Had an email from Dear Sender?
Someone who received your post asked us to get in touch. Here's what it means and what to do.
The short version
Read the request, act on it, and reply to the email to confirm when it's done. There's no portal, no account and no charge.
Who we are
Dear Sender is a UK app, run by Waha Labs Ltd (company number 17558919), that helps people deal with post they don't want. They photograph it, and we contact the sender for them. Someone on our team checks every letter before we send anything.
Our emails come from requests@reply.dearsender.com, and every reply reaches our team.
What we might be asking
Objection to direct marketing
Subject: Objection to direct marketing: [name], [postcode]
The person objects to your use of their personal data for direct marketing, under Article 21 of the UK GDPR. We ask you to stop sending them direct marketing, by post or any other channel, and to erase the personal data you hold about them for marketing (Article 17(1)(c)).
If the post wasn't addressed to them by name, or had no name or address on it at all, we write for the current occupier instead (Stop marketing post to this address: [postcode]) and ask you to stop delivering marketing to that address, including through anyone who delivers for you.
You can keep a minimal record so they aren't contacted again. The ICO says a suppression list is generally preferable to deleting them outright, and that the right to object to direct marketing has no exemptions or grounds for refusal.
Not known at this address
Subject: Not known at this address: [name], [postcode]
The resident has told us that the person you wrote to doesn't live there. We ask you to update your records and stop sending post for that person to that address.
Moved away
Subject: Moved away: [name], [postcode]
The resident has told us that the person has moved away. We ask you to update your records and stop sending post for them to that address. We only include a new address if the person asked the resident to pass it on.
How to reply
- Reply to the email. Replies reach our team, matched to that letter.
- Tell us when it's done, so we can let the person know.
- Can't find a record, or need more from us? Say so in your reply. Any reference printed on the post is included in our email to help you find it.
- Sent to the wrong team? Please pass it on, or reply with the right address so we can use it next time.
If we haven't heard from you after 30 days, we'll send one reminder.
Questions from data protection teams
Can you prove this person authorised you?
Yes. For junk mail requests, the person agrees in the app to let us act for them, and we record when they agreed and the wording. Reply to our email and we'll send you that record.
A wrong-address notice doesn't name the resident. Why?
Because you don't need it. The notice is about the person named on your post, and it's sent for whoever lives at that address, so we only share the address and the addressee's details.
Is this an automated bulk service?
No. Each email is about one specific letter that a person received, and someone on our team checks it before it's sent.
Something in the request looks wrong
Please reply and tell us. We read every photo carefully, but mistakes can happen, and we'd rather put them right.
Anything else
For anything that isn't about a specific email, write to support@dearsender.com.