The JUNK MAIL SAGA Continues…
It’s been almost seven months since my father moved from his house to a one-bedroom apartment closer to me. At that time, we had his mailing address changed to our house and individually contacted only a select few “institutions” and businesses to give them his real new address. Our hope was that in doing so that all the junk mail, junk mail charities and various scam sweepstakes wouldn’t find him at his new address AND that we could slowly start to eliminate the deluge from our own mailbox.
Initially, we were getting nearly as much mail as he had been getting before the move. Our mailman was often needing to master cramming it all into our normal-sized, street-side mailbox (though he did complain more than once).
My wife (LOVE HER) started making phone calls to each organization that he was receiving mail from at our address. You can tell how shady some of these groups are by how difficult it is to find a phone number on their materials. Many don’t have a phone number on their letterhead or their other materials. On many of their websites you have to really “drill down” to find one. On some of their websites there was no phone number. On some there was only an email. On others there was only an email reply form. The worst of the worst I could only try to contact through their Facebook page!
At the end of nearly seven months we have a spreadsheet of over 700 organizations we have called and asked to remove my father from their databases, mailing lists, calling lists and/or to add him (if they have such a thing–some do) to their “do not mail” and “do not call” lists. For some groups (because we are still receiving mail months after first contact) we are making second or third calls and sending follow-up emails. The “organizations” range from one extreme end of the political spectrum to the other and everything in between, from reputable charities to those who’s top Google search says “scam” and from products that promise to grow your hair to products that promise to grow other things (!).
NEW MAIL?!? On top of the frustration of the old mail, we continue to receive junk mail for my father from new organizations–even though I’ve put the maximum number of iterations of his name and address on the Direct Marketing Association’s “do not mail” list.
DECEPTIVE RETURN ENVELOPE–SEEMS LEGIT, RIGHT?
One of the reasons I write this is that I know many of my friends have parents who are getting older and I urge you to be nosey–do whatever you can to check out their mail, their checking accounts and credit card accounts to make sure they are not being taken advantage of by the persistent harassment that comes from this broad range of organizations making abusive use of the U.S. Mail. Get a handle on it early–save yourself some frustration. Save your parents or grandparents some money.
TYPICAL JUNK MAIL SWEEPSTAKES PLOY–BEWARE!!!
Kip Koelsch Author 