Getting Personal
Opt-Out
Question: Chris: These days all of us receive so much unsolicited mail in our mail boxes, that it is a real headache. It is even more so, with the prescreened credit offers, because we are obliged to shred those papers with our names on it, or else someone will steal our identities. I found this web site that allows you to opt out.
www.dmachoice.org/MPS/proto1.php
What is the catch? Is there a downside to opting out? Thanks, P., Pittsburgh, PA.
Answer: The only downside I can imagine is that you might miss a good deal or an attractive offer. For most people, that's a small price to pay for cutting down on unsolicited offers in the mail and telemarketing calls.
The Direct Marketing Association (DMA), a trade association, allows you to opt out of direct mail marketing solicitations for 5 years. You can register online at www.the-dma.org/consumers/offmailinglist.html. (This is the website you mentioned in your email.)
There's more. The federal government has created a National Do Not Call Registry. It's a free service for reducing telemarketing calls. To sign up go to www.donotcall.gov. Or you can call 1-888-382-1222. You will stay on the list for 5 years, and then you can renew again.
The four credit reporting bureaus (yes, sad to say, there are four of them now) offer an opt-out service, too. Equifax, Experian, Innovis, and TransUnion--the four horsemen of the credit reporting business--have a website with the details at www.optoutprescreen.com. The toll-free number is 1-888-5-OPTOUT. It's a bit disconcerting to realize that you will be asked to provide some very private information, including your home phone, Social Security number, and date of birth.
Last, you can get more details about preserving at least a shred of privacy in the Internet Age at the Federal Trade Commission, at www.ftc.gov.
Looking for guidance on your personal finances? I'm taking your questions and answering one here each day. Just click on the "Ask a question" link to tell me what's on your mind.
Chris Farrell Marketplace Money personal finance guru
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Comments (7)
Awesome, thanks!!! I also recommend people go to catalogchoice.com to opt out of mailing lists on catalogs...
Your last hyperlink is invalid.
You're right. I changed the link to www.ftc.gov, the site of the Federal Trade Commission. It still isn't working. I'll ask our webmeisters what I'm doing wrong when I get back to work, and fix the link. Thanks, Chris
Chris:
Thank you...
As another person mentioned, none of the links work. Looks like the html tags may be incorrect, so that the links are incomplete.
Thanks again!
I have done everything listed in the article and have been disappointed with the results. There are so many loopholes that you still get lots of solicitations and junk. Any company you have a relationship with is exempt. Therefore, I order a sweater for a Christmas present and get 14 catalogs the next year. I mainly wanted to stop the pre-approved credit cards. That worked but I still gets lots of "Invitations to Apply."
I have seen a dramatic reduction in direct mail solicitation since registering with the DMA, when I did it, it did cost a dollar, not sure if they are still charging for it.
I recently found the proquo link for opting out quickly of multiple mailing lists. Some require you to print and mail in a form, but others don't. I've also pasted in a catalog choice link - a very helpful and free service. (It's an .org not a .com as listed in the first comment.)
http://www.proquo.com/
http://www.catalogchoice.org/