How to Get Off Junk Mail and Telemarketing Lists

Written by Laura - 13 Comments

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Do you receive a lot of junk mail? What about annoying calls that interrupt your evening? If you do, you’re not alone. Read on for some tips for reclaiming your solitude.

An ounce of prevention

I used to work at a call center that tried to get people to try out a time share. I once asked my boss where they got the list of people to call, and he said that a lot of them were added through the contests at the mall.

Whenever you register for a contest, send in a warranty registration card, or otherwise hand over your contact information (name, address, phone number, and whatever else you might be asked for), there’s a good chance it will wind up in a computer database.

Often times, businesses sell these contact databases, thereby increasing the amount of junk mail and unwanted phone calls that you receive. Believe it or not, this can happen several times over, such that entering just a single contest can increase your stream of junk mail considerably.

How to get off direct mailing lists

Assuming that your contact info has already gotten out, what should you do? Set aside about an hour and work through the following tips to free up your mailbox.

  • Contact the Direct Marketing Association. Many companies are members of the DMA, and will thus stop bothering you if you just ask. Simply send a letter to PO Box 643, Carmel, NY 15012-0643 and ask that you be removed from their lists. You can register online at www.dmachoice.org if you prefer.
  • Valpak has an online option for getting off their list.
  • Publisher’s Clearinghouse Sweepstakes has a customer service line at 1-800-645-9242 (8:30 AM to 8:30 PM Eastern), or you can just send them an email to pch@ant.net asking them to remove you from their mailing list.

Once you’ve completed these steps, be sure to protect your information so you don’t get added back to any of these lists.

How to get your phone number off telemarketing lists

If you want to reduced the number of telemarketing calls that you receive, sign up for the National Do Not Call Registry. It’s quick and easy, and known to be effective.

Just keep in mind that it might take about a month to notice a difference. This is because telemarketing companies have 31 days to stop calling once you’ve been added to the list.

One last thing…

While you’re at it, you should opt out of pre-approved credit card offers, as well.

What about you? Do you have a problem with junk mail? Or telemarketers? Any tips for dealing with them?

Published on July 28th, 2009 - 13 Comments
Filed under: Miscellany
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About the author: Laura is a twenty-something woman working to improve her finances and reduce debt. She writes about personal finance for college students and grads at Green Panda Treehouse.

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13 Responses to “How to Get Off Junk Mail and Telemarketing Lists”

  1. 1
    Angela Says:
    July 28th, 2009 at 9:42 am

    Thanks…this was really good information!

  2. 2
    RB @ RichBy30RetireBy40 Says:
    July 28th, 2009 at 10:04 am

    Thanks Laura for the handy reference! I love this site, and hence why it’s on my blog roll at RB30RB40 :)

    I guess I’m lucky, as maybe only 15% of my mail is junk. I use the mail as firewood starter during the winter hehe.

    The worst is if they get a hold of your mobile. Now that’s a no no!

    Best,

    RB

    Rich By 30 Retire By 40

  3. 3
    JamesR Says:
    July 28th, 2009 at 11:25 am

    Too bad you can’t get off the pesky “charitable contribution”, political action and survey phone lists too.

    We never give to a charity because they phoned us. We have our “list” of charities we donate to regularly and “they ain’t on it”.

  4. 4
    Laura Says:
    July 28th, 2009 at 12:06 pm

    @JamesR: We choose our charities carefully and follow your policy of not giving money if they call. I’l look up the charity later in my spare time.

  5. 5
    craig Says:
    July 28th, 2009 at 12:14 pm

    very helpful information. I hate being on dumb email lists.

  6. 6
    Perry Says:
    July 28th, 2009 at 2:05 pm

    tonic mailstopper (formerly greendimes) http://mailstopper.tonic.com/ seems to have worked for me.

  7. 7
    Kevin@OutOfYourRut Says:
    July 28th, 2009 at 4:46 pm

    Laura, thanks for the reminder on the Do Not Call Registry. I had six phones (2 land & 4 cells) to re-register. You have to do that every three years, and we’ve been way overdue.

    The telemarketers have been hitting us. Can’t blame them, everyone’s trying to drum up some business, but with so many people registered, the ones who aren’t are getting hit in multiples.

    We actually like Valpak for the coupons they deliver (and we use) so we’ll keep that one open and deal with the junk mail. Small price to pay for the savings we get through the company.

  8. 8
    al brodeur Says:
    July 29th, 2009 at 6:43 pm

    we should be able to charge the senders of unsolicted items ,mail, etc a disposal fee, after all we have to pay extra to recycle

  9. 9
    Bradley Jones Says:
    July 30th, 2009 at 11:16 am

    This is a good bit of information to have. I’ve switched email accounts several time due to spam and mailing lists. I found that Hotmail accounts receive more spam than any other email account. I was receiving close to 400 spam emails every day.

  10. 10
    Paul Says:
    July 30th, 2009 at 12:43 pm

    I signed up for the do not call registry, and it hasn’t changed a thing. I still get nightly calls at 6pm and I tell them every time that I am on the do not call registry. Still, they call every day…. sigh.

  11. 11
    “Readers Teach Me A Thing Or Two” Edition of Weekend Links Says:
    July 31st, 2009 at 9:28 am

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  12. 12
    DDFD at DivorcedDadFrugalDad Says:
    August 3rd, 2009 at 3:30 am

    Nice post! The junk mail and sales calls seem unending!

  13. 13
    Useful Things » Blog Archive » Useful Things Weekly Link Round-Up Says:
    August 6th, 2009 at 8:18 am

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