Last night I found an official place where one can theoretically get on the “do not send credit card offers” list,
not that you don’t want to invest in a diamond cut shredder anyway. The site, OptOutPrescreen.com, has an option for permanent opting outedness provided you send a paper request of the filled out form.
It’s bass-ackwards, of course. At least they don’t ask for too much information.
If there were grammar errors, you might think it was a phishing site. However, the link was referenced from
Trans Union’s corporate web site.
For posterity, I’ve reproduced their opt out stuff here:
If you want your name and address removed from mailing lists obtained from the main consumer credit reporting agencies — TransUnion, Experian, Equifax, and Innovis, go to www.optoutprescreen.com, or call 888-5OPTOUT (888-567-8688), or write to the following address:
TransUnion Name Removal Option, P.O. Box 505, Woodlyn, PA 19094Include the following information with your request:
- First, middle, and last names (including Jr., Sr., III)
- Current address
- Previous address (if you’ve moved in the last six months)
- Social Security number
- Date of birth
- Signature
The Direct Marketing Association (DMA) can provide information about opting out of lists produced by companies that subscribe to their Mail and Telephone Preference Services. Contact the DMA at the following addresses:
Direct Marketing Association
Mail Preference Service
P.O. Box 643
Carmel, NY 10512Direct Marketing Association
Telephone Preference Service
P.O. Box 1559
Carmel, NY 10512
Include the following information with your request:
- First, middle, and last names (including Jr., Sr., III)
- Current address
- Home area code and telephone number (only for Telephone Preference Service)
They also make this a pain in the ass. For five bucks, you can use their database entry. Otherwise, you have to send in a request via postal mail that gets manually entered. And I'm thinking of a malevolent marketing assistant Oops, I checked the "opt into pyramid schemes box".
Oh, yeah, okay, no problem.
I’ll just send my full (real) name, address, date of birth, social security number and signature off to a P.O. Box in EBF Pennsylvania. I don’t see a question asking for my mother’s maiden name, though, so I’ll just volunteer the information myself. That should make things a whole lot easier.
Seriously, though: anyone who wants to steal my identity can have at it. They can take the vaguely threatening calls and negative integer credit score. Please? Hello? Dammit!
This is the real thing. These people already have the information you are sending. They need it from you to verify your identity before removing you from future credit pre-approvals. It seems fishy and it’s good that anyone thinks twice before doing it. The cool thing is that it works. Within weeks your mail volume is halved. Optoutprescreen performs as advertised!
I checked the Experian and Equifax sites, and neither of them mention OptOutPreScreen.com. (I couldn’t find a search feature on TrueCredit’s site, so didn’t look for it there.)
If the credit bureaus don’t mention this service on their sites, then I wouldn’t consider it official. I think it’s safer not to use it. Even if it’s basically legitimate, you don’t know how secure their site and process are.