Unwanted Junk Mail and Telemarketing Calls

Things You Should Know About...

Unwanted Junk Mail and Telemarketing Calls

Experts estimate that Americans receive almost two million tons of junk mail every year, with the average person spending eight full months of his or her life just opening it. Moreover, junk mail wastes more than just time. Many consumers are concerned about the amount of paper used to print the catalogs, advertisements, sweepstakes announcements and other junk mail they receive on a daily basis.

Frequent telemarketing calls and unsolicited commercial e-mail messages are also time consuming and irritating. To reduce the time and frustration you spend dealing with unwanted junk mail, phone calls, and e-mail messages, check out the tips below.

How Do Companies Get Your Name?

Companies often get names through national advertising lists used by direct marketers. Direct marketers sell their goods and services to consumers through mail, catalogs and telemarketing. The advertising lists are compiled from many sources and are then sold to the direct marketers to use in their marketing campaigns.

Telemarketing Rules

• Federal and Illinois law prohibit telemarketing calls to consumers whose telephone numbers are on the Do Not Call Registry. There are some exceptions to this prohibition (please see below under "Telemarketing Calls ").

• Federal and Illinois law prohibit telephone solicitations before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m.

• Telemarketers are required to identify themselves with their name, the company they represent and a phone number at which their company may be contacted.

• You may ask any telemarketer to put you on a do-not-call list if you do not want them to contact you again. Your request must be honored within 30 days.

Reducing...

Junk Mail

You can eliminate your name from large advertising lists that are sold to direct mail marketers.  Businesses that are members of the Direct Marketers Association are required to remove your name from their mailing list if you subscribe to the Mail Preference Service.  The cost to place your name on the Mail Preference List is a one dollar registration fee.  Once you place your name on the remove list, the amount of junk mail you receive will begin to decrease after about three months and your name will stay on the list for approximately five years.  At the end of each five-year period, you may register your name on the removal list again. You can register for the Mail Preference Service through the US Mail at the following address:

Mail Preference Service
Direct Marketing Association
P.O. Box 282
Carmel, NY 10512

Or online at the website of the Direct Marketers Association:
https://www.dmachoice.org/MPS/

Sexually-Oriented Mail

If you do not want to receive sexually-oriented mail, fill out Form 2201 and Form 290 at your local post office. These forms must be completed by the person to whom the mail is addressed. To complete Form 2150, you must include the envelope and entire contents of the sexually-oriented mail you received, sign the front of the envelope, indicate the date it was received and attach it to the form.

E-Mail

To reduce the number of unsolicited commercial e-mail messages you receive, submit your request via the Direct Marketing Association's online form . Your name will usually stay on the removal list for approximately one year.

Information from the Federal Trade Commission

Other Types of Mail

For other types of mail, you may write directly to the companies sending you mail and tell them to stop. In your letter, include your full name and address, along with your request to be removed from their mailing list.

Telemarketing Calls

The Do Not Call Registry is a list of phone numbers that many telemarketers will not be allowed to call. You can add your phone number to the list over the Internet or over the phone. The office of Attorney General Lisa Madigan will enforce the rules of the Do Not Call Registry to make sure that businesses follow the law and consumers do not become victims of fraud.

This service is free to consumers. However, telemarketers will be required to pay for access to the names on the lists and will have to "scrub" their calling lists every three months to remove any consumers' telephone numbers that are included in the new registry.

It is important to know that the Do Not Call Registry will reduce telemarketing calls - but not eliminate them completely. Under federal and state law, a number of businesses or organizations will still be allowed to call numbers on the registry, including:

• calls from organizations with which you have established a business relationship;

• calls for which you have given prior written consent;

• calls which are not commercial or do not include unsolicited advertisements;

• calls by or on behalf of tax-exempt non-profit organizations.

Register for the Do Not Call Registry Over the Internet or Over the Phone

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