stopjunk.com

[Pat P.]

Hi guys,
As many other people living in the US, I get lots of credit card offerings every week. I learnt that you can go to Stop junk mail - easy kit to block bulk mail and get a package that will allow you to stop receiving the offers.

Before ordering it, I wanted to know if anyone has tried out the service before and if it really works.

Thanks,
Pat

[Adam]

It looks like these guys just give you a bunch of post cards and form letters that you send to the companies that regularly sell your information to advertisers.

In my opinion, it might be worth it if you aren't willing to do the research yourself and type up your own form letters... Then again, I didn't see anything saying that the postage was paid, so you'll still be paying to send the form letters out whether you make them or this company makes them.

I guess it all depends on whether you want to do your own research for free, or if you're willing to pay someone to give you the list of the big companies to send these letters to.

Here's a start on getting rid of *all* of the credit card offers: Send the letters to the big three credit firms.

[Baltar]

How about this site: optoutprescreen.com -- opting out there should be enough to stop all financial junk mail.

[LivingWarrior]

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For ten cents a day ($3/mo) GreenDimes actively keeps you off mailing lists for catalogs and junk mail. Also each month, they plant a tree for your donation.

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Pounds of Junk Mail Stopped - 58,205
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Gallons of Water Saved - 148,670

The referrer ID is just like a social network type thing. No profit involved :] Its tracks how much resource you and your friends have saved!

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[Matthew Shea]

You certainly don't have to spend money to stop junk mail. A few web searches will suffice to get you all the information you need. Here's a web site I've found helpful.

Do-it-yourself: Stop junk mail, email and phone calls

[rene_stpierre]

I fully agree that junk mail can be pretty annoying. And until last year, I included Credit Card offers in the junk mail category until I decided to take advantage of those offers.

You see, most of the offers I receive are for credit cards that have $0 annual fee and a very low interest rate on balance transfers (I have seen as low as 1.9%) for a specific period of time (usually 6 months to 1 year).

Since I had balances on 2 credit cards with high interest rates (15-16%), I decided to get one of these cards.

The result ... 2.9% interest on almost $10,000 balance for 6 months!

After month 4, I received another offer ... 1.9% for 1 year ! I got this new card, transferred the funds and canceled the other card.

I will keep doing this until I clear the balance completely. Worse case, I transfer the balance back to my old card until I receive a new offer.

VERY IMPORTANT: I DO NOT use these cards for purchases (I never carry them in my wallet) since the low interest rate only applies to balances transfer.

This does not take too much time and can save someone hundred of dollars in interests.

René

[Caveman Joe]

If the junk mail has pre-paid business reply envelopes inside, then take them out, stuff them full of heavy junk (or pennies) and put them in the post.

[Pat P.]

My wife made a similar suggestion a while ago , about putting heavy stuff inside the envelops and sending it back, but I don't think that it can accomplish much (except to vent some frustration). It is funny though.

About the idea of using some of the offers, I actually did it in the past, but now that I have paid off all my debt, I don't see a need to use them anymore.

My question was originaly inspired by trying to find an equivalent to the "do not call list" for junk mail. I appreciate your answers, and I going to try some of the resources you mention. I will post any outcomes of this experiment.

Thanks again,
Pat

[dgorila1]

I stuff the return envelopes with whatever paper I can find and send them back as well. Maybe if they keep wasting their $$ and time on these empty return envelopes, it will be enough to stem the flow of offers. Its a long shot, but it makes me feel a little better and gets rid of some of my trash :-)