How to Stop Junk Mail Magazines in the Mail
Consumers and environmentalists are annoyed and concerned with the proliferation of junk mail magazines. It is a problem that is difficult to resolve because federal and most state laws don't prohibit unsolicited mail. If the mail is addressed to your home and contains postage, the postman is obligated to deliver it. You can try to stop the junk mail delivery by contacting the companies directly and the direct mail associations that oversee most of the magazine and catalog distributors.
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Instructions
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Search the inside cover of the magazines to find a contact address, website, or phone number. Contact each magazine sender directly and ask to be removed from the sender's mailing list. Ask for written confirmation from the company of your decision to opt-out, and allow up to a month for the mailings to stop before calling again.
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Contact the Direct Marketing Association at dmachoice.org/dma/member/regist.action and request that your name be removed from its mailing lists. Enter your name, full address, and an email address where you can be contacted for confirmation of your request. It may be necessary to repeat this every three years.
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Contact Abacus, a company that oversees the distribution of some national magazines. Send an email to abacusoptout@epsilon.com with your full name and address to notify the association of your decision. Request confirmation and keep a copy of the request in your "Sent Mail" folder for reference.
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Tips & Warnings
Send your current and previous address if you've just recently moved, or the new resident at your old address will be inundated with your junk mail. Also, if you set up a mail forwarding from that address, you will start to get the magazines at your new address automatically.
Some direct mail companies will sell your information to others, which is why you get magazines from places that you've never heard of. So when you talk to or write these companies to stop receiving junk mail magazines, tell the representative to stop selling your information to other companies as well.
Avoid putting your real, full address on websites that you do not trust---especially ones that are selling magazine subscriptions. Whether you choose to order a magazine or not, the company may still send you free magazines to try to get you to order in the future.
