We all receive junk mail from time to time. Sometimes, however, it is overwhelming the array of advertisements and junk mail we receive. Sometimes we may place an order and unknowingly provide our home mailing address and receive catalog after catalog. Did you know, though, that there are many occasions where your name and address are sold to other companies?
If you are like most individuals, you want to stop junk mail in its tracks.
This is a practice that has been around for years and years. Selling your information to other companies so that they, themselves, can solicit you is an age old practice. Direct mail marketing is an age old practice of grabbing your attention via a newsletter or catalog or an invitation to something that you absolutely must have in order to better your life.
Direct mail companies often times compile lists of addresses sometimes selling them and other times buying them in order to have a target audience to market to in return. While it might seem a bit offensive, it’s really just called marketing. Any time you apply for a credit card, order something on line or buy something from a catalog, you pretty much give your permission to buy, sell, and solicit your name, address and possibly home.
If you are like most individuals, you want your name off those mailing lists and fast, especially if you managed to somehow get on the junkiest of junk mail like sweepstakes.
There are a few ways to stop junk mail before you receive any more.
You can contact the company directly and request that your name be removed from their mailing list. If you choose to go this route, please make certain that you ask how you can go about doing so in writing and what the procedure is for receiving confirmation of same.
Sometimes a simple email will suffice. Try to get a real person to respond to your request so that you have a paper trail.
Another option is to request to speak with the company’s affiliate organization that handles opt out requests. A customer service agent might just yes you to death and never take you off the mailing list because they are not capable of doing so.
You need to be proactive and request the name and contact information of the person responsible for taking you off the mailing list permanently.
You can also contact your current and previous credit card reporting agencies and request you be removed from any and all mailing lists. If you contact a major credit reporting bureau that has a main hub for interested parties to opt out of all credit card offers, this may also be a possibility.
There may be a few things you will find unpleasant when opting out of junk mail subscriptions. For example, you may be asked for personal information or there may be a small window of opt out opportunity leaving you with having to remember when to contact a company and opt out again.
And, of course, there is always the option of not ordering any more online or through catalogs. This will prevent the problem from continuing in the future.