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Dial in, Turn off, Opt out

Posted by JAZZ SHAW, Assistant Editor in Economy, Society.
Jul 15th, 2008 | Comments

If you have a credit rating that’s not absolutely in the tank, you probably receive a regular flood of paper in your mailbox which gushingly declares that you are a wonderful person, trustworthy and responsible, and because of that you have been pre-approved (sound of horns blaring, balloons floating skyward and pigeons being released) for a credit card from their generous organization. These pre-approved, pre-screened or “firm” offers can arrive at a dizzying pace, and they likely wind up in your trash. If you happen to be the more paranoid type, (and remember: just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean that they’re not out to get you) you may even spend the time to shred them all before discarding them.

You may be interested in avoiding all of this by simply stopping the flow, and there seems to be a way you can do this. You can check out optoutprescreen.com or call them at:

1-888-5-OPT-OUT.

By doing this you can make a choice to shut off your credit information from all three major credit reporting services to the companies who send out these offers and, in effect, put a “do not call” tag on your records. You can choose to do this for five years or permanently. Should you, at a future date, become unhappy with your current card and want to shop around, you can use the same site to “opt in” and provide that information to the credit card companies once again.

If you’re worried about the legitimacy of this service, it is endorsed by the Federal Trade Commission. This has been a public service to annoyed junk mail recipients from The Moderate Voice.

e-mail the author: jazzshaw@gmail.com

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Rambie

Thanks Jazz. It's not that my credit rating is all that good but just in principal .

Jazz

Mine was in the mid 700's last time I checked and I swear I must get a minimum of four of these per week. And yes, we're so paranoid that we actually shred them all. That's why I was so thrilled to find out about this service. And it's free!

jdledell

I've been part of OPT Out since it started and it has not slowed the pre-approved credit card offers one bit - I still get at least one/day. There is no penalty for companies not honoring it.

Jazz

Oh, that stinks! Well, I'm giving it a try and will let you know if it seems to be working any better.

thebrowze

I opted-out about two years ago and now almost never receive pre-approved offers for credit cards.

Unfortunately it doesn't keep the bank with which I have a credit card from sending me ridiculous cash advance checks or balance protection plan offers....NO THANKS

Jazz

I can relate, thebrowze. When I got married we had three credit cards. Each of us had a "major" card and we also had a Sears card from when we bought a new clothes dryer and they offered almost 10% off if you signed up for one of their credit cards and charged the appliance. I'm embarrassed to say we had run up a hefty debt on one of the major cards, but we saved up and paid it off. When we did, before we could even cancel it, they had sent us two checks for 5 grand "inviting" us to "use the money" to make our lives better. We ripped them up, but they certainly do try to trick people into getting further into debt.

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