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Pre-approved credit or insurance offers are considered as welcome relief by most. However, some people are frustrated of these offers and are annoyed beyond limits at the sight of more offers. If you are one of them, you can now stop credit card offers from spilling out of your mailboxes! Amazed, are you! You should not be. Read on to know more about it.

If you are averse to the idea of receiving such offers, as a consumer, you have every right to ‘OPT-OUT', to stop credit card offers and insurance offers. This is a government-mandated right. To enjoy this right, all you need to is state that you do not want these offers sent to you in clear words. Businesses and Companies cannot benefit from this facility.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act of 1970 permitted the credit bureaus to sell your credit history information to credit lending companies. The Act, however, was amended in 1990 with a view to the abrogation of consumer rights. The amended version promises the consumers a fair treatment by empowering them to OPT-OUT of receiving these offers.

What Are You To Do?

Four major consumer credit reporting companies, Equifax, Experian, Innovis and TransUnion are bringing you this facility. Once you Opt-Out, consumer credit reporting companies will no longer be using your credit file information for any pre-approved offers of credit or insurance and hence you will not be receiving any proposals.

If you want your name to be struck off the lists for pre-approved offers of credit or insurance forwarded by these four consumer credit reporting companies, you will have to fill in your personal details in their website links. On receipt of your request and details, your name will be deleted from the list. There is every guarantee for the secrecy, confidentiality of the information you provide, as it will be used for no other purpose except for processing your request. You can place your request to stop credit card offers by dialing 888-5-OPT-OUT (888-567-8688).

When making your request to stop credit card offers, you will have the options of choosing between a 5-year or life-long exclusion from the lists. Post acceptance of your request, you will not be receiving any pre-approved offers from any of these four consumer credit reporting companies. Keep in mind that it can take a few weeks, as the data will have to be updated with all the credit card and insurance companies, before you see the change reflected in your mail.

As for the commercial mailings that are sent to you based on lists from other sources, you can knock the doors, forwarding your request to local merchants, professional and alumni associations as well as companies with which you had some business-relations. The Direct Marketing Association (DMA) that keeps track of consumers who prefer not to receive mail or telephone solicitations might also come to your rescue. You may contact the DMA at their website.

Exclusion or deletion of your name from the pre-approved lists of credit card issuers and insurance providers has nothing to do with your eligibility to apply for or obtain credit or insurance, it only asserts your consumer-right to privacy.