Reducing Personal and Business Junk Mail

Reducing Personal Junk Mail

1. Contact the Direct Marketing Association to be removed from many companies' mass marketing mailing lists for up to five years. Learn how at www.dmachoice.org/MPS/proto1.php.
2. Call the following companies directly to ask to be removed from their mailing lists: Val-Pak Coupons (1-800-676-6878), America Online Discs (1-800-827-6364), and Publisher's Clearinghouse Sweepstakes (1-800-645-9242).
3. Every loose-leaf bundle of business or supermarket fliers must be delivered along with an address postcard. Locate this address card - the cards usually have an advertisement and a photograph of a missing child (ADVO is the most common). Mail the address card to the address printed on the card and ask to be removed from their mailing list. Your letter carrier's routine is to give each house a bundle of fliers so, once you stop receiving the address card(s), tape a "No Bulk Mail" sign inside your mailbox. You can also opt-out online at www.advo.com/consumersupport.html.
4. To stop receiving unsolicited credit card and other credit related offers, gather your current address, other addresses from the last two years, and social security number(s). Call the credit reporting industry's toll-free number, 1-888-567-8688 (24 hours a day). Make a separate phone call for each social security number. Listen to all options before making your selection (the last option mentioned lets you remove your name from the list permanently). A letter will be mailed asking you to confirm your request.
5. Your credit card company probably sells your name the most often. Call and ask them to stop. Also make the same request of your bank and any other companies from which you purchase products or services on a regular basis (for example, companies who sell you magazines, phone service, and gas & electric services).
6. Create a place to store all unwanted mail. Once a month, call the local or toll-free numbers on the mailings and ask to be removed from their mailing lists (toll-free area codes are 800, 888, 877, or 866). This is the most effective way to get off mailing lists. If there isn't a local or toll-free number but there is a postage-paid return envelope, tear off the mailing label and enclose it in the envelope along with a request to be removed from their mailing list. Mark envelope "ATTN: Customer Service". Another option: write "refused" or "refused: return to sender" across the address, cross out the bar code, and drop in any mailbox. If it is 'First Class' mail, it will be returned to the sender. If it is 'Presorted Standard' (third class) mail, there is an 80% chance that you will be taken off the senders mailing list. Recycle all leftover unwanted mail (remember to rip credit offers in half first).
7. Product warranty cards are often used to collect information on your habits and income, for the sole purpose of targeting direct mail. They are not required in most situations - avoid sending them.
8. Avoid filling out "Contest" cards – these are almost always fishing expeditions for names.
9. Whenever you donate money or order a product or service, write in large letters: "Please do not sell my name or address". Most organizations will properly mark your name in their computer.
10. If you would like help with reducing your junk mail, check out organizations like 41pounds.org.

Reducing Business Junk Mail

1. If possible, assign one person the task of reducing all unwanted mail -- this will streamline the process. This could be a temporary worker (especially at first), a full-time employee, or a volunteer. Suggestions for getting off mailing lists:
   • Announce the mail reduction program to the entire company along with instructions on how employees can help out (see Step 3). Post informational posters and/or periodically send out reminders to encourage continued support for the program. Explain your mail reduction program to all new employees.
   • Put out clearly marked collection boxes near the mail slots for each department and ask employees to place all mail and faxes they no longer want to receive into these containers. If only name corrections are needed, ask them to note the corrections on the mailings.
   • Contact the following source of business-to-business mailing lists and ask to be removed from their list:
     • Dun & Bradstreet: phone Customer Resource Center, 1-800-333-0505 or send an e-mail to: custserv@dnb.com
   • Provide a list of your former employees to EcoLogical Mail Coalition (www.ecologicalmail.org). They will remove these names from direct mailers' lists free of charge.
   • How to request removal from different types of unwanted mailing lists:
     • Take advantage of toll-free or local fax or phone numbers and any enclosed postage-paid envelopes or postcards (tape your address to the postcard with a request to be removed from the mailing list). Toll-free area codes are 800, 888, 877, or 866.
     • For first-class mailings or mail marked either "Return Service Requested" or "Change Service Requested", cross out your name and address and the bar code, write or stamp "refused: return to sender", and give back to the mail carrier.
     • For bulk-rate mail without a fax number or postage-paid return mailer, remove and save the page with both your address and the sender's address and recycle the remaining paper. Group unwanted mail from the same sender together. Periodically, mail pre-printed postcards (see Step 2) or letters to all senders.
     • If desired, request that all listings for your company be removed.
   • To promote recycling of all paper, provide plenty of clearly marked recycling containers throughout the company (including at employees' desks).
2. Create a model postcard to send to businesses requesting removal from their mailing list. Two ideas:
   • Preformatted postcards available at dnr.metrokc.gov/swd/nwpc/bizjunkmail8.htm (click on "Model postcard in Adobe Acrobat PDF format")
   • Design a multi-use postcard (similar to preformatted card above):
     • At the top of the card, leave a space to tape the address label. You can say: "TAPE ADDRESS HERE." It is important to have the address (that you want deleted) taped to the top of the card (vs. the middle or bottom) to avoid confusion at the post office.
     • Print a series of check-off boxes:
       • "Delete Address." Below that, if you like, you can have smaller check-off boxes that say, "Info not wanted," "Person no longer here," "Person unknown," "Address Insufficient" or "Other"
       • "Do NOT place my address on any mailing lists"
       • "Please keep sending mailing, but change info to:" (then leave spaces for name, title, organization, and address)
3. Ask your employees for help in reducing unwanted mail by:
   • Making sure all personal items are delivered to their homes
   • Depositing all unwanted mail and faxes into collection boxes
   • Asking businesses they deal with to not sell or trade your company's mailing information
   • Whenever possible, only providing other businesses your company's name, phone, and e-mail, but no physical address (including if they enter contests or drawings)
4. If no one is available to run the mail reduction program, ask employees to do the work to get off mailing lists. Provide preprinted postcards/letters along with easy-to-follow instructions.
5. When your company registers for classes or conferences, purchases products or services, and/or orders subscriptions, include a request to not have your company's mailing information distributed to other vendors. This could be standardized as a memo, a pre-printed comment on documents, or a stamp. One idea: create a standard form for registrations for subscriptions, conferences, events, training classes, etc. Include the message "Please do not share this name or address through mailing list sales or trades" at the bottom.
6. Ask your receptionist to only provide your company's address to callers with a legitimate reason for seeking such information.
7. If you send direct mail, clean up your own mailing lists. Suggestions:
   • Consolidate mailing lists into one computer database and delete duplicate listings
   • Send customers who receive multiple mailings a list of their recipient employees and ask them to cross off names of employees who have left or relocated
   • Label all direct mail as "Return Postage Guaranteed"
   • On every mailing you send out, print easy "opt out" instructions in a visible place on the mailing
   • To delete names from your mailing list, set up and maintain a system that can handle both returned mail and phoned-in requests for removal