Name change and junk mail

[Princess Jen]

Hello everyone,

I changed my name a few months ago and have had all my IDs, accounts, and documents changed. Now I'm wondering what to do about junk mail, as I just got some in my old name.

Should I contact each entity and try to get them to update the name I have, or have had on file? This seems excessive, especially since I have no interest in what they are selling. :heehee:

Should I write to the Direct Marketing Association to have my old name removed from most common mailing lists? Wait to see if it stops eventually? Or just stop caring about it?

I should note that I'm mostly curious about this as it pertains to living stealth.

[AllieSF]

From what I understand you can ask the Post Office to stop delivering junk mail. It may take a few reminders over time, but that could work. The other thing is that it may be better that they do have the incorrect name. Your real name will get on their list soon enough and then you may start receiving everything twice in both names. By contacting them you would basically be saying "Send me more". Good luck.

[Nicole Erin]

Should I contact each entity and try to get them to update the name I have, or have had on file? This seems excessive, especially since I have no interest in what they are selling. :heehee:


Hell no you shouldn't contact them for ANYthing. You do that and it will just encourage them to keep killing trees to send you pre-approved credit cards from capital one, "Your car warranty is about to expire" letters, and all that other needless BS.
And with going stealth - do not notify anyone of your name change who does not need to know. Trust me, That church that sends out chain letters with a "prayer carpet" and some life insurance company who charges $1 for the first month - they do not need to know your new name. Nor do ANY junk mail peddlers

Also - yeah as you know, it is up to the person who is getting a name change (for any reason) to notify any and all entities.
Funny how they say all your info is out there and companies can get it SO easily, yet they cannot seem to find out about name changes unless we tell them and have proof or notorized court docs.

[kellycan27]

Most junk mail is addressed to John Smith or.... Current resident. Just toss it. Who cares? Who's going to connect you to your old self via junk mail? Who's even going to give junk mail a second thought? Honestly this seems like much ado about nothing.

[Chickhe]

The person with the previous name moved out...

[Rianna Humble]

Some direct marketers do not respond logically to "gone away" returns (they just send even more). The DMA approach could be a way forward, but in that case I would do it in the old name only to preserve the stealth.

[Princess Jen]

Thanks for all the replies! I don't think I'm going to worry about it. :)

[Beth Wilde]

I have found that writing "DECEASED" on the envelopes and returning them cuts down a lot on junk!

[Megan Thomas]

I'd try that with Virgin Media but they address their junk to the "Householder". They are the only company i'm struggling to stop junk mail from. I just send it back to them, figuring if it costs them twice the postage maybe they'll eventually get the message. I have managed to stop junk mail from just about everyone else except the occasional one.

[melissaK]

This thread is funny.

My household has been home to a lot of people over its 20 year existence. Besides our immediate family, we've housed wayward friends as roommates, loaned the address to a half dozen young people who needed a stable address during unstable times entering adulthood (some moving each semester in college, some kicked out by parents, some doing remote military tours), and my wife and I are each divorced with ex's who forwarded their mail to us because it was tied to some asset transferred by divorce. And sometimes mail shows up for melissa. We even get mail for our ex's ex's!! So we periodically gets junk mail for like 20 different people.

We are amused and laugh as we round file it.

[Shapeshiffter]

If it's in my old name it gets shredded.

[Beverley Sims]

Just buy yourself a shredder and file it that way.
Giving a name change will only increase the paper warfare.

[Rianna Humble]

I'd try that with Virgin Media but they address their junk to the "Householder".

There are three main reasons why companies address things to the Householder:

1 They get a special deal from Royal Mail for items to be delivered to every house in a street

2 You can't mark it "Gone away"

3 It gets around the Direct Marketing legislation because it is not being sent to an individual.

[kellycan27]

Why make a mountain out of a mole hill?

[Cheryl T]

If it's junk mail then just read it and recycle it...why worry about it??