City offering advice on junk mail

Is there anyone out there who needs another credit card offer, envelope full of coupons or invitation to listen to a stranger explain how to invest one's life savings?

If so, Thousand Oaks has suggestions on how to get on more junk mail lists.

The city also tells residents how to get off those lists with a Junk Mail Reduction Kit, available for free at city hall.

"Reducing junk mail means less paper, and that helps us save our trees," said Gail Kaufman, assistant analyst for public works.

To get on more mailing lists the kit encourages residents to enter more contests, join a store "buyer's club," send in a warranty card, subscribe to a magazine or order a product by mail.

Another way to encourage junk mail is making a donation to charity, a college or a politician.

Not in the kit, but as a side note, filling out a form for a chance at a supermarket contest will also get home phones ringing during dinner time with an offer for a free trip to somewhere no one wants to go.

The free trip, it turns out, costs money, too. They even call people who are on the "Do Not Call" list.

To get on that list, register at the website www.donotcall.gov or call (866) 290-4236. It will stop most sales calls.

To get off junk mail lists is a little bit harder than getting on them.

The kit, printed on recyclable, acid free paper, directs residents to contact the customer service number of the organization or business and request their names be removed from their mailing lists.

If that alone worked, life would be easy, but the kit also provides blank postcards.

Those wanting to stop junk mail should also attach the mailing label with that person's address to the postcard. Just tape it on, and sign and date the request.

Using the offending company's label with the address of those who want less junk mail will better help them identify the person who wants an emptier mailbox.

Or one can use the postagepaid envelope included with the mail solicitation with all this information: asking for name removed, the mailing label, a date and a signature. Sending mail to junk mailers at their expense may even provide residents a little ironic satisfaction.

There is a pre-addressed postcard attached t o the kit that goes to the Direct Marketing Association's Mail Preference Service. This service is supposed to be good for five years and is supposed to work for national junk mail, not local mail.

To opt out of pre-screened credit and insurance offers, the kit suggests going to the website www.optout prescreen.com or calling (888) 567-8688.

To keep credit bureaus from giving out personal information for promotional purposes, they can be reached at:

Equifax, Inc., Consumer OptOut, P.O. Box 740123, Atlanta, GA 30374-0123

Experian: Options, 701 Experian Parkway, Allen, TX 75013

TransUnion: Marketing List Opt Out, P.O. Box 97328, Jackson, MS 39288-7328

The kit also includes suggestions on how to avoid unwanted e-mails.

"This is a popular kit. People have contacted us a lot about how to stop junk mail," Kaufman said.