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Tired of having your mailbox crammed with ads and other mail you didn’t ask for, like preapproved credit card applications? The good news is that there are ways to cut down on how much unsolicited mail you get.
How To Get Less Mail From Marketers
To decide what types of mail you do and don’t want from marketers, register at the Direct Marketing Association’s (DMA) consumer website DMAchoice.org, and choose what catalogs, magazine offers, and other mail you want to get. DMAchoice will stop most, but not all, promotional mail. You’ll have to pay a $4 processing fee, and your registration will last for 10 years.
If you do not have online access, register by sending your name and address (with signature), along with a $5 processing fee (check or money order payable to the Association of National Advertisers or ANA) to:
DMAchoice
Consumer Preferences
P.O. Box 900
Cos Cob, CT 06807
The site also offers the no-cost option to stop mail from being sent to someone who’s deceased (Deceased Do Not Contact List) or to a dependent in your care (Do Not Contact for Caretakers List). Registration for the Caretakers List will last for 10 years.
DMAchoice.org also has an Email Preference Service that lets you get less unsolicited commercial email. Registration is free and will last for six years. To learn more about what options you have for dealing with unwanted email, read this article on email spam.
For comments or questions about DMAchoice, visit dmachoice.org/report/initReport.php.
Learn more about stopping unwanted calls at ftc.gov/calls.
How To Stop Credit Card and Insurance Offers
If you don't want to get prescreened offers of credit and insurance in the mail, you have two choices for opting out of those offers:
- opt out of getting them for five years
- opt out of getting them permanently
To opt out for five years: Go to optoutprescreen.com or call 1-888-5-OPT-OUT (1-888-567-8688). The phone number and website are operated by the major credit bureaus.
To opt out permanently: Go to optoutprescreen.com or call 1-888-5-OPT-OUT (1-888-567-8688) to start the process. But to complete your request, you’ll need to sign and return the Permanent Opt-Out Election form you’ll get after you’ve started the process.
When you call or visit optoutprescreen.com, they’ll ask for your personal information, including your name, address, Social Security number, and date of birth. Sharing your Social Security number and date of birth is optional, but the website says that giving this information can help them ensure that they can successfully process your request. It says the information you give is confidential and will be used only to process your request to opt out.