Many Michiganders are frustrated by the unsolicited mail, telephone calls, and e-mail they receive. Below is some helpful information on how to reduce these occurrences.

Decreasing Junk Mail

Unsolicited commercial mail can be not only irritating to many, but also extremely wasteful. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), over 44% of the junk mail we receive enters the waste stream before it has ever been opened or read. In fact, according to the EPA, junk mail produces over 4 million tons of solid waste every year. Many constituents have written or called me to complain about the amount of junk mail they receive. While eliminating junk mail entirely is not a simple task, there are ways to reduce the flow to your home. The following suggestions are offered as a service for constituents who want to reduce the amount of junk mail they receive.

Important steps you can take:

• Contact the Direct Marketing Association (DMA): You can contact the DMA and ask them to place your name on their "do not mail" list. Your name will be removed from the mailing lists of several national companies, including credit card companies and mail order clothing catalogs. Although most local businesses and many charitable, religious and political organizations do not participate in the program, you should notice a decrease in the amount of direct mail you receive after a few months. Your address will be kept on file for five years, at which point you will need to provide the DMA with your name and address again. In order to be placed on the DMA's "do not mail" list, send your full address, including zip code and apartment number, to:

Mail Preference Service
Attn: Dept: 7374614
Direct Marketing Association
P.O. Box 282
Carmel, New York, 10512

• Contact the major credit bureaus: Three major credit bureaus offer a toll-free number that enables you to "opt-out" of having pre-approved credit offers sent to you for two years. This number is 1-888-5-OPTOUT (567-8688). You can also notify the credit bureaus separately that you do not want personal information about you shared for promotional purposes. These addresses are:
  
  

  Equifax, Inc. Options PO Box 740123 Atlanta, GA 30374-0123

  Experian Consumer Opt-Out 701 Experian Parkway Allen, TX 75013

  Trans Union Marketing List Opt Out PO Box 97328 Jackson, MS 39288

• Contact database companies: Several database companies compile names from mail-order catalogs and publishing companies. In many cases, mail order companies you order from sell your name to other mail order companies that send you unsolicited catalogs. Several of these companies have established systems to make it easier for people to stop receiving mail from them. To remove your name from these lists, you should send or e-mail your full name and current address to the following addresses:
  
  

  Abacus PO Box 1478 Broomfield, CO, 80038 optout@abacus-direct.com

  Donnelly Marketing Data Base Operations 416 S. Bell Ames, Iowa, 50010

  Acxiom (877) 774-2094 optout@acxiom.com

  
  
• Consider the listing you wish to have in the public phone book. This information is public knowledge and some companies will use the phone book to keep track of addresses.

Steps through the United States Postal Service (USPS)

• Should you receive sexually-explicit mail, or other unwanted mail, you may attach the opened piece of mail along with the USPS's Form 1500 and return it to the Post Office. Form 1500 is provided by every post office and will stop the delivery of any material that you find offensive. The USPS will issue an order that no more mailings be sent to you by that mailer.

Helpful websites

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) developed a webpage to alert consumers to ways they can control unsolicited mail, telemarketing, and e-mail. That website is:
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/alerts/optoutalrt.htm

The Center for Democracy and Technology has a webpage that will insert your address into form letters you can send to groups sending you unwanted mail and gives you some other tips on how to protect your privacy. Their website is:
http://www.opt-out.cdt.org/

The U.S. Postal Inspector Service developed a webpage as part of National Consumer Protection Week to help people protect themselves from identity theft. This important advice is at:
http://www.usps.com/postalinspectors/idthft_ncpw.htm

 

Getting Rid of Spam E-mail

Almost everyone who has an e-mail address and uses the Internet receives e-mail they neither asked for nor desired. According to experts, the volume of “spam” or unsolicited commercial e-mail (UCE) as a percentage of all e-mail rose from 8% in January 2001 to 56% in November 2003. Not only is spam a nuisance, but it can also increase service rates because Internet Service Providers (ISPs) pass along to consumers the costs of upgrading their systems to handle the large amounts of traffic.

On December 16, 2003, the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing (CAN-SPAM) Act was signed into law. This law requires that commercial e-mails include a legitimate opportunity for consumers to “opt-out” of receiving future e-mails from that sender and that commercial e-mails do not have fraudulent header information or misleading subject headings. It also requires that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) submit to Congress a plan and timetable for establishing a “do not e-mail” registry, although it does not require the actual creation of such a list.

The following suggestions are offered as a service for constituents who want to reduce the amount of spam they receive.

Reporting Unwanted E-mails:

• You may report unwanted spam to the FTC by sending a copy the e-mail to uce@ftc.gov .
  
• If you want to report a removal link that is not working or are unable to unsubscribe from a list, you can fill out the FTC's online complain form at www.ftc.gov .
  
• You can also call 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357) to file a complaint or to receive free information on consumer issues.
  
• You may also want to send a copy of the e-mail to your ISP. The email address is usually abuse@yourispname.com or postmaster@yourispname.com

Other tips on how to gain control of your email inbox:

• Avoid posting your e-mail address in public places such as websites or chatrooms. Many spammers have programs that search through webpages to identify and collect e-mail addresses. In addition, when choosing an e-mail address, avoid using obvious words such as your first name or last name. You should intersperse your address with numbers.
  
• When a company asks you for your e-mail address, especially mail-order companies, ensure that your e-mail address will not be sold.
  
• Be cautious about responding to a spammer's e-mail or clicking on the "opt-out" option at the bottom of the e-mail. While some "opt-out" buttons will remove you from the sender's list, in many cases your attempts to opt-out will actually end up confirming that your e-mail address is active. In other cases, you will find out that the spammer has not used a legitimate e-mail address and your message will be returned to you. If a "remove me" request is not honored, you can fill out the FTC's online complaint form at http://www.ftc.gov/ and your complaint will be made available to hundreds of law enforcement and consumer protection agencies.
  
• Most e-mail servers will allow you to set up filters. Some service providers simply allow you to click on a "block address" link next to the sender's name, thereby prohibiting the sender from sending future mail to you. Other e-mail services will allow you to set up filters so that they automatically delete certain e-mails coming into your inbox. For example, you can set up filters that stop e-mails from certain senders or with subject lines like "low mortgage rates" or "best offer." You should look at your server's "Help" option to find out how to do this.
  
• If you find a message especially offensive, or if it seems to present a fraudulent offer, you may file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on their website, https://rn.ftc.gov/dod/wsolcq$.startup?Z_ORG_CODE=PU01 or by forwarding the e-mail to uce@ftc.gov.
  

Controlling Telemarketers

At one time or another, most people have had a dinner or an early Saturday morning interrupted by someone trying to sell them something over the telephone. It is estimated that the telemarketing industry is a $720 billion business and that consumers lose over $40 billion a year to fraudulent telemarketers.

In September 2003, the Senate passed and the President signed into law the Do-Not-Call-Registry Act (P.L.108-82), which grants the FTC the authority to implement and enforce a federal Do-Not-Call registry . Since then, the FCC and FTC have joined together to create the national Do-Not-Call list, a free and easy way for consumers to opt not to receive telemarketing calls at home . Below is some information on how to sign up for the registry and other tips on how to reduce unwanted telemarketing calls.

How to Register Your Phone Number on the Do-Not-Call List:

• To register your phone number on the National Do-Not-Call registry, you can go to the "Do Not Call" website at www.donotcall.gov or call 1-888-382-1222 from the phone number you wish to register. Telemarketers will be required to search the registry and honor the wishes of consumers who don't want to be called. Registration is good for five years, at which point you can register your phone number again. The Do-Not-Call registry applies to all telemarketing companies, excluding non-profit organizations, organizations that you have established a business relationship with, and non-commercial calls.
  
• On April 17, 2003, the Michigan Public Service Commission adopted the FTC's national Do-Not-Call registry as the state Do-Not-Call list. When you register for the national Do-Not-Call registry, you are automatically signed up for Michigan's Do-Not-Call list.

How to File a Complaint:

• If you are registered (for at least 90 days) and receive a commercial telemarketing call, you can file a federal complaint with the FTC at https://www.donotcall.gov/Complain/ComplainCheck.aspx or call 1-888-382-1222. You must provide the number that is registered, the date of the call, and either the name or the phone number of the company that has called you.
• You may also file a complaint with the FCC by e-mail at donotcall@fcc.gov , telephone at 1-888-CALL-FCC (1-888-225-5322) voice or 1-888-TELL-FCC (1-888-835-5322) TTY.
• You can also file a state complaint with Michigan's Attorney General. For more information on how to file a state complaint, see http://www.michigan.gov/ag/0,1607,7-164-17331-74753--,00.html or call 1-877-765-8388.
• In addition to violations of the Do-Not-Call registry, you may also file a complaint with the FCC against a telemarketer who calls for commercial purposes if the telemarketer:

• Calls before 8 AM or after 9 PM.
• Leaves a message but fails to leave a phone number or address at which they can be reached.
• Calls from an organization with whom you have previously requested not to call.
• Fails to identify itself.
• Calls with a pre-recorded commercial message from someone whom you do not have an established business relationship and to whom you have not given permission to call you.