How to Delete an Address From a Mailing List
When a company gets your name and mailing address, chances are that you'll be placed on a mailing list. Also, when you give your address to one company, that company may then sell your information to another if you don't make sure to opt-out of any mailing lists. It's difficult to delete yourself from a mailing list permanently, but persistence can pay off.
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Instructions
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Contact the Direct Marketing Association to remove your name and address from a large number of national mailing lists at once. You can register through the mail or online; see the "Mailing lists of the major national marketers" link for contact information. You must re-register every three years to keep your name off of these lists.
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Email or mail Abacus, the association that manages and distributes information among catalog and mail-order companies. See the "Catalogs, mail order lists and magazines" in the junk mail resource for contact information. Give your name and full address as it appears on the catalogs.
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Call 888-5-OPTOUT to be deleted from the mailing lists that are maintained and sold by all of the major credit bureaus. Ask to opt out of having your name and address sold to third parties in the future. Credit bureaus are a major source of junk mail. You can also contact each bureau directly through the mail with your request.
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Contact Haines & Company Inc., a company that gathers information from the phone book. Ask to have your address deleted. See the "Phone books and reverse directories" link for the direct mailing address.
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Call the company that has sent you the mail and ask the marketing and promotions department to take you off of the mailing list immediately. This includes mailers from organizations such as Valpak, PennySaver, and Valassis. Ask them specifically to stop sharing your information with other companies.
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Tips & Warnings
Return the mail to sender without opening it to discourage the company from sending you further mailings. Circle the postage and cross out any bar codes. Write "Return to sender" on the top and "take me off of your list" at the bottom to be clear. Keep in mind that returned bulk mail may just be trashed by post office employees, which will not stop the flow of these unwanted mailings.
Call your banks, creditors and insurance companies. Ask to be removed from mailing lists.
Do not fill out a change-of-address card when you move; the post office will notify junk mailers as well as legitimate contacts. Instead, give your new address only to the people and companies from whom you want to continue receiving mail.
List your name and address as private or non-listed with your phone company to prevent junk mailers from grabbing your information.
