Due to the changes in the Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, you can now be removed from credit card mailing lists by making a toll-free call. This call can remove your name from four major credit bureaus' mailing lists for two years.
When you call, you will need to confirm your identity, a recording will ask for personal information, including your Social Security Number (which they already have).
You can also request a form that will wipe your name PERMANENTLY from their mailing lists if you want.
The National Waste Prevention Coalition states that stopping these mailings can really make a difference. If 500,000 people took advantage of the law, more than 12 million fewer pieces of mail would be sent in one year alone.
Here are a few ways to reduce credit card offers AND junk mail:
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Call 1-888-5OPTOUT (1-888-567-8688) or visit www.optoutprescreen.com to be removed from the four major credit bureau mailing lists.
- Visit www.dmachoice.org and follow the steps to remove yourself from mailing lists.
- Check out www.catalogchoice.org to opt out of paper catalog mailings.
- Visit the Yellow Pages website to remove yourself from phone book distributions.
- Contact the companies that have sent you unwanted mail and tell them to remove your name from their mailing lists. Many of them have 800 numbers you can call.
Be sure to provide all variations of the name under which you have been receiving junk mail.
This process could take a few months so please, be patient! OCRRA suggest you keep a copy of the information and repeat the process every few years or so. This will remove your name from any new mailing lists.
Prevent the unwanted mail in the first place.
If you can prevent direct mailers from putting you on their mailing list, this will reduce the amount of unwanted mail received. Here are a few suggestions:
- Don’t sign up for information that you don’t really want.
- If you subscribe to a magazine, book club or other publication, call or write to tell them not to give your name to other companies.
Click here for information on reducing business junk mail
Other solutions to help businesses reduce their waste
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