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HOW TO REDUCE UNWANTED MAIL
| The quantity of unwanted mail sent each year in the U.S. is about four million tons – nearly half of this is never opened. Even if you recycle, there are enormous environmental costs, such as the use of resources (paper, ink), transportation, and processing. To reduce the quantity of unwanted mail you receive, here are some tips. |
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General Techniques:
- Whenever you donate money, order a product or service, or fill out a warranty card, write in large letters, "Please do not sell my name or address." Most organizations will properly mark your name in the computer.
- Product warranty cards are often used to collection information on your habits and income, for the sole purpose of targeting direct mail. They are not required in most situations -- avoid sending them.
- On the telephone, say "Please mark my account so that my name is not traded or sold to other companies."
- Your credit card company probably sells your name the most often. Call them and ask them to stop.
- "Contests" where you fill in a little entry blank are almost always fishing expeditions for names and addresses. If you fill one out at a football game, for example, expect to get a catalog of football merchandise within a few months. Avoid these if you don't want the mail.
- Select a false middle name or initial for each charity or business you deal with. Keep track of which letter goes with which organization. You also can select a false road designator, "avenue, place, circle, street, highway, parkway, etc." This step can be very revealing and can help you identify who/what sources to target to get mailings to stop. Some guides recommend changing the spelling of your name, but this can lead to duplicate mailings.
- Send a postcard or letter to DMA Mail Preference Service, PO Box 9008, Farmingdale, NY 11735-9008. Include your complete name, address, zip code and a request to "activate the preference service." For up to five years, this will stop mail from all member organizations that you have not specifically ordered products from. This option may stop catalogs and promotions you would have liked to receive.
The Direct Marketing Association estimates that listing with its mail preference service will stop 75% of all national mailings. The association processes 50,000 requests a month and requests are kept active for five years. If you fill out the Post Office change-of-address form, the DMA will track the new address (you'll get a few months of mailings to the new address before they catch up to you). It can take up to six months for your request to be fully processed.
To stop specific types of unwanted mail:
- First class mail: Cross out the address and bar code, circle the first class postage and write "refused: return to sender." Drop in any mailbox, it will be returned to sender.
- Bulk mail: The Post Office throws away bulk mail it can't deliver, so returning it does no good. Bulk mail is the hardest to deal with because the Post Office actively provides addresses to mailers. However, if "address correction requested" is written on the label: circle "address correction requested" and treat like first class mail.
- Sexually Oriented Advertising (SOA): The only help you'll get from the Post Office in controlling junk mail is for sexually explicit stuff. Fill out USPS Form 1500 if you wish this type of mail to stop. You define what you find to be explicit -- if that's an automobile parts catalog, the Post Office won't disagree with you.
- Credit offers: The major credit agencies all sell aggregate credit information any bidder. Direct mail and credit companies generate mail based on demographics including zip code, income band and credit payment patterns. Stopping this is easy; you just need your address, former address within two years, and social security number. One call does it all for agencies Equifax, Trans Union, Experian and Innovis. Dial 1-888-5OPTOUT (or 1-888-567-8688) 24 hours a day.
- Catalogs: Call the company's toll-free number and have the label handy. Write your instructions to remove your name from the mailing list on the mailing label and fax it to the company. Mark the fax "ATTN: Customer Service." Tear off the mailing label, write your instructions to remove your name from the mailing list on it, and enclose it in the postage-paid ordering envelope found in the catalog. Mark envelope "ATTN: customer service." This last method is the least effective.
- AOL (America On-Line): Call 1-800-605-4297 (24 hours a day) to get off the list.
- Publisher's Clearinghouse Sweepstakes: Contact customer service at 1-800-645-9242 (8:30 am to 8:30 EST), send a fax to 1-800-453-0272, mail to 101 Channel Drive, Port Washington, NY 11050, or send email to pch@ant.net. PCH will remove any number of names from a specific address, but you have to list each name exactly.
- American Family Sweepstakes: Call 1-800-237-2400.
To stop mail addressed to former residents, or a former spouse:
If you rent, you are probably familiar with receiving mail for a dozen or more former residents of your dwelling. Since you probably don't want any of it, you can use two powerful techniques that might not be appropriate for yourself:
- Bulk mail for "current resident or ...": Start by sending a postcard or letter to DMA Mail Preference Service, PO Box 9008, Farmingdale NY 11735-9008. Write "please activate the mail preference service," and include the name, address, and zip code. You must send individual postcards -- for some reason the DMA does not officially accept listings for former residents, and will ignore requests that don't appear to be from a single individual.
- First class and some bulk mail: If the former residents neglected to fill out a Post Office change of address card, or it expired, you can fill one out for them. You must fill out one card for each unique last name. Write "Moved, Left No Forwarding Address" as the new address. Sign your own name and write "Form filled in by current resident of the house, [Your Name], agent for the above." You must write "agent for the above." Hand this form directly to your carrier, if possible, as your carrier must approve the form and see that it gets entered into the post service National Change of Address (NCOA) database. This is very effective.
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