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Putting an end to junk mail
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May 25, 1999: 12:07 p.m. ET
With a little work and persistence, your mailbox can be litter free
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - It's everyone's favorite postal fantasy: a mailbox chock full of party invitations, passion-filled love letters and hand-written postcards from exotic lands.
But the harsh reality is most mail slots are more likely to be cluttered with catalogs, credit card applications and coupon flyers, at an estimated cost of $30 billion a year.
The information age is largely to blame for the proliferation of mail solicitations over the last two decades. Telecommunications deregulation and the introduction of new phone services, such as the 800 number, have produced convenience and cost savings once unthinkable in the direct mail business. Computer networks and databases, which allow companies to compile and process personal data at lightning speed, also have fueled the industry.
Consequently, about 70 billion pieces of direct mail now land in U.S. mailboxes each year, with the average American receiving more than 20 pieces each week, according to the Direct Marketing Association. And almost half of all mail solicitations are relegated to the trash unopened.
The spread of junk mail and related personal data has outraged many privacy advocates, who see the solicitation movement as an objectionable intrusion into the lives of private citizens. Environmentalists, in turn, have been upset by the 7.4 billion pounds of waste junk mail generates each year.
But to the average consumer, unwanted mail is simply a nuisance and the fight against it a seemingly unwinnable battle.
Junk mail culprits
Unfortunately, consumers are often their own worst enemy when it comes to unwelcome solicitations.
"Most of the junk mail you receive is a result of some transaction you have entered into, whether you subscribe to a magazine, join a club or donate money to a charity," said Beth Givens, director of the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse.
Businesses regularly "rent" their mailing lists to other companies. Providing your name and address to one organization is almost always a surefire way of ending up on numerous other solicitation lists.
Telephone companies and post offices, which acquire personal data when you sign up for a new phone number or inform them of a change of address, also actively sell your personal data.
Mail-in surveys, often disguised, are another common culprit. "Product registration cards" that accompany electronics and other household items, for example, often look deceivingly like warranties.
"Most people don't know that these registration cards are not going to the manufacturer. They go to a company that assesses demographics and lifestyles and then sells that information to others," said Givens, adding that a receipt usually suffices as a warranty.
Product registration cards do help in the recall notification process, so if you are concerned about safety, Givens recommends filling out only the name and address portion of the card.
Sweepstakes entry forms often have a survey component to them as well. While consumers may think they increase their chances of winning a contest by filling out a form more completely, that is rarely the case. The fine print usually reveals that little more than your name and address are required.
And lest you think Uncle Sam is an innocent, the government is in on the junk mail conspiracy, too. Information on public records, such as car registrations, drivers' licenses, marriage and birth certificates and mortgage and property documents, is regularly sold by government agencies to data compilers for commercial uses.
Government information is particularly in demand, since it can reveal specifics, such as your age or the type of vehicle you drive, that can help direct marketers target consumers more appropriately. Someone who drives an expensive sports car, for instance, may end up with solicitations for other costly high-tech gadgets.
A good defense
Limiting your junk mail intake will take time and persistence. The sheer size and reach of data compilers make it difficult to nail down all the different sources. You will have to confront not only data compilers, but individual companies.
Defense is often the best offense when it comes to junk mail prevention.
"You need to become aware of all the ways you give out information. And in every single situation, you need to make sure the name stops there," Givens said.
When conducting any sort of transaction over the phone, be it a catalog order or charity donation, tell the phone clerk you don't want your name sold to other companies.
In addition, Givens recommends keeping photocopies of a pre-written statement handy expressing your wishes not to have your personal data sold or rented. These can be inserted along with any written correspondence involving personal information.
Fighting back
The most wide-reaching tool for reducing direct mail is the Direct Marketing Association's preference service. Although the DMA represents the direct marketing industry, it offers the mail preference service to consumers in an attempt to regulate the sector itself.
The DMA will take your name off its mailing list for five years, after which you will have to contact them again to reiterate your wishes. Because the DMA has many subscribing companies, presence on its "delete" list should reduce junk mail by about 50 percent, though it may take two or three months to take effect.
Companies that don't participate in the DMA program will have to be contacted directly. Any magazines to which you subscribe, charities and non-profit organizations to which you have donated money, and professional or trade groups of which you are a member may have to be contacted and told to exclude you from their "sell" lists.
If your mailbox is regularly filled with nationwide sweepstakes mailers, Publishers Clearinghouse, Readers Digest or American Family Publishers are likely the organizations responsible. Contact them directly to have your name removed from their lists.
Credit reporting agencies also regularly provide names to credit and financial companies. If you receive many credit card applications or loan offers in the mail, contact the three main credit bureaus, Trans Union, Equifax and Experian, and have them put you on their opt-out lists.
See the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse and Junkbusters Web sites for additional information on who to contact to stop various types of junk mail.
Know your rights
The most powerful legal tool consumers have when it comes to fighting mail solicitation is a little known document called Form 1500.
This form was originally intended to block unwanted pornographic mail, but in 1970 the Supreme Court extended its purpose. The form can now be used to stop any unwanted mail.
By filling out the form and attaching the specific piece of junk mail you want stopped, a company becomes criminally liable if it continues to send you mail or to sell your personal data to others.
"Form 1500 is the most powerful means of protecting your privacy," said Bob Bulmash, president and founder of consumer advocacy group Private Citizen.
You can get a copy of Form 1500 by visiting your post office or by calling the U.S. Postal Service.
A small price to pay?
If the prospect of going it alone against direct mail Goliaths is simply too daunting, help is available -- but often at a price.
While some organizations, such as Junkbusters, provide junk mail reduction tips and form letters free of charge, others will do all the dirty work for you at a small cost.
They include Zero Junk Mail, the Consumer Research Institute and the Stop Junk Mail Association, most of which charge under $20 to help get your name off undesirable mailing lists.
The jury is still out on the effectiveness of many junk prevention companies, and Catlett warns against those offering to do little more than put you on the DMA's mail preference service.
"Some of them are fly-by-night startups that do nothing you can't do yourself," said Catlett, though he admits there are a "few good ones," including the service offered by Private Citizen.
"Personally, I don't like the idea of paying for privacy. It feels like paying for liberty, or fresh air," Catlett said.
However, for those pressed for time, the cost of convenience and the dream of an empty mailbox may never be too high.
"If you've got some time, you should be able to control your own junk mail," Givens said. But fee-based services "don't charge a lot of money, so if you are very busy, it might be worth it to you." 
-- by staff writer Nicole Jacoby
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