Junk Mail

[pomtzu]

I don't know about anyone else, but I am fed up with the amount of junk mail that comes to this house. Not only do I have to shred the envelope with my name and address, but anymore, they plaster my name on every piece of paper that's inside, so that has to be shredded too.
So I am on a campaign to try to rid myself of this evil. If the junk comes with a return prepaid envelope, I write DO NOT SOLICIT on every piece of paper, put it in their prepaid envelope, and send it back to them.
Maybe, or maybe not, they will get tired of that after a while, and take me off their mailing list.
Anybody else have any suggestions or methods they use to "try" to stop this unwanted junk??

[Pinot's Mom]

Ellie, #1: I hope you're feeling better. I will PM you later.

#2: Good luck is all I can tell you. Coop has been the executor of more than one will in his family, and we've had some joint financial "stuff" with other members of both families. In the case of being the executor, we've written back to these organizations to tell them the party is DECEASED. That doesn't work, they still send it. In the case of the others, we've written NO SUCH PERSON AT THIS ADDRESS, that doesn't stop them. So, in summary, at our address (and you know how many ACTUALLY live there) we have mail for: Linda (cousin, deceased), Helen (Coop's Mom, deceased), Heyman (Coop's Dad, deceased), Michael (Coop's brother, living in Utah), Fred (my father, lives in Florida), Susan (Coop's sister, lives in Southern MD), Don (Sue's hubby), and someone named "Pius" who I have no excuse for, must be living in the basement. There are probably others I can't think of at this moment in time.

[Lady's Human]

I don't know about anyone else, but I am fed up with the amount of junk mail that comes to this house. Not only do I have to shred the envelope with my name and address, but anymore, they plaster my name on every piece of paper that's inside, so that has to be shredded too.
So I am on a campaign to try to rid myself of this evil. If the junk comes with a return prepaid envelope, I write DO NOT SOLICIT on every piece of paper, put it in their prepaid envelope, and send it back to them.
Maybe, or maybe not, they will get tired of that after a while, and take me off their mailing list.
Anybody else have any suggestions or methods they use to "try" to stop this unwanted junk??

All that does is wreck other people's mail when the mass of paper gets jammed in the sorting machine, and the next three letters behind them jam into them.

The BRM isn't looked at by the company who sent it. It goes to a lockbox firm somewhere, who opens it and processes the contents. It it doesn't meet their requirements for processing the credit card app or whatever it is, it goes in the trash.

Some other things not to try:

Putting foreign objects in the reply envelope and sending them. Best case scenario, nothing happens, and it goes into the trash can upon receipt at the lockbox.


Mid case scenario: the packet of liquid you put in there breaks open, leaks out into the tray, and damages other people's mail.

Worst case scenario: the envelope of foot powder you tossed in as a joke or prank breaks open in the machine, shuts down the postal facility, and you go to jail for delaying the mail, and get a nice fine to boot.

Writing nasty messages all over the outside of the return envelope: The Postal Inspectors come and pay you a visit for making terroristic threats and using the mail to make threats.

In short, toss it in the trash and be done with it.

[pomtzu]

All that does is wreck other people's mail when the mass of paper gets jammed in the sorting machine, and the next three letters behind them jam into them.

The BRM isn't looked at by the company who sent it. It goes to a lockbox firm somewhere, who opens it and processes the contents. It it doesn't meet their requirements for processing the credit card app or whatever it is, it goes in the trash.

Some other things not to try:

Putting foreign objects in the reply envelope and sending them. Best case scenario, nothing happens, and it goes into the trash can upon receipt at the lockbox.


Mid case scenario: the packet of liquid you put in there breaks open, leaks out into the tray, and damages other people's mail.

Worst case scenario: the envelope of foot powder you tossed in as a joke or prank breaks open in the machine, shuts down the postal facility, and you go to jail for delaying the mail, and get a nice fine to boot.

Writing nasty messages all over the outside of the return envelope: The Postal Inspectors come and pay you a visit for making terroristic threats and using the mail to make threats.

In short, toss it in the trash and be done with it.

So why would my return envelope jam a machine, any more than an ordinary piece of mail. It didn't jam on it's journey to me, so why would it jam on the journey back?

And I would never do any of the stupid crap that you listed. I have nothing against the postal service, just the ones who mail the junk.

Hey - why put wear and tear on my shredder when it's easier to do what I'm doing? I save the shredder for the junk that has my name on it, but no postage paid return envelope!

[Lady's Human]

So why would my return envelope jam a machine, any more than an ordinary piece of mail. It didn't jam on it's journey to me, so why would it jam on the journey back?

Because when it began its' journey to you, it was folded by a machine under fairly high pressure to fit into the envelope, and is a pretty dense package. There's no way you can fold all that junk to fit in the reply envelope, which is designed to hold a piece or two of paper, not everything that was in the solicitation. It becomes a thick envelope which the machines don't handle with any grace whatsoever.

Frankly I don't care what the machine does to the return mail you sent back out of frustration, but I do care what happens to the utility bill payment it shredded as it jammed.

[pomtzu]

Because when it began its' journey to you, it was folded by a machine under fairly high pressure to fit into the envelope, and is a pretty dense package. There's no way you can fold all that junk to fit in the reply envelope, which is designed to hold a piece or two of paper, not everything that was in the solicitation. It becomes a thick envelope which the machines don't handle with any grace whatsoever.

Frankly I don't care what the machine does to the return mail you sent back out of frustration, but I do care what happens to the utility bill payment it shredded as it jammed.

Just as an FYI - I don't overstuff it. Some pieces get discarded here, and what has my name on it, goes back in the envelope.

[Asiel]

I tried all kinds of things including polite requests to be taken off their mailing lists...none of that worked. So now I do exactly what you do, have been doing it for nearly 7 yrs now and that DOES WORK . After sending a few annoying letters back in the return envelope that was the end of it. I get some from other companies and am doing the same thing. Let me tell you my junk mail has been reduced to almost nil in the past 3 yrs.
I put in big bold letters return to sender to make sure it goes back to them...don't forget when they get it back it costs them double the postage so they won't be willing to pay that for too long.
The person I learned this from was a fellow by the name of something Rooney on tv , can't remember his first name now. I just remember he was pretty funny when explainig junk mail.

[Catty1]

Return To Sender - that works for me. After a while of paying return postage, the company will get pretty tired of sending it.

Also - here I went to my local P.O. and requested that junk mail not be sent to my address.

Is there a Do Not Send list in the US or any of its states?

[Grace]

Here you go - this has worked for us.

http://www.govspot.com/ask/nameofflist.htm

[Lady's Human]

The USPS is bound by law to deliver all mail to the destinating address.

The carrier CANNOT refuse to deliver mail to an address because the person no longer wishes to receive a certain type of mail.

Canada Post and the USPS are two completely different animals.

[Karen]

Yes, Pomtzu, what you're doing is just making more work for yourself, and not costing the company that sent you the stuff any pain or noticeable dollars. Try the link Grace posted (I'll fix it).

Lady's Human works at the Post Office, and has had to fix the machines when all the stupid things he listed actually happened. I'm sure he didn't think you would do them!

[happylabs]

I don't know about anyone else, but I am fed up with the amount of junk mail that comes to this house. Not only do I have to shred the envelope with my name and address, but anymore, they plaster my name on every piece of paper that's inside, so that has to be shredded too.
So I am on a campaign to try to rid myself of this evil. If the junk comes with a return prepaid envelope, I write DO NOT SOLICIT on every piece of paper, put it in their prepaid envelope, and send it back to them.
Maybe, or maybe not, they will get tired of that after a while, and take me off their mailing list.
Anybody else have any suggestions or methods they use to "try" to stop this unwanted junk??

I do the same thing and it does work. I used to get credit card offers, sometimes 2 and 3 a day. I put "remove from mailing list" and returned their crap in their envelopes. Why should we have to try to dispose of all of their junk mail. Think of all of the trees they are killing.

Also, if you get catalogs or requests from insurance companies, etc., and they have a website, you can write to them and ask them to take you off of their mailing list.

I don't stuff the envelope and make it fat either. However, maybe if their junk starts to jam up the machines at the post office someone will do something about all of this crap they send us.

[Karen]

I do the same thing and it does work. I used to get credit card offers, sometimes 2 and 3 a day. I put "remove from mailing list" and returned their crap in their envelopes. Why should we have to try to dispose of all of their junk mail. Think of all of the trees they are killing.

I never did that, but the credit card offers have gotten fewer over the years, I think with the current financial situation, companies are taking less chances on offering credit to random folks.

[Lady's Human]

I don't stuff the envelope and make it fat either. However, maybe if their junk starts to jam up the machines at the post office someone will do something about all of this crap they send us.

Won't happen, as it's a big revenue source for the Post Office.

[RICHARD]

'

Blame them!