the mailbox

This is particularly annoying when the advertising pours out of the mailbox and thus betrays your absence. But many people are also annoyed by the superfluous brochures that flutter into their homes day after day. However, one is not powerless, but can defend oneself against it.

Stickers against unwanted advertising

It makes sense to attach a sticker to the mailbox which, thanks to the imprint "please do not post any advertising", prohibits the deliverers from doing so. Currently, such stickers are distributed free of charge by, for example, geizkragen.De issued. If one has affixed one of these stickers, there should theoretically be peace, since advertising distributors and also the post office must adhere to it. However, it often happens that flyers and brochures are still in the mailbox without being asked. If this is the case, you have the right to take action against it.

In general, however, a distinction must be made between different types of advertising mail. A court has ruled that a free newspaper advertisement is not considered advertising if it contains an editorial section. Even in the case of advertising mail addressed to the recipient, the deliverer must post it, even if it is obvious that it is advertising. However, you can be proactive and write a note "acceptance refused" on the envelope and throw the letter back in the mailbox. Of course, you do not have to put postage on such a letter. Perhaps this will already be enough for the company in question not to send any further advertising letters in the future. If you still receive mail, contact the advertising company and ask where they got the address from. According to the federal data protection act, you have a legal right to this information, which you should exercise. You can also ask the company to delete your address and remove it from the mailing list. The address that you have received from the advertising company is usually an address trader. Here, too, one should contact the company and demand that the personal address be deleted from the database.

Do not disclose your private address if possible

Since the costs for the letters add up with a flood of advertising mail, they should be kept as low as possible. It is therefore a good idea to get a free e-mail address from providers such as web.De, gmx.De, yahoo.De or similar, which is only used to unsubscribe to advertising. If it should come nevertheless to a passing on of this address, the E-mail entrance of the private main address is not loaded with advertising mails.

Many people often wonder how the address dealers came into possession of their own addresses. In many cases, the address is easily obtained from public sources. In the local telephone book, over the imprint of the personal homepage, by entries in industry books or debtor directories one can attain the address without problems. But people also often unconsciously give their data away by taking part in competitions, ordering by mail order or taking part in discount campaigns run by pharmacies, supermarkets or other companies. People often sign up too quickly and overlook the data protection clauses. A cross in the right place or crossing out an entire paragraph could prevent the disclosure of personal data.