Why You Should Opt Out of Credit Card Offers
Emma Martin
April 30, 2008
While the constant junk mail from the credit card companies may seem like little more than a nuisance, there's plenty of good reasons to put an end to the solicitations and opt out of getting credit card offers. So let's take a look at why you should bother getting yourself off the credit card junk mail merry-go-round.
1. Help prevent Identity theft
A lot of folks just throw all of their junk mail in the trash as soon as they empty their mailbox. This is fine for the supermarket coupons you get each week, but it really isn't a good idea to just throw out credit card solicitations. You're best off running them through a shredder as this will prevent someone from rifling through your trash and applying for credit cards in your name. Of course, the best protection is to stop the flow of junk mail and stop credit card offers altogether. Then you won't have to worry about shredding mail you didn't even ask to be sent.
2. Cut down on Overspending
If you are one of those people who is prone to overextending yourself with credit cards, new offers in the mail every day aren't going to really help you stay strong and stop spending. The best thing to do is get yourself off the lists and then the temptation to apply for yet another credit card will be markedly reduced.
3. First step to fixing your credit
If you've just gotten copies of your credit bureau reports and you are planning on starting the process of repairing your credit with Experian, Transunion and Equifax, it is a very good idea to make opting out your first step. It won't do anything to your credit reports immmediately, but it may help with your disputes and will keep at least some of the collection agencies at bay if you think a few might come hounding once you start stirring up some new activity on your reports.
So these are just a couple of reasons for opting out of getting credit card offers and because it is now the law that you must be able to opt out easily, it is pretty easy to get it taken care of. Once you've completed the process, it will usually take several weeks as every company updates their info about you, but eventually the junk mail will slow down and then stop.
Be sure to visit Opt Out of Credit Card Offers to find out what you need to do to stop the deluge of junk mail. And once you've opted out, you should also get your free annual credit reports. It's the first step to making sure your credit history is accurate and you'll need it in order to combat any credit problems.
1. Help prevent Identity theft
A lot of folks just throw all of their junk mail in the trash as soon as they empty their mailbox. This is fine for the supermarket coupons you get each week, but it really isn't a good idea to just throw out credit card solicitations. You're best off running them through a shredder as this will prevent someone from rifling through your trash and applying for credit cards in your name. Of course, the best protection is to stop the flow of junk mail and stop credit card offers altogether. Then you won't have to worry about shredding mail you didn't even ask to be sent.
2. Cut down on Overspending
If you are one of those people who is prone to overextending yourself with credit cards, new offers in the mail every day aren't going to really help you stay strong and stop spending. The best thing to do is get yourself off the lists and then the temptation to apply for yet another credit card will be markedly reduced.
3. First step to fixing your credit
If you've just gotten copies of your credit bureau reports and you are planning on starting the process of repairing your credit with Experian, Transunion and Equifax, it is a very good idea to make opting out your first step. It won't do anything to your credit reports immmediately, but it may help with your disputes and will keep at least some of the collection agencies at bay if you think a few might come hounding once you start stirring up some new activity on your reports.
So these are just a couple of reasons for opting out of getting credit card offers and because it is now the law that you must be able to opt out easily, it is pretty easy to get it taken care of. Once you've completed the process, it will usually take several weeks as every company updates their info about you, but eventually the junk mail will slow down and then stop.
Be sure to visit Opt Out of Credit Card Offers to find out what you need to do to stop the deluge of junk mail. And once you've opted out, you should also get your free annual credit reports. It's the first step to making sure your credit history is accurate and you'll need it in order to combat any credit problems.
Print
Email
