How to Stop Junk Mail in Its Tracks

In addition to the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) services (and several others), there is another little-advertised means of stopping unwanted postal advertisements from reaching your mailbox.

This is the only method of stopping unwanted mail at its source where you do not have to pay money other than postage. And, it is 100 percent effective.

Pursuant to federal law (Title 39 USC § 3008), a postal addressee who receives an unsolicited (or solicited) advertisement offering for sale matter that, in the addressee’s sole discretion, is “erotically arousing or sexually provocative,” may, by completing PS Form 1500, obtain a Prohibitory Order from the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) directing the mailer to refrain from making further mailings to that addressee.

The key phrase is “…in the addressee’s sole discretion…” For example, if a pizza advertisement strikes you as sexually provocative, you can use the Prohibitory Order process to stop the mailings.

Should the mailer (vendor) continue sending mail after receiving the USPS Prohibitory Order, the USPS turns the matter over to the United States Department of Justice for prosecution. The Justice Department is responsible for prosecuting violations of postal related laws.

While the law, the form and the USPS instructions for using the form were originally intended for sexually explicit and provocative mail, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a decision – Rowan vs. U.S. Post Office Department, 397 U.S. 728 (1970) – ruled that the law under Title 39 USC § 4009 (now 39 USC § 3008) includes all unwanted commercial mail. Thus, PS Form 1500 is no longer used just for sexually explicit or provocative mail – although it still reads as such.

Why the USPS or Congress has not changed the law, the form or the instructions to reflect the Supreme Court decision in the past 37 years is a another conundrum that begs to be answered.

Nevertheless, do not be intimidated or confused by the instructions, the form or the law.

If you have been receiving unwanted direct mail advertisements and you no longer want to receive them, simply go to the below website, print out the form and instructions, fill in the form, sign it, and mail it to the U. S. Postal Service at the address shown below.

Shortly (experience indicates about 15 days after USPS receipt of the application), you will receive a letter advising you of the USPS action taken. Do not be confused by the letter’s wording – it all relates to sexual mail that you decided you did not want. Just think of your unwanted advertisements as sexually explicit mail.

Use the below website to obtain PS Form 1500 and the instructions for completion:

http://www.usps.com/forms/_pdf/ps1500.pdf

Action Steps:

1. Open the advertising envelope or wrapper (if there is one), take out all the contents and attach everything, including the envelope or wrapper, to the form. The USPS WILL NOT accept unopened envelopes or wrappers. Put all this into another envelope.

2. Send your PS Form 1500 and material directly to:

Pricing and Classification Service Center
US Postal Service
PO Box 1500
New York NY 10008-1500

You may need a large envelope for this step.

It is not necessary to give the form to your postmaster, as proposed in the USPS instructions as that office will only send it to the above address. Also, there have been reports that some Post Offices do not even know about the form or the process.

3. Mark your calendar about 15 days out from the date you mail your form to USPS. If you do not receive a response by the date you expect to receive it, start squawking. You can start here:

Pricing and Classification Service Center (PCSC)
Tel. 212-330-5300
FAX: 212-330-5330

4. If you don’t get prompt service from PCSC folks, report this directly to the Postmaster General at:

Postmaster General
U.S. Postal Service
475 L’Enfant Plaza, SW
Washington, DC 20260-1000
Tel. 202-268-2020 FAX: 202-268-5211

5. After you receive your copy of the USPS Prohibitory Order, mark your calendar again in accordance with the 30-day period explained in the letter. If, after the 30-day period, you receive mail that appears to have been sent in violation of the prohibitory order, open it and write clearly on the envelope and all its contents a statement that you received it and the date of receipt. For example, “I received this mailpiece on April 5, 2007.” Apply your signature below your statement. Include a photocopy of your prohibitory order, if possible, or a notation of the order number and send the mailpiece to the address noted in paragraph 2., above.

Additional information:

a. The USPS disposes of (translation: throws in trash) all unwanted third class mail – now called “Standard Mail” – that you mark “refused” or “return to sender.” Nearly all advertisements are Standard Mail. So, if it is your desire to help reduce waste, this method is not an option.

b. Use of the DMA opt-out services is somewhat successful, though not all advertisers belong to the DMA. Many nonmembers are the ignoble companies that Americans want to eliminate the most. Moreover, the DMA preference list is a blanket utility, i.e., not selective. “You cannot pick and choose which advertising mail you want to eliminate.” So, if you still want to receive catalogs from companies you have done business with, this is not a good option.

I have used MyJunkTree.com also and found it to be very helpful in stopping my junk mail and how I hear you can stop Charities also on there site.

To stop my junkmail I do something similar to Earth Class, I get it sent overseas! Companies dont like to send advertising overseas! http://www.privatebox.co.nz They seem to do a very good job!

James Calfee,

First, I was receiving AT&T postal mail solicitations addressed to a woman that used to live at my address, but has not lived there for over 3 years. I assume this woman had or has an account with AT&T because I do not have an AT&T account. I called the toll free number on the mailing and asked for the mailings to stop and was told it was taken care of. Instead, I am now receiving mailings to Current Resident at my address. I called the toll free number again and asked for the mailings to stop, but was told I had to provide my phone number. I do not have a land line, and my cell phone is with a different provider, not AT&T. I refused to disclose my cell phone number, so I was asked for my name. I did not provide my name, explaining that the solicitations were addressed to Current Resident. I was told by the AT&T representative that they could not stop the mailings without either a phone number or a name. I asked to speak to supervisor and was told that they were all in a meeting (sounded like a lie to me) and that if I gave my phone number they would call me back. Again, I am not comfortable disclosing my cell phone number, so I ended the call.

I did several hours of digging on the internet looking for answers and advice. I searched through the privacy policy at AT&T.com and ended up calling this number: 1-800-331-0500. The woman I spoke to gave me two options. I could either submit my information online or write to an Opt Out address. So here’s the info:

https://attdns.acxiom.com/

AT&T Opt Out Request
5565 Glen Ridge Connector
Suite 1230C
Atlanta, GA 30342-4756

I chose to use the online form. You have the option of leaving boxes blank, such as your phone number and email address. I also was able to enter “Current Resident” for the name instead of my name.

It took me 3 phone calls and over an hour of digging on the internet to get this information. Spread the word!