All Bucks businesses area affected by the Royal Mail’s announcement that any mail which cannot be delivered will be destroyed if it does not have a return address printed somewhere on the envelope (known as an ERA or External Return Address).

Royal Mail used to send all undeliverable mail items to a centre where it was opened in an attempt to determine who had sent it, and then it was returned to them. But given the Royal Mail’s drive for profits, this service has now been discontinued.

Obviously if your undelivered mail is now destroyed you will never know and may assume the customer or recipient is still "live". Therefore you risk wasting more money on further mailings. Consequently Royal Mail strongly advises that you print an ERA on your envelopes.

Apparently the best place to put your ERA is on the back of your mail, in the middle at the top and no bigger than 70mm x 30mm.

Andrew Leech, 01753 884216