Reduce That Junk Mail!

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How to Reduce Junk Mail

The average American household receives more than 500 pieces of advertising mail each year. A significant portion of this is unwanted, or "junk" mail.

Recycling junk mail is a good start, but reducing the flow of junk mail will conserve natural resources and save landfill space.

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Here are some suggestions for how you can reduce the amount of junkmail you recieve...

Don't Let Your Name Become a Commodity!
Every time you enter a contest, make a donation or a purchase, order a product by mail or through the internet, subscribe to a magazine or send in a warranty card, your name and address may be placed on a mailing list. Then the mailing list may be rented, sold, or traded.

To limit your mail to those items you look forward to receiving, write "Do not rent or sell my name" or "no mailing lists" next to your name.

 

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Get Off National Lists
One effective way to remove your name from many national mailing lists is to write to the Direct Marketing Association's Mail Preference Service. This free service is good for five years. It works only for national mail, not local mail, and only for residential addresses, not buisinesses. Send your name and address (in every variation shown on the junk mail you receive) to:
Mail Preference Service
Direct Marketing Association
PO Box 9008, Farmingdale, NY 11735-9008

 

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If you would like to continue receiving certain catalogs but want to reduce other types of junk mail, here are some more suggestions:

Get Off Waranty Card Lists
Warranty cards can be a means of gathering names for mailing lists. Consider not sending in the card for a new product (it's usually not required). To remove your name from lists generated from warranty cards, contact this company:
The Polk Co.
Customer Service Department
1621 18th Street # 300
Denver, CO 80202
1-800-525-3533

 

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Get Off Lists For "Occupant" Mail
To stop receiving some of the coupons, ads, and product samples addressed to "resident" and "occupant", contact:

ADVO, Inc.
List Service Supervisor
239 West Service Road
Hartford, CT 06120
(253)-872-0553

First Data Solutions
Date Base Operations
1235 N Avenue
Nevada, IA 50201
1-888-633-4402

Val-Pak Direct Marketing
8575 Largo Lakes Drive
Largo, FL 33773
1-800-237-6266

 

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Get Off Lists For Credit Offers
Under a new federal law that took effect in September, 1997, you can call a toll-free number to have your name removed from mailing lists used for credit offers. The toll-free numbers are operated by the three major national credit bureaus. You only need to call ONE of these numbers! The credit bureaus share the lists with each other. These numbers should work 24 hours a day. The numbers are:

Trans Union - 1-800-680-7293
Equifax - 1-800-556-4711
Experian - 1-800-353-0809

Caling one of the above numbers should eliminate most pre-approved credit offers, even some unsolicited insurance offers. When you call, you will be asked to provide your name, address, phone number, and social security number. These institutions already have access to your social security number, and are using it for verification of your identity.

 

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Notify Mailing List Brokers
Some companies specialize in collecting lists and selling or renting them. To have your name removed from the lists of three major mailing list companies, call these toll-free numbers:

First Data Solutions - 1-888-633-4402
Metromail Corp - 1-800-426-8901
The Polk Co. - 1-800-873-7655

 

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Contact Companies and Organizations Directly
To stop receiving mail from specific sources, call the customer service number (often a toll-free number) of the organization or business in question. Request that your name be removed from their mailing list. Or, send in a written request that is signed and dated.

 

 

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