I Suck At Junk Mail

Saturday was a rather uneventful day, in part because our baby daughter (Briana) has not been herself lately. Briana recently had some vaccinations, which I think has been making her feel a little off.

So Karen and I basically stayed home with Briana all day. Interestingly enough, Karen and I did not have any plans for this weekend, which seems like a rare occasion. Lately, it seems like every weekend both Karen and I have something going on.

This weekend, however, our original plan with my BFF (Kerry) had fallen through. It was probably just as well because Briana has not been herself lately. And naturally, with the free time, I did absolutely nothing productive. I probably would have considered working on the house, were it not for the hot and humid weather. I can't function when it is hot and humid. I literally become lethargic and unmotivated. It's probably a good thing that my friend (Hot Amy) never challenged me when it was a hot and humid day.

Consequently, the highlight of my Saturday was going through my junk mail. Too bad I suck at junk mail. It seems like every other day, Karen or I will receive junk mail from a credit card company saying that we are pre-approved for their card. If I didn't have an existing credit card, I'd probably relish the invitation. But I already have a credit card that I like.

Needless to say, I never read the junk that comes with the credit card invitations. I generally open the mail, sort out what I can recycle, and shred the rest that contains either my information or some invitation code or whatever. I've gotten rather good at it because it takes me no time now to go through junk mail from credit card companies.

And then... I stumbled upon the fine print on one of the credit card invitations. There was something about opting out of credit card solicitations. Naturally, I became intrigued. After all, if I can stop receiving credit card junk mail, then I can save the environment by having less waste delivered to the house. And those who know me know that I am all for saving the environment.

Anyway, I wondered if the whole opting out of credit card solicitations was legit, or some idea concocted by the credit card companies. It turns out that the fine print is actually legit.

The program is called OptOutPreScreen. According to my friend, Wikipedia:

"Optoutprescreen.com is a joint venture among Equifax, Experian, Innovis, and TransUnion, allowing customers to opt out of receiving credit card solicitations by mail.

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), consumer reporting agencies are permitted to include customers' names on lists used by creditors or insurers to make offers of credit or insurance that are not initiated by the customer. The FCRA also provides customers the right to opt out, which prevents consumer reporting agencies from providing credit file information to others.

Beginning on August 1, 2005, the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 took effect, which amended the FCRA to require consumer reporting agencies to include in their credit offers a statement allowing customers to stop unsolicited offers either by phone (1-888-5OPTOUT or 1-888-567-8688) or via https://www.optoutprescreen.com.

Customers may opt out from receiving offers for either five years or permanently. To opt out permanently, customers must confirm their requests in writing, by mailing in a Permanent Opt-Out Election form, available through the website. Customers who have opted out will no longer be included in offer lists provided by consumer reporting agencies. Customers who have previously completed an opt-out request may request to opt back in at the website as well."

Anyway, I gave it shot. I called the toll free number. So we'll see how well the program actually is. Not getting junk mail from credit card companies would be awesome.