Deceased and goneaway suppression that protects donors and customers

A Guide for Charities and Large B2C Databases

When a supporter dies or moves, every message you send matters. Accurate suppression prevents distress, protects trust and keeps you compliant. In this guide we share how to achieve high‑accuracy deceased and goneaway suppression with minimal false positives, and how we put these practices to work for you.

Why Accurate Suppression Matters

• Protect people. Mailing the recently bereaved causes harm and complaints. UK guidance expects you to stop contacting people who have died and to respect opt‑outs
• Comply with UK law. The ICO’s direct marketing guidance requires you to keep data accurate and to maintain up‑to‑date suppression lists to honour objections and opt‑outs
• Protect your brand and budget. Clean data reduces wasted print, postage and handling and avoids unnecessary escalation to the ICO or the Fundraising Regulator

The Rules You Must Meet in the UK

• UK GDPR and DPA 2018 apply to all direct marketing that uses personal data. People have an absolute right to object to direct marketing and you must stop, usually by suppressing rather than deleting records
• Suppression list are the right way to respect objections, keep the minimum data needed to ensure you do not market to those people again
• Phone marketing: screen against TPS/CTPS at least every 28 days because new registrations can take up to 28 days to take effect
• Charities: the Code of Fundraising Practice signposts to ICO guidance and expects you to stop sending communications to people you know have died, keep databases accurate and respect preferences

What Counts as High‑Accuracy Suppression

Your goal is to lower both false negatives (missed deceased or movers) and false positives (suppressing the wrong person). For sensitive use cases we prioritise precision to protect relationships.

Hallmarks of accurate suppression:

• Verified sources, not assumptions or postal returns alone
• Multi‑source corroboration where possible
• Strict person‑level matching that uses name, full address, date of birth and, for deceased files, date of death when available
• Traceability: every flag has provenance, date and source
• Freshness: weekly or monthly updates, plus pre‑campaign checks
• A clear appeals process to correct errors quickly

The ICO’s accuracy principle and suppression‑list guidance underpin this approach. 

The Data Sources That Do the Heavy Lifting

We screen your data against industry‑recognised files. Here is a practical overview.

Note: Deaths are officially registered within 5 days in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and 8 days in Scotland, which helps explain why verified deceased files can be available within weeks. 

How Sagacity Delivers High‑Accuracy Suppression

We combine proven files with battle‑tested matching logic, delivered as API or self‑serve.

• Multi‑file screening: Mortascreen, The Bereavement Register, Experian Mortality, NCOA Suppress/Update, GAS and MPS are integrated into our Connect APIs. You pick the stack you need
• Preference services ready: TPS, CTPS and MPS checks are available with audit trail
• Two flexible routes: Connect API for real‑time and batch, or Online for self‑serve projects with same‑day results
• Our heritage: The Bereavement Register was originally launched by REaD Group, now Sagacity Solutions Limited

What this means for you: fewer false positives, cleaner files before every campaign and documentation that stands up to scrutiny.

Reducing False Positives Without Missing Critical Suppressions

Here is the match strategy we recommend for sensitive data like donor files, high‑value customers or vulnerable groups.

1. Use person‑level keys

• Require forename, surname, full postcode and premise. Prefer matches that also include date of birth and for deceased files the date of death
• Down‑weight nickname or initial‑only matches unless DOB aligns

2. Match in a strict order

• Validate name and address against PAF formatting first, then apply deceased and goneaway checks, then preference checks
• Prioritise verified deceased files ahead of assumed returns

3. Require corroboration for risky cases

• If the match lacks DOB or DOD, seek a second independent source or queue for manual review if the record is high value or sensitive

4. Score and threshold

• Score each potential match. Suppress automatically only above a high threshold. Flag borderline matches for review rather than removing active donors

5. Keep an appeals path

• Make it easy for supporters to tell you if you have suppressed them in error and correct within SLA, as the ICO expects you to deal promptly with accuracy challenges

Benchmarking Accuracy Before You Buy

Ask prospective providers to run a short, controlled benchmark. A good test takes 2 weeks end‑to‑end.

• Define a gold‑standard sample. Include known deceased, known gone‑aways and known active records. Mask identifiers not needed for matching
• Demand source transparency. For each flag, you should see file name, update date and match fields used
• Measure what matters. Track precision (suppression accuracy), recall (coverage), false‑positive rate, record recency and time to process
• Inspect borderline cases. Review a subset manually to understand why records were suppressed
• Check recency. Files that update weekly or monthly reduce the risk of stale flags before a campaign. Mortascreen reports weekly updates; movers and preference files also update frequently

KPIs to track

Operating Cadence That Keeps You Safe

• Screen before every mailing and immediately before live call activity. TPS/CTPS must be screened at least every 28 days
• Maintain your own suppression list of opt‑outs and objections and keep it up to date. The ICO recommends suppression over deletion for this purpose
• For charities, make sure your processes and training reflect the Code’s expectations to stop contacting people you know have died and to keep records accurate

Buying Checklist For High‑Accuracy Suppression

Use this checklist to compare vendors and avoid costly mistakes:

• Which deceased, goneaway, mover and preference files are included and how often are they refreshed? Ask for update schedules and coverage claims with sources
• What is the documented false‑positive rate in a blind test on your data? Ask to see match logic, confidence scores and thresholding rules
• Can you see provenance for every flag and a full audit trail for compliance? The ICO expects you to deal quickly with accuracy challenges and to evidence your decisions
• How do you handle objections and FPS/TPS requests, and how often do you update these lists? TPS/CTPS screening needs at least every 28 days
• Can you run a no‑commitment data audit first so you can see the impact before purchase? Royal Mail and others offer preview audits which is a useful benchmark

How To Work With Sagacity

Choose the model that fits your workflow:

• Real‑time or batch via Connect API. Add suppression and preference checks directly into your CRM, e‑commerce or service tools
• Self‑serve jobs via Online. Upload files securely, select your suppression stack and receive same‑day results with a full audit trail

We screen against the UK’s leading deceased and mover files and provide the audit trail, documentation and reporting you need for internal assurance and external scrutiny.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between suppressing and deleting?

• Suppression marks a record so you do not market to that person again but keeps minimal data to ensure you respect their preference in future. This is recommended by the ICO.

Do I need to screen against MPS for mail?

• MPS is not a statutory list but is recognised best practice for prospect mailings to respect consumer wishes.

How quickly do deceased records appear in suppression files?

• Deaths are registered within days and certain deceased files aim to include records within weeks. Individual file recency varies by source and update schedule.

Can you help us evidence compliance?

• Yes. Connect and Online both provide audit trails of sources, dates and flags to support DPIAs, internal audit and responses to regulators.

Next Step

Let’s run a short benchmark on your database and show you the impact on complaints avoided, waste reduced and response rates protected. Start with a free data audit or speak to our team.