Think Of It This Way, by John Parry

For more than a year, millions of letters, cleverly designed to look like some kind of official survey, have been included in the junk mail delivered to homes all over the UK.

They come from a company called the Postal Preference Service "in association with the Royal Mail".

The company is, of course, perfectly legal and above board but it is a straightforward commercial operation.

The letters contain no less than 19 pages of detailed questions about the most intimate, private and personal aspects of our lives.

The questionnaire is a hugely intrusive and offensive document - a ruthless marketing exercise attempting to pry into every aspect of our lives.

And it uses the thoroughly disingenuous argument that it is all being done for our benefit.

Its aim, apparently, is to try to stop much of the unwanted junk mail.

What the Postal Preference Service does is to sell information about us to advertisers so they can focus their mailshots more effectively.

On the face of it, it sounds almost reasonable.

However, the invasive detail of the questions is frightening.

They want your name, address, email address, home and mobile phone numbers.

They want to know how much you earn, which credit cards you have, what your monthly spend is and how you repay.

They want to know if you own your own home, how many bedrooms it has, the birthdays of everyone in your household and if you have any grandchildren.

They want to know how many cars you have, whether you have a university degree and what your job is.

And there is much, much more. It is an exhausting list to read, let alone attempt to fill in.

The Postal Preference Service argues that for manufacturers to understand what we really want, it is important for them to know more than just our preferences.

This personal information, it says, makes it easier to match mail to us. The prying goes even further, though.

Using the lure of free coupons and samples, it wants to know how much we drink, how much wine, whisky or beer.

It even wants to know what toilet paper we use and specifically asks women about which tampons, panty liners and hygiene towels they buy.

It is the most astonishingly brash and offensive document it has ever been my misfortune to receive.

At least the service has the candour to admit it has no power to stop unwanted junk mail - the one thing we really want.

Nor can it stop telephone or email salesmen harassing us.

By handing over telephone numbers and email addresses, more and more of these pests will intrude on our privacy.

If one of these letters comes through your letterbox, my advice is to throw it straight into the bin, where mine has now gone.