How do email enquiries work?

The Email Advertiser form sends your enquiry to the advertiser without revealing their email address. You will receive a copy for your records, although it will not appear in your sent items.

The advertiser can decide whether to respond. If they contact you, their email address will be visible to you.

Enquiries are not displayed publicly. Copies of messages sent through the form are retained by NFED so that we can investigate suspicious activity, notify affected recipients and help recover missing enquiries.

Note: The NFED contact form is activated when the advert is approved. An unapproved advert receives the “temporarily unavailable” message, and no emails are sent.

Why does NFED use email?

Email provides a straightforward way to communicate across computers, tablets and phones. Enquirers do not need to register, download an app or share a social media profile, and there is no charge to use the enquiry form.

Advertisers can use an existing email address or set up a separate one for advertising. You can change your address through the Advert Control Panel at any time.

What safeguards are in place?

Enquiries are monitored for signs of scam activity. To help prevent spam being sent to multiple advertisers, each email address is limited to five enquiries in any rolling one-hour period.

If you reach the limit, you must wait until an earlier enquiry falls outside that period before sending another. The allowance becomes available as previous enquiries pass the one-hour mark, rather than resetting at a fixed time.

Strictly no canvassing. Anyone found sending fraudulent or misleading emails, spamming or canvassing will be blacklisted to prevent further enquiries. They will also be added to our offenders list to alert other website users. All recipients of those emails will be notified.

These safeguards help reduce misuse, but they cannot guarantee that every enquiry is genuine. Please remain cautious when responding.

Why won’t the enquiry form load?

To help protect advertisers from spam and fraudulent enquiries, we require the sender’s genuine IP address. The form will not load if your connection is identified as using a proxy server or VPN, or as being outside the UK.

If you believe your connection has been blocked incorrectly, please visit our IP check page so that we can review whether your IP address can be whitelisted.

How do I reply to an enquiry?

Enquiries arrive from enquiries@nfed.co.uk, but you must create a new email addressed to the enquirer’s email address, which is shown in the message.

Do not reply to enquiries@nfed.co.uk. Replies sent there will receive an automated warning explaining that your response has not reached the enquirer.

Your response is sent through your own email service and reveals your email address. Further correspondence takes place directly between you and the enquirer, outside NFED’s enquiry system.

I’m an advertiser. Why am I not receiving enquiries?

Please test your advert by sending yourself an enquiry through the contact form. If it does not arrive:

1. Check your email address. Open Edit Ad in the Advert Control Panel and make sure the address is correct, with no spaces.
2. Check your spam or junk folder. Your email provider or security software may have filtered the message.
3. Add our addresses to your safe senders. Add enquiries@nfed.co.uk and editor@nfed.co.uk to your contacts or safe-sender list. Mark any messages found in spam as “Not spam”.
4. Try an address from another email provider. Filtering problems can affect any provider.

If problems continue, contact the administrator. You can also switch off email enquiries and accept phone or text enquiries instead. Publishing your email address in the advert is another option, but it bypasses the enquiry form’s safeguards; see below.

Please check that your advert’s contact options work and that you can receive enquiries.

I’ve sent an enquiry. Why haven’t I received a reply?

First, check that you received a copy of your enquiry. If it is missing, look in your spam or junk folder. If you still cannot find it, you may have entered your email address incorrectly.

When making an enquiry, include your name and clear, relevant questions. You can also include a phone number if you are comfortable doing so. A message with enough detail helps the advertiser assess and respond to your enquiry.

Advertisers may receive many messages or may not check their email every day. If the advert includes a phone number, you could try calling or texting.

If you still suspect a delivery problem, contact us. We can investigate or try contacting the advertiser on your behalf, but whether they reply is entirely their decision.

Can you recover missing or deleted enquiries?

Copies of enquiries sent through the form are kept for approximately **six months**. If you think you have missed or deleted a message, contact the administrator.

We can forward copies to the email address used to submit the advert. If you need them sent to a different address, we will require proof that you are the advertiser.

Can I publish my email address in the advert?

Yes, but it will be publicly visible. People can then email you directly, bypassing the enquiry form’s monitoring, sending limits and other safeguards.

NFED will not receive or retain copies of those direct emails. Using a separate email address for advertising can help keep your personal inbox separate.

Can I accept phone or text enquiries instead?

Phone numbers are hidden by default, but you can choose to display yours.

To switch off email enquiries, submit or edit your advert and select No beside Accept E-Mail Enquiries? The contact form will be removed and your phone number will be shown in its place.

Displaying a number makes it easier for viewers to contact you directly, but NFED cannot control who calls or texts you.

How do I report suspicious messages, calls or texts?

For a suspicious email enquiry, forward the message to editor@nfed.co.uk so that we can investigate.

For suspicious calls or texts:

- Record the sender’s number and the date and time.
- Keep the message or take a screenshot as evidence.
- Block the number if appropriate.
- Send the details or screenshot to editor@nfed.co.uk.

Be aware that posting about the sender in a Facebook group may allow them to find your personal profile.

Why am I receiving suspicious enquiries but few genuine ones?

Please report suspicious messages so that we can investigate. Receiving them does not mean there is anything wrong with your advert.

To help attract genuine interest, check that your advert includes clear photographs, an accurate description, the information a buyer is likely to need and a realistic price.

Keep the wording friendly and welcoming. Phrases such as “NO TIME WASTERS” can discourage genuine buyers who need to ask questions before deciding whether to proceed.