Mailing List Regulations
Junk mail, unwanted advertisements, unsolicited credit card offers and many other forms of "throw-away" mail enter your mailbox or email inbox every day, often finding a home in the trash or being deleted unopened. As a consumer, you have the right to be taken off mailing lists and to have a certain amount of privacy. Mailing lists are obtained through public records, purchasing records and sweepstakes sign-ups but should always include an opt-out option somewhere on the form or email.
Other People Are Reading
-
Preapproved Credit Cards
-
According to Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, a nonprofit designed to empower and protect the privacy of the consumer, many companies you do business with report your information to credit bureaus, including how much you owe and how quickly you pay your bills. The credit bureaus then rent out these lists but do not provide specific personal information. Instead, they create mailing lists for their customers. For instance, a mailing list may contain consumers who make more than $50,000 a year, use credit cards and owe under $10,000. If your criteria land your name on the list, a preapproved credit card is sent to you in the mail.
The Fair Credit Reporting Act requires these companies to delete your name and address from their mailing list at your request, according to Privacy Rights Clearinghouse. As of July 2010, the number to opt out of receiving preapproved credit cards was 888-576-8688, which will take your name and address off the mailing lists of the four major credit reporting agencies.
Email Spam
-
According to the Federal Trade Commission, the CAN-SPAM act was created to regulate email mailing lists, and spam and junk emails. Email mailing lists, which send commercial emails or advertising emails, must follow certain standards. Companies using mailing lists for commercial emails must not use false or misleading information in the header information, including the "To" and "From" fields or the "Reply to" field. The company must also be identified in the email. The message must be identified as an advertisement, according to the Federal Trade Commission. The consumer must be given an option to opt out of receiving the advertising emails, and the company must honor the opt-out option within 10 business days. The penalty for not abiding by the rules is up to $16,000 in fines, according to the FTC.
-
Public Information
-
Some mailing lists obtain information through public records, such as housing purchases and sales, birth certificates and marriage licenses. Typically, the government will not keep these records confidential. If you happen to find your name on one of these mailing lists and receive unwanted advertisements in the mail, Privacy Rights Clearinghouse recommends contacting the companies individually to opt out.
If the junk mail guarantees return postage, return the envelope or advertisement unopened with the words "Refused -- Return to Sender" written on the envelope, according to Privacy Rights Clearinghouse. The return postage is then the legal responsibility of the company, as is the removal of your name and address from the mailing list.
-
References
- Photo Credit spam zapper image by Robert Young from Fotolia.com
