Goneaways, movers and deceased - why suppression protects your mailing data
Key points
- A goneaway record identifies someone no longer believed to live at the address held, with no new address available from the screening result.
- A mover record provides a potential new address that can be reviewed and used to update the existing record where appropriate.
- Deceased screening identifies records relating to people who have died, helping reduce the risk of distressing contact with bereaved families.
- Suppression helps avoid wasted printing, postage and administration, while giving campaign teams a clearer view of their reachable audience.
- Migrate Data works with Sagacity Solutions to access established suppression and reference datasets, using multiple sources to support screening.
- There is no reliable universal percentage for how much of your mailing data needs attention. A free data audit identifies matches in your own dataset.
George Tye
CEO & Founder
Why check your mailing data before the next campaign?
A mailing list can contain correctly formatted names and addresses while still including people who have moved or died. Printing and postage may already be paid for by the time returned mail reveals the problem. In some cases, the intended recipient’s family or the new occupant has to deal with the communication instead.
Suppression screening checks records against external datasets so that these issues can be identified before a mailing is produced. Depending on the result, a record can be flagged, excluded from a campaign or reviewed for an address update.
For marketing and fundraising teams, this helps protect campaign budgets and relationships. Our data cleansing services support organisations looking to understand which contact records need attention before they are used.
What do goneaways, movers and deceased mean?
These categories describe different findings and need different responses. A goneaway result does not provide the same information as a mover match, and neither should be treated in the same way as a deceased record.
Category | Plain-English meaning | What the result can lead to |
Goneaway | The person is no longer believed to live at the address held, and no new address is available | Flag or suppress the old address from the intended mailing and review whether further tracing is appropriate |
Mover | The person has moved and a new address is available | Review the match and potentially update the existing record |
Deceased | The record has been identified as relating to someone who has died | Apply the agreed deceased flag and exclude inappropriate communications |
A goneaway is not necessarily a supporter you can never contact again. A later screening against mover data may identify a new address. Equally, a record that does not match any screening source should not automatically be treated as confirmed current.
Suppression also does not automatically mean deleting the person’s record. An organisation may need to retain relationship history while preventing that record from appearing in an active mailing selection. The flags and campaign rules need to work together.
What sources are used for suppression screening?
We partner with Sagacity Solutions to access a range of established industry suppression and reference datasets. Multiple sources help us screen for deceased records, goneaways and movers, rather than relying on one source for every type of change.
Examples include The Bereavement Register for deceased screening, GAS for goneaways and GAS Reactive for forwarding-address information. Royal Mail’s National Change of Address datasets also support goneaway and mover checks. The selection of sources depends on the agreed work.
Address validation and preference screening serve related but distinct purposes. The following examples show how those checks fit together.
Check | Examples of sources available through our screening arrangements | What it contributes |
Deceased screening | The Bereavement Register and other established mortality datasets | Identifies records relating to people who have died |
Goneaway screening | GAS and Royal Mail National Change of Address suppression data | Identifies records where the person is no longer believed to live at the held address |
Mover screening | GAS Reactive and Royal Mail National Change of Address update data | Supplies potential forwarding addresses for review |
Address validation | Royal Mail Postcode Address File (PAF) | Checks address details against reference address data |
Mailing preferences | Mailing Preference Service (MPS) | Identifies registered preferences concerning unsolicited advertising mail |
Telephone preferences | Telephone Preference Service (TPS) | Supports telephone campaign checks, rather than postal address validation |
An address reference check does not establish that a particular person still lives there. Preference screening answers a different question again. These results need to be considered alongside the preferences and restrictions already held in your own database.
How much of a typical mailing database is out of date?
There is no single percentage that describes every organisation. The age of the records, how they were collected and how regularly they are maintained all affect the likely results.
Royal Mail’s data cleansing page states that 50% of data will be out of date within two years. That is a broad indication of how quickly information can change, rather than a forecast for your particular database. It does not mean that half your records will match deceased or goneaway files, or that half your contacts must be removed from a campaign.
We prefer to assess the data itself. Our free data audit gives clients a measure of matches against the screening sources used, helping establish what needs attention before agreeing the cleansing work.
When reviewing results, distinguish between matches returned by individual sources and the number of unique records affected. A record may appear in more than one result, so adding every category together can overstate the size of the problem.
How suppression reduces wasted mailing spend
Every unnecessary mail piece can involve printing, materials, fulfilment and postage, as well as the time spent preparing the campaign. Returned mail then creates further administration.
For charities, this also affects how efficiently fundraising budgets are used. Supporters expect money to be spent responsibly, and paying repeatedly to send appeals to outdated addresses is avoidable waste where the issue can be identified beforehand.
A simple worked example
Suppose an organisation plans to send 20,000 mail pieces at a variable production and postage cost of £1.20 each. If screening identifies 1,000 unique records that are subsequently confirmed for exclusion from that mailing, the avoided variable spend would be:
1,000 mail pieces × £1.20 = £1,200
This is an illustrative calculation, not a client result or a typical suppression rate. The net financial benefit depends on the cleansing cost, whether production quantities can still be changed and which costs are genuinely avoidable. Fixed design costs, for example, may remain unchanged.
The calculation becomes useful when you replace the assumptions with your own audit findings and campaign costs. That gives the team a practical basis for deciding what action to take before the print order is committed.
Protecting relationships and reputation
Sending a fundraising appeal to someone who has died can cause distress for their family. Repeated mail to a previous resident can also frustrate the people now living at the address. These experiences can make an organisation appear inattentive, even when its intentions are good.
Deceased and goneaway screening helps reduce those risks. Information received directly from supporters or families should also feed into the organisation’s records and mailing selections, so known changes are acted on.
No external dataset can capture every change immediately. Screening should support the organisation’s own updates and feedback, with an agreed process for handling uncertain matches and corrections.
“If a database contains a high number of people who cannot realistically respond, reporting can be misleading and future decisions may be based on the wrong information.”
Why cleaner mailing data helps campaign reporting
When an appeal receives fewer responses than expected, a team might question its message, offer or timing. Those are sensible areas to investigate, but the quality of the mailing audience also matters. Some intended recipients may never have had the opportunity to respond.
Suppression results help distinguish the size of the database from the audience selected for a particular mailing. Keep a record of the initial selection, exclusions, final mailed volume and returns so that results have a clear basis.
Use consistent definitions when comparing campaigns. A response rate based on the final mailed volume is different from one based on every record originally considered.
Removing unreachable records can change the reported percentage without creating any additional responses, so review response counts and expenditure alongside the rate.
Reconnecting with supporters who have moved
Where a reliable mover match provides a new address, the organisation can review whether to update the existing supporter record. This can help restore contact while keeping the person’s giving history and previous interactions together.
An address update should not silently reset existing communication preferences. Review the match and apply the update through the agreed process, preserving relevant restrictions and recording what changed.
Wealth profiling can be considered separately where it supports an organisation’s fundraising requirements. It may help identify people with greater potential capacity to give and inform more tailored engagement.
It does not establish willingness to donate or guarantee a fundraising outcome. Accurate contact information provides a better starting point for that work.
Reconnecting with supporters who have moved
If you are planning a mailing, seeing returned post or reviewing an older supporter database, a free data audit can help you understand the scale of the issue in your own records.
Tell us roughly how many records you hold, when they were last screened and whether you have a campaign deadline. We can discuss the relevant checks and the next steps for arranging the audit.
If inconsistent names or address fields are making the data difficult to use, our data quality and standardisation services can also help you assess what needs correcting before screening.
Contact Migrate Data to discuss your free data audit and establish which records need review, updating or suppression before your next campaign.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a goneaway and a mover?
A goneaway result indicates that someone is no longer believed to live at the address held, but does not provide a new address. A mover result includes a potential new address, allowing the existing record to be reviewed and potentially updated.
Does deceased screening identify every person who has died?
No. Screening depends on the coverage and currency of the sources used, as well as the ability to match your records reliably. Multiple sources support the process, but direct notifications and your own record updates remain important.
Is address validation the same as suppression screening?
No. Address validation checks address information against a reference source such as Royal Mail PAF. Suppression screening identifies findings about the person associated with a record, such as a move or death. A valid postal address does not prove that your intended recipient still lives there.
Do suppressed records have to be deleted from the CRM?
No. A record can be retained with an appropriate flag while being excluded from particular communications. Agree how each result should be used, and check that campaign selections honour the flags. Historical information and active mailing eligibility serve different purposes.
How often should we screen our mailing data?
The appropriate frequency depends on how often you use it, how quickly records change and how they are maintained. Review whether screening is needed before significant mailings, allowing enough time to act before production. Returned mail and long periods without cleansing are useful prompts for another assessment.
What does Migrate Data’s free data audit tell us?
It gives a measure of matches in your dataset against the screening sources used. Those findings help you understand the potential need for cleansing and agree the next steps. An audit measures the issues identified by its checks; it is not a guarantee that every remaining record is accurate or current.
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