There is nothing more annoying than to have solicitors intruding into your life by telephone. Millions rejoiced when Do Not Call lists were instituted and we all reclaimed precious time in our lives by joining it. And junk mail?
Not quite so intrusive is all the junk mail that clogs our mailboxes, trashcans and landfills. I would be delighted to never receive another offer to refinance my home, buy more insurance, open a Capitol One credit card, or borrow money of any sort. I am sick and tired of junk mail and wonder how much of it is cluttering and contributing to overflowing landfills.
I am also more than a little annoyed that credit burueas are allowed to sell my information, FICO scores and other data to these soliciting firms.
Want to opt out?
Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), you have the right to opt out from these offers and prevent the credit reporting companies from selling or providing your credit and contact information to these solicitors.
To do so, just go to OptOutPreScreen and complete a simple form. By doing so, Equifax, Experian, Innovis and TransUnion will be unable to share your information for at least five years. If you wish to permanently do so, instructions are provided for doing so by mail.
04/22/2018 Note: I did this over 5 years ago and need to once again sign up to stop the flow of incessant junk mail. The opt out link still works!
Instead, you can send junk back to the senders via those handy Business Reply Mail letters. Stuff them, then send them. The first Saturday of September is National Sendback Day, so collect those letters and then send them then. If enough people participate, those companies won’t know what will hit them.
AM: Not a bad idea! Now if we could just find a way to reverse calls made to us by all the telephone solicitors. It would be fun to jam their lines as well.
This must be Wicked Wednesday!