mailing lists and their agents

[Guest chargrl1]

I don't know if anyone else has addressed this, if they have sorry for any redundancy of my post. Public mailing lists and all of the agents that sell them, they are so annoying to deal with! There are so many of them, and no matter if you have changed all of your public records including property ownership and national directories, there are still those out there who maintain outdated lists and sell them for commercial purposes and you will continue to get mail for that person that doesn't live here any more! An unwanted, annoying thing in your mail box to constantly remind you when you least expect it of that name that you want to put behind you and forget forever. It's like trying to get rid of ants, I swear! And places that pay no attention when you return their solicitation mailings with "addressee not at this address", like they are a bunch of automated robots that just send stuff out regardless. Is that green or sustainable? I don't think so, huge waste of money and paper! And just serves to throw an annoying speed bump into my day, it certainly won't get them the coveted customer that they are after. Some humorous irony to that, although I really don't find it amusing~

Good luck finding these agents yourself, unless you can find a cooperative business who sent you something (well, sent something to your address, it's really not to you at all) to contact the one they bought a name from and tell them they are a rip off and a nuisance!

I could go on and on and on with this, but I'll stop and let you ponder it and wonder what makes these people tick along with me.

[Guest Edu]

I treat physical junk mail just like its electronic counter-part: straight into the trash bin.

I'm not yet at the point of having to deal with the name issue, but when that time comes, I don't expect it to be an issue. I have been living in a rented apartment since early 2011, and I'm often getting junk mail addressed to whom I presume had lived there before I did. So, when I go through the name change I'll just be getting mail addressed to someone who doesn't live there anymore. I'll care about the name as little as the trash bin does.

Now that I'm thinking about it, I don't actually get any junk mail addressed to my "current" name. So I'm unsure whether my opinion on this topic has any relevance, but there it is anyway.

[Cyndee]

I get some satisfaction seeing the junk mail (that is'nt coated paper) burning in my wood stove, seeing that old name go up in flames, seems appropriate, and a few BTU's to boot.

Most of the stuff that still comes in my old name has no real importance anymore, it's fading......

Cyndi

[Charlize]

We have been able to find a web site that seems to stop most phone solicitations although some, like political and 'charities' still come through especially when i sit down for dinner.

we've looked for a site that does mail but so far no good. When my father died it took years to stop his mail. I finally had to send notes or make calls to tell people how much it hurt us to keep getting all those reminders.

As Cyndi said the mistakes will fade away and my recycling bucket is hungry. it at least helps the post office.

Hugs,

Charlie

[Guest KimberlyF]

My kids like looking at most of the catalogs that come to the house and if anything interests my wife or I, we look. I have no clue who's name is on any of them. I haven't legally changed my name and if I do I doubt the computer that did it holds any malice.

I get stuff from my union with the wrong first name. I get stuff in my name to my parent's new house that I never lived a day at. I get stuff once in a blue moon at my BIL's house.

I figure the odds of ever stopping this are pretty slim so I give it the attention it deserves. If it's a major issue for one, a good fix to help with a lot of it would be a new location. But still it will come.

[Guest chargrl1]

Thanks for all of the responses, it was interesting looking at how different people would handle this. I don't really see any that match how I feel or that are relevant to my situation so I'll have to continue on my present courses of action. I hate having that name shoved in my face whether they mean to do it or not, and I think it's a huge waste of paper and resources.

[VickySGV]

What's so really bad about being named "current resident"??? It still goes in the blue waste basket and into the blue recycling container to be picked up on Fridays.

[Guest April Kristie]

While I have not reached that annoying aspect of my life, I am a housewife and take care of the mail that enters our home. It is fully 95% garbage! People do not write letters anymore, or send parcels to each other (not usually anyway). Our trash bins are so much heavier for that round about.

[Sakura]

I am actually a Direct mail technician. It is a fancy way of saying " I make alot of junk mail." These operations are not people sitting around stuffing a few hundred envelopes all day. The machine I operate. Cuts and folds nearly 200,000 pieces of mail a day. The forms then go from my machine, to be inserted into envelopes, at up wards of 700,000 pieces a day. Then mailed out, at various mail dates.

What one could do instead of simply throwing the mail out is to open it . In the fine print on virtually every thing we produce is what is called an Opt out number. You call it and tell them you do not wish to receive offers from that vendor any more, but you must do it for every vendor. One could just continue to throw it in the trash though and keep me employed ^-^.

[Guest]

I love the fact that the direct mailers haven't caught up to my name change. It makes an easy sort of my inbound mail: the stuff for him goes right to the recycle bin, and I look at the stuff for me.

Unfortunately, I also get mail for my friend who died - that's harder to take, and I've made an effort to stop it without success...

Love, Megan

[Guest chargrl1]

I am actually a Direct mail technician. It is a fancy way of saying " I make alot of junk mail." These operations are not people sitting around stuffing a few hundred envelopes all day. The machine I operate. Cuts and folds nearly 200,000 pieces of mail a day. The forms then go from my machine, to be inserted into envelopes, at up wards of 700,000 pieces a day. Then mailed out, at various mail dates.

What one could do instead of simply throwing the mail out is to open it . In the fine print on virtually every thing we produce is what is called an Opt out number. You call it and tell them you do not wish to receive offers from that vendor any more, but you must do it for every vendor. One could just continue to throw it in the trash though and keep me employed ^-^.

Sakura, apparently the stuff I get is not what you mail. I have opened several pieces of "junk" mail since I read your post, and none of it had opt outs on it. Not even in the fine print. In Oregon, that is only required on pre-approved credit offers.

[Guest CassieX]

Same here, I've tried contacting some of the mail companies whose junk I receive to ask them to stop but it doesn't seem to do any good. AARP is one of the worst offenders for me. Been getting large envelopes full of crap from them since I was in my 30's, trying to sell me over 50s insurance plans, tragic.

After changing my name I definately don't mind the double coupons from my store cards though

Cassie