-Caveat Lector-
* * * * *END PAPER JUNK MAIL
Here it is. Some of this information is from the Consumer Research
Institute,
and much is from my own personal experience.
This is a complete reference list, so don't let its length daunt you.
EVEN IF YOU ONLY FOLLOW THE TOP 2 OR 3 SUGGESTIONS, you will rid your
household
of a substantial amount of junk mail. But if you are one of those hard
core
anti-junk mail types who is interested in truly ending junk mail (like I
am),
follow all of these steps and enjoy the 99.44% junk-free good life!
Just being aware not to freely give out your name, address and phone
number
every time a business asks for it is the best thing you can do to curb
the
amount of junk mail (and telemarketing calls...) you receive.
Good luck!
* * * * * *
End Junk Mail
It requires time, paper, postage, envelopes, and awareness, but IT REALLY
WORKS!
A little bit of elbow grease will save you many, many hours of future
junk mail
handling and disposal. By following these tips you will literally
conserve TONS
of paper and vast amounts of water and other precious resources per year,
which
has a direct and substantially positive effect on our environment.
1. First and foremost, contact the Direct Marketing Association's (DMA)
Mail
Preference Service, P.O. Box 9008, Farmingdale, NY 11735-9008 and have
them
include you in their "delete" file which is sent to subscribing
organizations
several times a year. DMA is the largest existing source of junk mail.
2. To stop receiving those PRE-APPROVED credit card offers, contact the
"big
three" credit organizations and tell them to remove your name and address
from
all lists they sell, rent, or give out to other organizations for
soliciting
purposes. You can do this by calling 1-888-567-8688, which will remove
your
name from all three lists, or you can contact them separately to the
addresses
and phone numbers below.
Equifax Options
Equifax Marketing Decision Systems
P.O. Box 740123
Atlanta, GA 30374-0123
(800) 556-4711 (California only)
Experian (TRW)
Target Marketing Services Division
Attn: Consumer Opt-Out
P.O. Box 919
Allen, TX 75013
(800)-EXPERIAN (397-3742)
Trans Union
Name Removal Option
P.O. Box 7245
Fullerton, CA 92637
(800) 680-7293
3. Contact every organization you belong to or do business with and tell
them
to please have your name, address, and other account information used
only for
the matters directly relating to your account and that you do not want
them to
use, sell, rent, or give your account information to other organizations
for
soliciting purposes. (Mortgage company, catalog and magazine companies,
frequent flyer or travel programs, cable TV, phone company, car
insurance, etc.)
Anyone who sends you a bill may be selling your name. Don't forget about
your
personal bank and credit card company, as they are the source of huge
amounts of
junk mail (Citibank and American Express are the worst offenders).
4. Don't unconsciously and automatically give out your full name,
address,
social security number or phone number just because someone asks you for
it.
Only give out information that is truly needed for the purpose at hand,
and no
more.
5. Write the following organizations and let them know that you want
your name
and/or address removed from all of their direct marketing lists. If junk
mail
is addressed to "current resident", make sure you tell them you are the
only
current resident. Many of these companies subscribe to DMA, but junk
mail will
cease much sooner if you write to them directly.
Advo Incorporated
Delivery Services
1001 W. Walnut Street
Compton, CA 90220-5191
-OR-
Advo, Inc.
One Univac Lane
Windsor, CT 06095
(they do coupons, product samples, etc.)
Val-Pak Coupons
Direct Marketing
P.O. Box 13428
St. Petersburg, FL 33733
-OR-
Val-Pak Direct
Marketing Systems, Inc.
PO Box 93505
Las Vegas, NV 89193-3505
(they do local coupons)
Harte-Hanks (Pennysaver or Potpourri)
2830 Orbiter St.
Brea, CA 92821
Cox Direct / Carol Wright
P.O. Box 13428
St. Petersburg, FL 33733
(include your mailing label)
Donnelly Database Ops.
1235 N. Ave.
Nevada, IA 50201
And if you're a resident of the Bay Area:
The Adworks for San Francisco
P.O. Box 225002
San Francisco, CA 94122
(they do local coupons)
Great Expectations
San Francisco/Marin County Centre
P.O. Box 995
Horsham, PA 19044-9442
(dating service direct marketing)
6. Notify these Mailing List Brokers and ask to be placed in their
"suppress"
files:
R.L. Polk & Company
Attn: Name Deletion File
List Compilation and Development
6400 Monroe Boulevard
Taylor, MI 48180-1814
MetroMail Corporation
List Maintenance
901 West Bond
Lincoln, NE 68521
Database America
Compilation Department
100 Paragon Drive
Montvale, NJ 07645-4591
7. Contact each company that sends junk mail to your address (write to
the
return mailing address, don't use biz reply) and tell them to remove your
name
and/or address from their marketing list, as well as from any lists they
sell,
rent or give to other organizations. DON'T try to save money by using
the
postage paid business reply envelope! The business reply address is
usually an
entirely separate department not responsible for managing the mailing
list
database. Not only are they likely unable to delete you from the mailing
list,
they won't bother trying to contact anyone to see that you are removed
from the
list. More importantly, mailing lists are often rented for one-time use,
with
the agreement that if someone responds w/ business reply in any manner,
that
name and address become the property of the company that rented the list
and
sent you the mail, and they can then resell your name and address to
others -
definitely not the response you want, even if it feels good to have them
pay for
postage.
8. Charities and nonprofits are particularly tenacious about frequently
re-soliciting for your donations, as well as renting and exchanging each
other's
lists. Donate your time, donate goods, and give them cash or money
orders, but
don't give them your home phone number or address or you'll be hounded
for life.
9. Every time you move, join a group, subscribe to something, change
banks, or
start an account with a new business, remember to voice your desire not
to be
solicited. Most organizations have a "no soliciting" checkbox in their
computer
database. If you have to give out your home address, write something
that's
extremely unique or includes a bogus name so you can easily trace junk
mail back
to the source. This is particularly helpful when subscribing to
magazines.
10. When purchasing products, use personal checks for payment only to
small
businesses you trust. Larger companies and national chains use the
information
on your check to enter your name and address into marketing databases.
Pay with
cash as much as possible! It is the only form of payment that guarantees
your
anonyminity, privacy and insures that you are spared from new junk mail
and
telemarketing solicitation.
11. DON'T enter Publishers clearinghouse or other such sweepstakes/prize
offering scams! To have your name removed from the major nationwide
sweepstakes
mailers, contact Publishers Clearinghouse, 101 Channel Dr., Port
Washington NY
11050. (800) 645-9242, Readers Digest, Readers Digest Rd., Pleasantville
NY
10570. (800) 234-9000, and American Family Publishers, P.O. Box 62000
Tampa FL
33662. (800) 237-2400.
12. Never fill out "warranty"/"product registration" cards. They are
not
required for product warranty, but rather are used for gathering
demographic
information and generating junk mail lists to try and entice you into
buying
similar products. To be deleted from the mailing list that is generated
by
these cards, write to National Demographics & Lifestyles, List Order
Department,
1621 18th Street, Suite 300, Denver, CO 80202, or call (800) 525-3533.
13. When you make virtually any major lifestyle change, a government
agency
records the event, and births, marriages and home sales are matters of
public
record. Junk mailers often purchase name and address lists from public
records,
and since you usually cannot have government records kept confidential
you have
to write to each company directly and asked to be taken off their list.
Check
with your county clerk, motor vehicle division, and voter registration
department: sometimes it is possible to fill out a request insisting on
confidentiality.
14. Don't use debit cards or grocery store purchase/store credit cards.
They
are used to track your purchases and send you junk mail.
15. If possible, when you move, don't fill out the Post Office's change
of
address form - call and tell everyone yourself. Unfortunately, this
option is
rather impractical, but be aware that the government does sell your name
and
address.
16. If after three or so months you continue to receive junk mail from a
company you've contacted, contact them and ask for a supervisor. Insist
that
they delete you from their list and that they tell you where they
obtained your
name. Be persistent - it's important to follow up on this.
17. As for those annoying weekly local junk mail inserts you get in your
mailbox....those are the most difficult to stop. The source is the USPS
(they
make money on these), not a private company with a database to whom you
can
write. There is no recipient mailing label on these items, and postal
carriers
put them in every mailbox. The only way to stop these inserts is to get
to know
your mail carrier personally and let them know that you never respond to
these
weekly coupon/marketing inserts and to please not put them in your box.
Be
nice, flattery may help; however, carriers change routes/jobs and you
have to
keep it up. If you're lucky, from time to time you'll get a rebel mail
carrier
who doesn't include these inserts.
Great Online Resources:
Consumer Research Institute at www.stopjunk.com/environment.html
Obviously Implementations Corp. at www.obviously.com/junkmail
Ecofuture at www.ecofuture.org/ecofuture/jnkmail.html
Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility online - www.cpsr.org
"Whether measured by waste or by volume, paper represents 40 percent of
the
municipal solid waste generated in the United States. And the largest
single
component in this paper waste, Thompson found, is printing and writing
paper
which includes copying paper, magazines, and the stationary that junk
mail is
printed on." ( 'Recycled' label often misleading: Cambridge designer
pursues
3-year paper trail in quest for trash. The Boston Globe, Feb 20, 1993,
p.17, by
Dianne Dumanoski.)
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