# How do I stop getting preapproved credit offers for a previous tenant? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 27, 2012, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-stop-getting-preapproved-credit-offers-for-a-previous-tenant/636008 "2012-09-27T12:47:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-stop-getting-preapproved-credit-offers-for-a-previous-tenant/636008/21 "2012-09-28T06:43:23Z")
There’s actually a [Do Not Mail list](http://www.directmail.com/directory/mail_preference/Default.aspx). It probably wouldn’t hurt to get on it. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-stop-getting-preapproved-credit-offers-for-a-previous-tenant/636008/22 "2012-09-28T07:10:59Z")
> [@schmojoe376](#): > > I was also told by a mail carrier that anything marked as presorted standard mail is considered junk and that I am allowed to recycle it/throw it away. Is this true? Seems to me a mail carrier is a better source on this than most of us here. > [@njtt](#): > > What is the big deal? Don’t you have a waste paper basket? > > I get loads of this sort of stuff too, along with other junk mail. That is how I solve it. It takes a few seconds per day. > [@schmojoe376](#): > > Am I legally allowed to do this? It’s not addressed to me or “current resident.” If you’re still not sure, take a minute to call 1-800-ASK-USPS. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-stop-getting-preapproved-credit-offers-for-a-previous-tenant/636008/23 "2012-09-28T07:23:49Z")
> [@biqu](#): > > I opened the thread to suggest exactly this, but **slaphead** ’s last sentence reminded me that it’s technically illegal to open mail addressed to someone else. Is it really still “mail” that only a specific person can open once it’s been properly delivered? ETA: Apparently, courts disagree as to whether taking misaddressed (but correctly delivered) mail is theft of mail: > **[Google Scholar](https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=17811917603889300733&hl=en&as_sdt=400002&as_vis=1&kqfp=16416556292721133715&kql=180&kqpfp=13756658536134008829)** > [@](#): > > The Third and Fifth Circuits have ruled that § 1708 covers misdelivered, but not misaddressed, mail, on the theory that the authority of the Postal Service ends once the letter has been delivered to the address on the envelope. > [@](#): > > The Ninth Circuit has ruled that § 1708 covers misdelivered mail, but covers misaddressed mail only if a change of address form has been filed with the Postal Service by the intended recipient of the mail. > [@](#): > > Finally, the Seventh and Tenth Circuits have ruled, and the First Circuit has implicitly concluded, that § 1708 extends to both misdelivered and misaddressed mail. ---
**Author:** ![schmojoe376](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3bc359/32.png) [@schmojoe376](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/schmojoe376)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-stop-getting-preapproved-credit-offers-for-a-previous-tenant/636008/24 "2012-09-28T07:32:28Z")
> [@Gary\_T](#): > > Seems to me a mail carrier is a better source on this than most of us here. > If you’re still not sure, take a minute to call 1-800-ASK-USPS. Oh, I already did. Multiple times. The woman refused to admit that presorted standard mail is junk mail (even though both the internet and mail carriers have told me). I asked her if she won’t say it’s junk mail because corporations pay the USPS hefty amounts of money for the “right” to deliver this junk. She said she can’t answer that question. I hung up in disgust. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-stop-getting-preapproved-credit-offers-for-a-previous-tenant/636008/25 "2012-09-28T11:07:21Z")
> [@schmojoe376](#): > > Am I legally allowed to do this? It’s not addressed to me or “current resident.” Technically? I don’t know. But do you seriously think the misaddressed mail police will be coming round to clap you (and just about every other recently moved person in the country) in jail? Get real. You have already done due diligence and gone above and beyond the call of duty with this. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-stop-getting-preapproved-credit-offers-for-a-previous-tenant/636008/26 "2012-09-28T11:45:37Z")
I started a thread about this a while back. We still receive all sorts of mail addressed to my gf’s ex husband. We have no forwarding address and no desire to do him well. I began opening them up and sending replies in the postage paid envelopes informing the sender that poor William was deceased. It seems to be working. If the mail police ever imprison me it will be worth it. Sample of one such reply (to the dude’s Alma Mater): > [@](#): > > To whom it may consern, It pains me to have to tell you that William has past on to be at the bosom of Jesus Christ, our lord and savyor. These mails you send bring the widow grief. Please consider her fillings. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-stop-getting-preapproved-credit-offers-for-a-previous-tenant/636008/27 "2012-09-28T13:09:57Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I started a thread about this a while back. We still receive all sorts of mail addressed to my gf’s ex husband. We have no forwarding address and no desire to do him well. > > I began opening them up and sending replies in the postage paid envelopes informing the sender that poor William was deceased. It seems to be working. > > If the mail police ever imprison me it will be worth it. > > Sample of one such reply (to the dude’s Alma Mater): > > > [@](#): > > > > To whom it may consern, It pains me to have to tell you that William has past on to be at the bosom of Jesus Christ, our lord and savyor. These mails you send bring the widow grief. Please consider her fillings. your gf has bad teeth? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-stop-getting-preapproved-credit-offers-for-a-previous-tenant/636008/28 "2012-09-28T14:23:02Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > your gf has bad teeth? Woosh?You?Me? I was going for an uneducated person’s dialect writing “feelings”.😃 ---
**Author:** ![SmellMyWort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SmellMyWort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmellMyWort)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-stop-getting-preapproved-credit-offers-for-a-previous-tenant/636008/29 "2012-09-28T14:41:18Z")
Honestly I wonder about the mental health of someone who is at his “wits end” about a bunch of junk mail. Just throw it away like the millions of other people who get junk mail addressed to a past resident. ---
**Author:** ![GiantRat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@GiantRat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GiantRat)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-stop-getting-preapproved-credit-offers-for-a-previous-tenant/636008/30 "2012-09-28T14:54:32Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > There’s actually a [Do Not Mail list](http://www.directmail.com/directory/mail_preference/Default.aspx). It probably wouldn’t hurt to get on it. Nice thought, and great if it works. But this is a commercial, self-described “direct marketing” company. So… pardon me if it I think it sounds a little odd to give a direct marketer my current contact information to avoid getting direct marketing sent my way… That said, I did verify that the BBB (at least in Maryland) has an A+ rating for them. Since I have a big-assed recycling bin right next to the mailbox, I signed up. Just to see what happens. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-stop-getting-preapproved-credit-offers-for-a-previous-tenant/636008/31 "2012-09-28T22:49:23Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > Whatever. Either way, you’re not sticking the business with the costs. What are you talking about? Yes, you are. That’s what my link says. The business, which is paying for the business reply mail, has to pay for each reply sent. ---
**Author:** ![Cymy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@Cymy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cymy)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2012, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-stop-getting-preapproved-credit-offers-for-a-previous-tenant/636008/32 "2012-09-30T02:07:08Z")
I had the same problem for years after buying my current home. I finally asked my regular mail carrier what to do, and he told me to write the surnames of all the residents of the home on the inside of the mailbox door so that they would be right-side-up when the door was open. We have often had foster children living with us, so the list is variable. I’ve owned my home since 1999 and have had the same regular carrier that whole time. On Saturdays and when he’s on vacation, we still sometimes get junk mail for the former owners–13 years later! I haven’t found it annoying enough to take up with the Saturday carrier, I just toss it in the trash. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2012, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-stop-getting-preapproved-credit-offers-for-a-previous-tenant/636008/33 "2012-09-30T03:32:04Z")
> [@Emtar\_KronJonDerSohn](#): > > See if you can fit a brick in the envelope. Cecil says [that doesn’t work](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/566/can-i-mail-a-brick-back-to-a-junk-mail-firm-using-the-business-reply-envelope). He also suggests using the enclosed envelope to write back and request being removed from their mailing list - of course, it’s intended to be for mail addressed to **you** … ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2012, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-stop-getting-preapproved-credit-offers-for-a-previous-tenant/636008/34 "2012-09-30T03:38:49Z")
My letter carrier husband just said that if they’re addressed to “(Previous tenant name) or Current Resident”, then you’re stuck. If it’s just addressed to the previous tenant, then your letter carrier is full of shit. They have a bin at the post office designated for undeliverable bulk mail that’s addressed to a particular person (no “or Current Resident” labeling) and it should go in there. If you’re constantly getting mail that’s only addressed to a previous resident, post the names of the current residents on the mailbox, then call your local post office and ask to speak to the delivery supervisor. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2012, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-stop-getting-preapproved-credit-offers-for-a-previous-tenant/636008/35 "2012-10-02T07:55:18Z")
> [@iamthewalrus\_3](#): > > What are you talking about? Yes, you are. > > That’s what my link says. The business, which is paying for the business reply mail, has to pay for each reply sent. No, it says that they have an option to pay for standard replies. Anything that would increase postage wouldn’t be delivered. Hence his statement is correct that adulterating your reply doesn’t cost the company any more money that it would otherwise. If anything, you’re saving them money if the reply doesn’t get sent. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2012, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-stop-getting-preapproved-credit-offers-for-a-previous-tenant/636008/36 "2012-10-02T11:46:25Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > No, it says that they have an option to pay for standard replies. Anything that would increase postage wouldn’t be delivered. Hence his statement is correct that adulterating your reply doesn’t cost the company any more money that it would otherwise. If anything, you’re saving them money if the reply doesn’t get sent. **iamthewalrus(:3=** was not the one advocating mailing a brick. He was stating that reply postage envelopes were not paid for upfront (as **Inner Stickler** first stated), but rather that the act of mailing back a (proper weight) reply envelope would cost the company who received it. ---
**Author:** ![core\_dump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dec6dc/32.png) [@core\_dump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/core_dump)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2012, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-stop-getting-preapproved-credit-offers-for-a-previous-tenant/636008/37 "2012-10-03T05:59:36Z")
For costing the company money, it would be much better to just scan the business reply envelope and then print them off in bulk (as one-sided postcards). Dump a trash bag full of them in your friendly blue box. This does nothing to stop further mailings. For that, socially engineer the SSN out of the previous resident and then do him a favor by opting him out of all prescreened offers. You used to have to do this through each CRA but now there’s a “one call” web site for that; I forget the URL. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2012, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-stop-getting-preapproved-credit-offers-for-a-previous-tenant/636008/38 "2012-10-03T11:40:42Z")
> [@core\_dump](#): > > For costing the company money, it would be much better to just scan the business reply envelope and then print them off in bulk (as one-sided postcards). Dump a trash bag full of them in your friendly blue box. > > This does nothing to stop further mailings. > > For that, socially engineer the SSN out of the previous resident and then do him a favor by opting him out of all prescreened offers. You used to have to do this through each CRA but now there’s a “one call” web site for that; I forget the URL. There’s the tiny problem of the illegality of both of these plans, one should note. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2012, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-stop-getting-preapproved-credit-offers-for-a-previous-tenant/636008/39 "2012-10-03T13:36:34Z")
> [@core\_dump](#): > > For costing the company money, it would be much better to just scan the business reply envelope and then print them off in bulk (as one-sided postcards). Dump a trash bag full of them in your friendly blue box. The problem is that once the Doctor sees them, the situation may become an unchangeable fixed point in time, leaving you stuck with the problem indefinitely. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-stop-getting-preapproved-credit-offers-for-a-previous-tenant/636008.md?page=1)