Opt out of unwanted solicitations

Solicitations from various sources by mail and phone can become extremely annoying. The National Do Not Call Registry allows you to register both land lines and cell phones  by e-mail; or you can call toll free 1-888-382-1222 from the number you are registering. Registration is free and numbers placed on the registry will now remain permanently unless you opt back in. Solicitors affected by the legislation are required to stop calling within 31 days of registration.

Unfortunately, registration won't stop all telemarketer calls. Banks, phone companies, airlines, insurance companies, nonprofit charitable organizations and politicians are not under the jurisdiction of the FTC.

Sales calls within a state will still be permitted unless you also opt out of solicitations through your state Do Not Call Registry. Some states did integrate their list with the national registry; state information is available at www.the-dma.org/government/donotcalllists.shtml.

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, credit reporting agencies are permitted to include your name on lists used by creditors or insurers to make firm offers of credit or insurance. What you may not know is that the FCRA also enables you to opt out, which prevents the credit reporting agencies from providing information contained in your credit file to others. There are two good ways to stop or at least slow offers:

1. Go to www.OptOutPrescreen.com or call 888-5-optout. These are the credit reporting agencies opt in/opt out resources. On the website, you can fill out a simple form to opt out for five years.

You will need to print out, sign and mail the resulting form to the address provided in order to permanently opt out.

2. The Direct Marketing Association offers a Do Not Mail website http://www.dmaconsumers.org/cgi/offmailinglist. You can also send a letter with your name, address and signature to: Mail Preference Service; Direct Marketing Association; PO Box 643; Carmel, NY 10512. Both methods cost $1. Your name stays on the list for five years, and you can re-register at the end of that period.

Credit card companies also get consumer information from other sources so while these two methods will considerably slow down credit card offers, they won't necessarily stop completely. You can learn more by reviewing the Frequently Asked Questions for opting in/out at www.optoutprescreen.com/faq.htm.