# Dear Chase, Citibank, et al....STOP IT!!!! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 20, 2011, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-chase-citibank-et-al-stop-it/579029 "2011-04-20T01:18:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-chase-citibank-et-al-stop-it/579029/1 "2011-04-20T01:18:20Z")
Back in the day, many moons ago, I held their credit cards. I cancelled these cards. It was nothing against their services. I just felt I had too many credit cards and I wasn’t using their’s. It was nothing personal. Flash forward several years. I get ‘offers’ in the mail. Offers to get a credit card from them again. Some of the offers seem …OK…but I am just not interested. But the offers keep coming. And coming faster and faster. I get three offers from Chase EVERY GODDAMNED WEEK. I wish I was exaggerating, but I’m not. At least 3 times a week, I get an application that already has my name and address on it. Each envelope has at least 3 pieces of paper in it. Is this good business sense? Does this strategy pay? How paper is wasted to do this? I cannot imagine I am the only one. I am one little person in a very big city. There must be tens of thousands of people like me in L.A. alone. Are all of these people being bombarded with envelopes like I am? Am I last guy with decent credit? And even if I filled out the application and got the card, can my business pay for what you have already wasted in paper, ink, envelopes, printing, man hours and delivery costs??? I would think that a computer program would figure out that papering me like this has not been cost effective. I would think they may better suited to hit me, say once a month. And it’s not just Chase. Citibank and USBank are doing it too. Bank of America and Discover keep sending me offers to spend more money and I already have their cards. Seriously, B of A and Disover send me checks in mail every month. I cannot conceive of the amount of paper that has been shoved into my mailbox alone over the last couple of years. There is a bald patch in a rainforest that is growing in a fruitless attempt to get me to spend more money. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-chase-citibank-et-al-stop-it/579029/2 "2011-04-20T01:34:48Z")
Try [opting out](http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre17.shtm). I did it and it cuts these offers way down. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-chase-citibank-et-al-stop-it/579029/3 "2011-04-20T01:58:17Z")
That’s what you get for paying your bills on time. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-chase-citibank-et-al-stop-it/579029/4 "2011-04-20T02:04:26Z")
You can also call BoA and Discover and ask them to stop sending you those checks every month. it may take a month or two for it to take effect, but they’re willing to do it. (Well, Discover is; I don’t have a BoA credit card.) ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-chase-citibank-et-al-stop-it/579029/5 "2011-04-20T03:41:01Z")
Second the suggestion just to call the banks. I did so after I kept getting solicitations for the Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards card from Chase (like twice a week). I was considering just cancelling my membership in the Southwest Airlines frequent flyer program but I called the bank instead. Just use the same toll-free number that’s already in those mailings and politely ask them to stop sending mail. ---
**Author:** ![fluiddruid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fluiddruid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fluiddruid)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-chase-citibank-et-al-stop-it/579029/6 "2011-04-20T04:16:47Z")
> [@Dag\_Otto](#): > > Try [opting out](http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre17.shtm). I did it and it cuts these offers way down. This. Took my credit card offers from about ~3 a day (mostly from Capitol One, though I’ve never used them) to about 1 a week. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-chase-citibank-et-al-stop-it/579029/7 "2011-04-20T05:10:25Z")
I went and opted out via e-mail. I had to enter the ‘word’ to confirm. Only took me 16 tries to get it right. Sheesh. Thanks for the link, though! ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-chase-citibank-et-al-stop-it/579029/8 "2011-04-20T06:02:54Z")
Takes a few weeks for the mailings to stop, but it does work. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-chase-citibank-et-al-stop-it/579029/9 "2011-04-20T06:55:02Z")
I wonder if there’s a way to opt out of all the damned insurance offers I keep getting. Seriously, Geico has sent me enough paper to reprint a Harry Potter book. I must look into this. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-chase-citibank-et-al-stop-it/579029/10 "2011-04-20T07:02:09Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > I wonder if there’s a way to opt out of all the damned insurance offers I keep getting. Seriously, Geico has sent me enough paper to reprint a Harry Potter book. > > I must look into this. A-ha! That link allows you to opt out of insurance offers as well as credit card offers! Permanent opt-out, here I come. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-chase-citibank-et-al-stop-it/579029/11 "2011-04-20T12:38:14Z")
You opt out and you’ll never get the 2 in 1 travel companion with restroom guide and hand wipes. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-chase-citibank-et-al-stop-it/579029/12 "2011-04-20T13:05:19Z")
I had opted out of credit card offers a while ago, but I don’t remember having to mail in anything (which you have to do for permanent opt-out at the link provided). And I don’t remember being able to opt out of insurance offers, so it might have been through some other site. It would be nice to stop getting offers for auto insurance, since I don’t drive. Talk about wasted effort on the part of the insurance companies! ---
**Author:** ![Hbns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hbns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hbns)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-chase-citibank-et-al-stop-it/579029/13 "2011-04-20T14:38:44Z")
Guess I need to opt out. Even after accepting one of the Citi Card solicitations and opening an account, I still get solicitations from them at least once a week. ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2011, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-chase-citibank-et-al-stop-it/579029/14 "2011-04-21T06:40:43Z")
Instead of opting out, you could always use the posted paid envelope, and stick everything back in the envelope that doesn’t have your name or address on it. There is a surprising amount of stuff that you can send right back to the credit card, insurance, or whatever company is bombarding your mailbox. just a thought. Not that I’ve ever done it of course. But it would help out the post office AND if done in a large enough volume, could help save some trees… and ink. ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2011, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-chase-citibank-et-al-stop-it/579029/15 "2011-04-21T12:55:28Z")
I had issues with Bell Canada sending me ads for digital TV. I was getting three envelopes a week. I am on their “Do Not Mail” list as well as their “Do Not Text” and “Do Not Call” lists. They were recently fined $1.3 million because they contracted out to a provider who ignored the “Do Not Call” list. I got the postal mail for their digital TV service to stop when I collected two months worth and sent it to their VP of marketing along with a note saying that as a result of their mail campaign I was never, EVER going to subscribe for their TV service, and for every piece of junk mail I received after a particular date, I would be unsubscribing from one of their services to which I did subscribe. That put a very sudden end to the deluge of mail.