How to Stop Junk Mail in 6 Easy Steps
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6 Steps to get off mailing lists to STOP Junk Mail
Step 1: Stop the Flow
Go to the source of the flood of mailings and turn off the faucet! Remove your name from mailing lists at http://www.dmachoice.org. It can take up to 90 days for the flow to stop since many mailings are already in print or production.
Please note: there is now a small fee of $2 to unsubscribe through DMA Choice.
Step 2: No More Credit Card Solicitations
If you've ever filled out a product warranty card, purchased a new home or vehicle, supplied your credit information to a lending institution, or simply carried a credit card, you can be sure your name and address are being circulated among an array of credit card companies hungry for your business. Don't despair -- there is help. To eliminate credit card promotional mailings, call 1-888-567-8688 (that's 888-5OPT-OUT) or visit http://www.optoutprescreen.com. You will have the opportunity to choose either a five-year removal or a permanent removal. For your personal credit cards, ask the company to place you on their "in house" list that is not sold or traded to other companies.
Step 3: Put the Kibosh on Unwanted Phone Books and Catalogs
Go online to opt out of Dex. Once you've received a catalog in the mail that you don't want, call them to opt out. Oftentimes they're happy to take you off the list becuase it helps them save money by not printing unwanted catalogs.
Step 4: Contribute to Charities, Not Mailings
If you contribute once a year to a charitable organization, ask them to send you only one donation request per year. The American Institute on Philanthropy offers several tips on reducing junk mail and phone solicitations from charities at https://www.charitywatch.org/charitywatch-articles/seven-tips-for-reducing-unwanted-mail-and-phone-appeals/43
Step 5: Stop Junk Promo Products
If you've had it with companies sending you mailings or promo products you don't want, there is an option. First, look for any of the following phrases: return service requested, forwarding service requested, address service requested, or change service requested. If you find any of these phrases, write "refused, returned to sender" on the unopened envelope. Mail sent to "Resident," "Current Resident," or "Current Occupant" can be refused if it contains one of the above endorsements, or is sent First Class. When you receive unsolicited promo products, you can mark the envelope “Return to Sender” and put it back in the mail.
Step 6: Get Off the List of ALL Direct Marketers
There are several smaller list brokers and direct marketing firms in the U.S. besides the DMA. You’ll recognize a lot of them on the list below. Just as you did with the DMA in step one, send or phone in all the variations of your name and address to the list brokers and direct marketing firms listed below. Start saving the labels of all the variations of the names and addresses, which come to your mailbox. Every variation, no matter how small (or comical), is another name on a list, which gets sold to literally thousands of businesses, so include all variations! If you prefer to go the snail mail route in removal, cut and paste actual mailing labels onto a sheet, make copies, add your signature beside each name variation on each sheet, and send them off to each of the 5 addresses below. Indicate the following: "Please remove my name and address from your mailing lists and do not rent, sell or trade my name or address."
Valpak
1 Valpak Ave. N.
St. Petersburg, FL 33716
1-727-399-3000
https://www.valpak.com/coupons/show/mailinglistsuppression
Have the Valpak mailing label handy and fill in your information exactly as it is printed. If you like coupons but don’t want to receive all that mail, go to www.valpak.com to choose and print coupons by geographical location.
Valassis Direct Mail, Inc.
Consumer Assistance
PO Box 249
Windsor , CT 06095
1-800-437-0479, between 8:30 and 5:00 EST
Unsubscribe from their RetailMeNot publication here:
https://www.retailmenot.com/everyday/unsubscribe
Epsilon Data Services
Abacus Cooperative Databases
abacusoptout@epsilon.com
Send an email with “remove” in the subject line and your full name, including middle initial, and address in the message. If you changed your address over the past six months, include your previous address as well.
More about junk mail:
Did you know junk mail also comes at a huge cost to the environment?
Every day in the forest of northern Canada, majestic trees are cut to stumps—at a rate of 2 acres a minute, 24 hours a day—to produce junk mail and other paper products. These trees are not only critical in combating climate change by absorbing carbon from the earth’s atmosphere; they are also home to native peoples who watch helplessly as they lose everything they know to corporate paper company interests. Read more junk mail facts.
4 Tips to Stay Off Junk Mail
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The #1, Must-Practice Tip: Use the magic words "Please do not rent, sell, or trade my name or address."
These are the magic words you’ll want to use when you’re filling out forms like warranty cards, subscriptions, raffles, customer information cards, credit card applications, memberships for an organization, or pretty much any time your submit your name and address to anyone. Write them out next to your personal information, and repeat these words when making purchases over the phone or on the internet, and Voilá! You'll stay off mailing lists.
A note about warranties: Be advised that it is not necessary to fill out a warranty card to benefit from the warranty on your purchase. Warranty and registration cards are usually just a way to get consumer information from you which is then often sold to direct mailers. Read the fine print to see if you are required to return the card to validate the warranty.
Tip # 2: Get on “in house” credit card lists
Contact your personal credit card companies and ask them to place your name and information on their "in house” list that is not sold or traded to other companies. This will prevent more credit card offers from being mailed to your home.
Tip # 3: Prevent charity solicitations
If you contribute once a year to a charitable organization, ask them to send you only one donation request per year, or see if they can send you a paperless request via e-mail. Click here for a sample letter that you can send to charities to reduce solicitations.
Tip # 4: Watch out for contests and free offers
Their purpose is often to obtain your name for mailing lists or to sell you something. If you do sign up for one, be sure to use the magic words.
TAKE ACTION
Email the Postmaster General's office in Washington to ask that they give us a choice not to be forced to receive bulk mailings and tell them you want better choices with your mail:pmgceo@usps.gov
