Opting Out of Mail and Phone Solicitations
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Consumers receive solicitation from various companies on a regular basis. This is fine if you are interested in the specific company and the products or service they are offering. Sometimes you can get some real good deals not offered to the general public.
Other times a person my want to avoid the temptations of receiving such offers for whatever reason, or the person may have been a victim of Identity Theft and he or she wants to eliminate all solicitations directed to them that might be intercepted by other parties. In the case that a person wants to opt-out, here is various contact information for the major companies which provide solicitation lists to companies. 
Credit Reporting Agencies, Consumers can opt-out from Experian, Equifax, Innovis and TransUnion from selling their personal information to various companies by using this link: https://www.optoutprescreen.com/opt_form.cgi 1-888-567-8688 Consumers can call in requests to opt-out by phone. Here is the sites for each of the credit reporting agencies affected by the opt-out. Equifax – www.equifax.com Experian – www.experian.com Innovis – www.innovis.com TransUnion – www.transunion.com Consumers have the option of opting out for 5 years or permanently, consumers can expend the web site to opt-out for both options but for a permanent opt-out the consumer will need to also mail in the required form. Consumers can add multiple names used (like in my case I had 4 prior names, I was able to enter all of them). Consumers can add up to 5 addresses to be opted out. The credit reporting agencies will process requests within 5 days. Some solicitations may slip through from companies if they had already mailed out the solicitation prior to the opt-out taking affect. Opting-Out will not waste solicitations from local merchants, religious, charitable, associations, or political companies you are already affiliated with. To stop further solicitation from these companies you will need to contact each of them separately. This does not prevent consumers from still directly applying for credit or services with companies he or she chooses to do business with. Consumers can contact the Federal Trade Commission for further information concerning their rights regarding opt-out here: Federal Trade Commission If the consumer is receiving mail at his or her address not belonging to them, the consumer may write the word Rejected & return it back to the Post Office, here is the contact information to contact them: US Postal Service There are other companies also selling consumer solicitation lists, the DMA or Direct Marketing Association, here is their contact information: Direct Marketing Association, Inc. If a consumer visits the Direct Marketing Association site, it will also direct the consumer to the Credit Reporting Agency opt-out. In addition the DMA will opt-out consumers out from receiving solicitations from Magazines, Catalogs, and other mail offers. I noticed on the DMA site that consumers can always go benefit in and update personal information. In addition consumers may receive solicitations from the credit card companies they do business with, these companies often sell marketing lists to their affiliates, details for opting out of such practices, and the consumer needs to refer to their terms of service to obtain the address where to mail in opt-out requests. If a consumer is missing the contract agreement, they may visit the creditor’s web site or call in for the information needed. If a consumer does not want to receive solicitation phone calls he or she can visit the National Do-Not-Call List site here: http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/donotcall/ http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/tcpa.html To register by telephone, consumers may call 1-888-382-1222 A consumer may enter up to 3 phone numbers, but they must have a valid e-mail address and click the link in the sent e-mail to verify the demand. Once removed from the Do Not Call List, it is permanent, and does not need to be renewed. The Do Not Call List does not halt companies you have a relationship with from calling you. If you want removed off of these lists, you have to dispute your wishes to that company individually. Also non-profit organizations and emergency organizations are not restricted to this restriction. Some states now have statewide do-not-call lists for residents in their respective states. Contact your state’s public service commission or consumer protection office to see if your set has such a list, and to find out how to register your number or numbers. For contact information for your state public service commission, go to: There is additional information regarding how the opt-out rules apply for each of them, and also how to file complaint on violators that disregard the restrictions. Finally if a consumer decides that they want to opt back in, they can always occupy their steps back to each of these sites, mail requests, or call the numbers provided to opt back in. |
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