Journalist @baltimoresun writer artist runner #amwriting Chaplain PIO #partylikeajournalist

Journalist @baltimoresun writer artist runner #amwriting Chaplain PIO #partylikeajournalist
Journalist @baltimoresun writer artist runner #amwriting Md Troopers Assoc #20 & Westminster Md Fire Dept Chaplain PIO #partylikeajournalist
Showing posts with label Junk mail unwanted catalogs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Junk mail unwanted catalogs. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Toyota #junkmail Customer service #fail


Toyota #junkmail Customer service #fail

Speaking of customer service: For 3-years we have asked Toyota 6 times to remove us from its unwanted #junkmail marketing campaign. #FAIL

Dec. 16, 2015

We are now once again asking Toyota to stop mailing us junk marketing materials. What is the point of mailing stuff to folks who do not want the materials? If it is to annoy an otherwise good customer – it has worked.

As if it were not already well-accepted that going to new car dealerships to be a horrible experience….

Toyota Tampa Permit #2245, 9427 Corporate Lake Drive, Tampa, FL 33634 must be the junk mail capital of the world. Why isn’t there a way to ask the junk mailers to stop?

And anecdotally it has always appeared that Toyota sells personal information to the extended vehicle warranty scammers.

The Maryland Department of Motor Vehicles has said that they do not sell private personal information to marketers – so how do the scammers get the information?

We asked Ford once to not put us into its junk mail marketing campaigns when we had the truck repaired recently for a recall notice and never received any junk mail.

Gee, I guess we will avoid Toyota dealerships in the future. Just saying

We have been registered with the Direct Marketing Association www.dmachoice.org - do not mail list for years – but it certainly does not stop the unscrupulous.

We already avoid buying anything from mail-order catalogs because of the unwanted junk mail catalog problems a purchase creates….

Related – please see: Los Angeles Times: Firm's extended vehicle warranty offer breaks down under scrutiny http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/2015/12/los-angeles-times-firms-extended.html A letter that appears to be from an auto dealer is actually from an out-of-state company selling an expensive contract with a sweeping loophole. March 12, 2013|David Lazarus Los Angeles Times http://articles.latimes.com/2013/mar/12/business/la-fi-lazarus-20130312

Federal Trade Commission: Stopping Unsolicited Mail, Phone Calls, and Email http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0262-stopping-unsolicited-mail-phone-calls-and-email

Direct Marketing Association www.dmachoice.org

Maryland Department of Transportation, Motor Vehicle Administration – Protecting your privacy http://www.mva.maryland.gov/drivers/driving-record-information/driving-record-privacy.htm

Protecting Your Privacy

The Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration Safeguards Your Driving and Vehicle Records

Your Driving and Vehicle Records Are Your Business

As of July 1, 2000, every driving and motor vehicle record in the State of Maryland is closed unless you request, in writing, that your records be open to the public.

Your private records are protected from public scrutiny, thanks to a bill passed by the Maryland General Assembly and signed into law by the Governor. Your records are now automatically closed to the public unless they are requested by the police, an insurance company, a hospital or for another official business purpose.

The Motor Vehicle Administration's (MVA's) computer system works with other national systems (the national Driver Registry, Problem Driver Pointer System, Social Security Administration and Commercial Driver License Information System) to compare data. The MVA uses a firewall to assure the safety of its information and all its data systems and computer programs are safe and secure. Built-in safeguards in the MVA's computer system reduce the risk of identity fraud and protect the security of all transactions.

Now, without written permission from you, no one, except for those groups listed above who need this information for official business purposes, can obtain the following personal information about you from the Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA):


*****

Friday, October 16, 2015

Tired of junk mail – check out the “Drowning in Junk Mail” website


Tired of junk mail – check out the “Drowning in Junk Mail” website: https://drowndinginmail.wordpress.com/

October 16, 2015

In all the years I have worked hard to stop receiving junk mail, I have never seen as informative a website as “Drowning in Junk Mail” - https://drowndinginmail.wordpress.com/

The “Drowning in Junk Mail” latest post, “How to Stop Mail for a Deceased Person
OCTOBER 14, 2015 - https://drowndinginmail.wordpress.com/ is extremely informative. And timely for me since my family just got junk mail from The Nature Conservancy to a family member that passed away years ago. It made me very sad.

AARP has a great check list of things to do when someone dies. I am going to expand on the section about what to do with a deceased person’s mail….”

Two other recent posts from which I got a great deal of value are found here: Drowning in Junk Mail – How to Opt-out of Junk Mail Using a DMA Ethics Complaint - JANUARY 23, 2015: https://drowndinginmail.wordpress.com/2015/01/23/drowning-in-junk-mail-how-to-opt-out-of-junk-mail-using-a-dma-ethics-complaint/

And here: Drowning in Junk Mail – How to Opt-out of Junk Mail and Phone Calls from InfoCision - FEBRUARY 4, 2015: https://drowndinginmail.wordpress.com/tag/nature-conservancy/

In the years I have worked hard to stop the volume of junk mail I receive from marketers, charities and scams, I cannot recall finding a more informative website.

Fortunately, years into the fray, I have to realize that there is no silver bullet and that it is a never-ending fray and one needs to be constantly vigilant.

I truly believe in my heart that there is a special place in hell for the direct mail junk mail marketers.

DMA ethics guidelines:



They can send complaints to non-members, but they cannot guarantee that the non-member will stop sending mail.

There are a couple of ways to file a complaint with the Ethics Board at the DMA:

The best way is to fill out the online form, you can upload photos and emails.

Or you can go old school and mail in an example of the junk mail and a complaint letter to:
Direct Marketing Association
Corporate & Social Responsibility (CSR) Department
1615 L St. NW Suite 1100

Washington, DC 20036-5624
*****

Wednesday, April 08, 2015

Why Retailers Ask for Your ZIP Code By ANN CARRNS APRIL 1, 2013


Why Retailers Ask for Your ZIP Code By ANN CARRNS APRIL 1, 2013


I usually dread shopping in stores. Trying on clothes is tedious, and sometimes completing the actual purchase is, too. Retailers like to ask for all sorts of information as they’re ringing up your merchandise, like your e-mail address and ZIP code. I just want to pay and be on my way, and they give me the third degree.

[…]

The result can be unwanted catalogs and other junk mail. (To get a simple idea of the cumulative impact of each tidbit of information, try searching for your name alone on Google search, and then search again using your name and ZIP code, and see how much more data comes back. If you have an uncommon name — as I do — it’s eye opening.)

In March, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that collecting ZIP codes for credit card purchases violates a state consumer protection law… http://bucks.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/01/why-retailers-ask-for-your-zip-code/?_r=1

Why Retailers Ask for Your ZIP Code By ANN CARRNS APRIL 1, 2013 Why Retailers Ask for Your ZIP Code By ANN CARRNS APRIL 1, 2013 http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/2015/04/why-retailers-ask-for-your-zip-code-by.html
*****

Monday, March 10, 2014

Ten States (Including Maryland) With the Most Fraud Complaints By Thomas C. Frohlich

Ten States With the Most Fraud Complaints By Thomas C. Frohlich
Fraud and scams cost Americans more than $1.6 billion last year. According to a report from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), there were more than 2 million cases of fraud in 2013, down slightly from the previous year...

Read more: Ten States With the Most Fraud Complaints - 24/7 Wall St. http://247wallst.com/special-report/2014/03/07/ten-states-with-the-most-fraud-complaints/#ixzz2vWwJ0Dz0
Follow us: @247wallst on Twitter | 247wallst on Facebook
[...]
> Complaints per 100,000 population: 667.7
> Total complaints: 39,582 (14th most)
> Identity theft complaints per 100,000: 95.5 (6th most)
> 2007-2012 home value change: -19.3% (7th worst)
There were more than 5,660 reports of identity theft in the state last year, 19% of which were categorized as credit card fraud, a higher proportion than in all but a few states. 
Residents had the highest student loan debt as of the beginning of this year, with $32,470 on average. Credit card debt was also much higher than in most other states, according to Credit Karma. Also, 14% of all fraud and other complaints were made against banks and lenders, the most of any state in the nation last year. The state’s housing market may be making residents more susceptible to fraud. Home values fell by nearly 20% between 2007 and 2012, more than in all but a handful of states. http://247wallst.com/special-report/2014/03/07/ten-states-with-the-most-fraud-complaints/2/
Read more: Ten States With the Most Fraud Complaints - 24/7 Wall St. http://247wallst.com/special-report/2014/03/07/ten-states-with-the-most-fraud-complaints/#ixzz2vWvF87Z3
Follow us: @247wallst on Twitter | 247wallst on Facebook
*****

Friday, March 07, 2014

Associated Publishers Network magazine renewal complaints

Associated Publishers Network magazine renewal complaints

March 7, 2014

Associated Publishers Network
(866) 437-7897
850 S Boulder Hwy Ste 355, Henderson, NV 89015-7564



BBB has received a volume and pattern of complaints regarding billing and collection, delivery, refund or exchange, and sales practice issues.

According to consumer complaints, magazine subscription renewal notices are received from Associated Publishers Network (APN), also know as United Publisher's Clearing House, National Magazine Services, Orbital Publishing, and Publisher's Billing Exchange.

Complainants state they send in payment for renewal of their subscriptions to various magazines, such as Wall Street Journal, The Economist, New Yorker Magazine, and the Times, however, the magazines are not received.

When consumers contact the magazine companies, directly, to check on their subscription they are informed that payment was never received.

Complainants indicate that phone calls and emails sent to APN are generally ignored.

Complainants also state that The Economist, New Yorker Magazine, the Times and Wall Street Journal all claim no affiliation with APN.

APN's typical response states, in part, "Magazine publishers have created the agency sale system for the sale of subscriptions. The publisher contracts with clearinghouses. Under these contracts, the clearinghouse is authorized to sell subscriptions. The clearing house then permits thousands of third parties, such as Associated Publishers Network, to sell subscriptions, which are then "cleared" through the clearinghouse. These third parties have no direct contract with the publisher and their identities are unknown to the publisher.

Offers are sent out periodically and are marketing pieces only. We merely send out offers as stated plainly on each offer and no one is obligated to respond."

Additional responses from APN usually state that it takes 6-12 weeks for delivery.

BBB has informed the company of the volume and pattern of complaints and asked that the company address the issue.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

MSN Money: Is your subscription renewal notice real? By Mitch Lipka


Better Business Bureau issues warning about widespread fake subscription renewal scam after the New York Times and Wall Street Journal complain.

By Mitch Lipka Aug 29, 2013


If you get a subscription renewal, make sure who you're really paying before you send the check out. After getting peppered with complaints from magazine subscribers, and learning of complaints lodged by the publishers of the New York Times and Wall Street Journal, the Better Business Bureau on Thursday issued a warning to consumers about phony subscription renewals.

The BBB is warning about a Nevada-based operation called Associated Publishers Network. The company has generated 112 complaints just in the past year, the BBB said. The complaints are coming from all around the country.

[…]

If you get a renewal notice, check when your subscription really expires by looking at the actual subscription label or contacting the publisher directly. If it is time to renew, do it directly through the publisher or by using a notice directly attached to your magazine.

If you get a fake one, notify the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Federal Trade Commission.



+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Federal Trade Commission
FTC Complaint Assistant

Welcome! Complaints from consumers help us detect patterns of fraud and abuse. The FTC would like to know more about your complaint and the Complaint Assistant will help guide you. To use the Complaint Assistant:

Choose a complaint category on the right. If you can't find a match select "Other". Answer a few questions related to your complaint. Tell us what happened in your own words.


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

U.S. Postal Inspection Service


File a Complaint

Report these issues to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service online:

Mail fraud  (may include scams or deceptive ads via the mail, or postage fraud)
Mail theft (mail you failed to receive but should have, or that you received with the contents missing)
Vandalism to your mail receptacle

If you believe you’re a victim of fraud related to the U.S. Mail, including mailed sweepstakes, lotteries, on-line auctions, work-at-home scams or chain letters, report your concern to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service as mail fraud.

All information is voluntary, but the more you provide, the more likely it is that we can help you. We may share your information with other agencies if it comes under their jurisdiction. See the Privacy Act Statement for more details. This site uses secure methods to transfer data.

The Postal Inspection Service will contact you only if more information is needed. We gather data on mail-related crime to determine whether a violation has occurred. While we can’t guarantee we can recover lost money or items, your information can help alert Postal Inspectors to problem areas and possibly prevent others from being victimized. Inspectors base their investigations on the number, substance and pattern of complaints. We ask you to keep all original documents related to your complaint.

If you would prefer to mail in your report, click here to print a Mail Theft Complaint. If this is an urgent matter, contact your nearest law enforcement agency.

Report problems with mail delivery or service to the U.S. Postal Service.

Mail correspondence to this address:

CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS SERVICE CENTER
ATTN: MAIL FRAUD
433 W HARRISON STREET ROOM 3255
CHICAGO IL  60699-3255
*****

MSN Money: Is your subscription renewal notice real? By Mitch Lipka

MSN Money: Is your subscription renewal notice real? By Mitch Lipka


Better Business Bureau issues warning about widespread fake subscription renewal scam after the New York Times and Wall Street Journal complain.

By Mitch Lipka Aug 29, 2013


If you get a subscription renewal, make sure who you're really paying before you send the check out. After getting peppered with complaints from magazine subscribers, and learning of complaints lodged by the publishers of the New York Times and Wall Street Journal, the Better Business Bureau on Thursday issued a warning to consumers about phony subscription renewals.

The BBB is warning about a Nevada-based operation called Associated Publishers Network. The company has generated 112 complaints just in the past year, the BBB said. The complaints are coming from all around the country.

[…]

If you get a renewal notice, check when your subscription really expires by looking at the actual subscription label or contacting the publisher directly. If it is time to renew, do it directly through the publisher or by using a notice directly attached to your magazine.

If you get a fake one, notify the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Federal Trade Commission.


*****

Thursday, February 20, 2014

INSIDE PITCH — Telephone solicitors want money, not participation by David Maril Voice of Baltimore

INSIDE PITCH — Telephone solicitors want money, not participation by David Maril Voice of Baltimore

+++++++++++++++++++++++

Seinfeld’ gets a phone call:   ‘Hi. Would you be interested in switching over to TMI long-distance service?’ the telemarketer asks. ‘Oh, gee, I can’t talk right now,’ Jerry responds, ‘Why don’t you give me your home number and I’ll call you later?’ To which the telemarketer replies: ‘Well, I’m sorry, we’re not allowed to do that.’ …

Even though it’s a new year and tax deductions for 2013 are history, the phone calls for giving continue to arrive early and often.

It’s gotten to the point where it seems the only reason landline phones have not been completely replaced by smartphones is they are needed to deliver pain-in-the-neck marketing and fund- raising calls.


[…]

“Inside Pitch” is a weekly opinion column written for Voice of Baltimore by David Maril.

CHECK OUT LAST WEEK’S “INSIDE PITCH” COLUMN: click here …and read previous Dave Maril columns by clicking here.

HOW TO DEAL WITH "NUISANCE MARKETING CLOWNS" (TELEMARKETERS) THAT CALL YOU  ON THE PHONE

Learn how Jerry Seinfeld deals with unwanted telephone solicitation calls:  Check out his hilarious response to a telemarketer – and read Dave Maril's "Inside Pitch" column on Voice of Baltimore this week on obnoxious salespeople on the phone --http://voiceofbaltimore.org/archives/11966

See also VoB editorial on Maryland Governor O'Malley and Mayor of Baltimore Rawlings-Blake -- on legalizing marijuana --http://voiceofbaltimore.org/archives/11930


And start your day by reading "Need to Know News" for daily overnight updates -- http://voiceofbaltimore.org/archives/12031
*****

Saturday, January 11, 2014

Do Not Call complaints top list for 2013 | Business | KeysNet

Do Not Call complaints top list for 2013 | Business | KeysNet:



"Gripes about violations of the state's Do Not Call list easily dominated the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services' top complaints for 2013.

The state agency reported Monday that 18,862, or nearly 40 percent, of the 47,226 complaints lodged between Jan. 1 and Dec. 20 involved telemarketers and other telephone sales operators dialing numbers on the Do Not Call list. In second place were 3,626 complaints about telemarketers in general."

Read More: http://www.keysnet.com/2014/01/05/493666/do-not-call-complaints-top-list.html#emlnl=Weekly_Newsletter

'via Blog this'

*****

Monday, September 23, 2013

About.com Larry West: Reduce the Amount of Junk Mail You Receive by 90 Percent

How to Stop Receiving Junk Mail

Reduce the Amount of Junk Mail You Receive by 90 Percent

From Larry West, former About.com Guide

Undated - Retrieved September 23, 2013


If you’re interested in living a more eco-friendly lifestyle, here’s something you can do that will help protect the environment and preserve your sanity: reduce the amount of junk mail you receive by 90 percent.

According to information from sources such as the Center for a New American Dream (CNAD)—a Maryland-based nonprofit organization that helps people consume responsibly to protect the environment, enhance quality of life, and promote social justice—reducing the amount of junk mail you receive will save energy, natural resources, landfill space, tax dollars, and a lot of your personal time. For example:

5.6 million tons of catalogs and other direct mail advertisements end up in U.S. landfills annually.

The average American household receives unsolicited junk mail equal to 1.5 trees every year—more than 100 million trees for all U.S. households combined.

44 percent of junk mail is thrown away unopened, but only half that much junk mail (22 percent) is recycled.

Americans pay $370 million annually to dispose of junk mail that doesn’t get recycled.


On average, Americans spend 8 months opening junk mail in the course of their lives… Read more: http://environment.about.com/od/greenlivingdesign/a/junkmail.htm
*****

Friday, May 24, 2013

Eagle Archives: Standard, aka junk, mail goes back to 19th century http://tinyurl.com/oye7pyo


Eagle Archives: Standard, aka junk, mail goes back to 19th century http://tinyurl.com/oye7pyo


The nation's first countywide free rural postal delivery service got off to a shaky and contested start Dec. 20, 1896, in Carroll County.

According to multiple media accounts, including the Baltimore Sun, "One of the first pick-ups postal clerk Edwin Shriver had on the inaugural day of Carroll County's Rural Free Delivery service was a greased pig…"

"I'm sure he (the customer) did it as a joke," said Shriver. "But I slapped a 42-cent stamp on its rump and delivered it. That pig squealed the whole way."

A little over three years later, Charles Emory Smith, the 39th postmaster general of the United States and a journalist by trade, visited Westminster on April 30, 1900.



If Smith were to come back today, he would find the current state of affairs of the Postal Service look more like that haze produced by the forest fire.
These days, the future beautiful vista at the post office is less than clear, if my last visit there is any indication.

After I opened my box, I let out a squeal much like that of that greased pig in December of 1896. I quickly realized that I had once again fallen prey to the modern scourge upon the postal system that has significantly impacted our lives today, junk mail, or as it is politely referred to by the postal system, "standard mail."


Don't complain about the flood of unsolicited mail. "The Postal Service is hoping to deliver even more," according to an article in the New York Times last September.

"Faced with multibillion-dollar losses and significant declines in first-class mail, the post office is cutting deals with businesses and direct mail marketers to increase the number of sales pitches they send by standard mail…"

Now isn't that just special … Unbelievable… http://tinyurl.com/oye7pyo

*****
Kevin Dayhoff - The Tentacle: Fighting the “Stuff Monster”



++++++++++++++++++ 
Kevin E. Dayhoff June 20, 2012 


There comes a time in a person’s life when one needs to get a fresh supply of trash bags, buy a new heavy-duty paper shredder, back the pick-up truck to the basement door, get out the large party-size coffee maker, and clear the clutter.


For me, periodically fighting the “Stuff Monster” has been a survival tool – or I would have been the tragic-lead character in a serial reality horror show on hoarding a long time ago.

Yet, in my personal journey of a life-long struggle with the “Stuff Monster,” the deck has always been stacked against me.

For, you see, my situation has been exacerbated by the fact that I have been self-employed all my life. Many colleagues have been able to fight the “Stuff Monster” much more easily because all the filing cabinets full of papers and pallets of boxes in records storage, has been the responsibility of their respective employers.

Well, with me – since the late 1960s – I’ve been my own employer and keeping records, documents and stuff has always been my responsibility.

And, of course, for the last 35 or so years, in addition to art and farming, I have continuously served on any number of local, county or state boards, committees or commissions – and for many years, as an elected official – all of which was accompanied by my bringing home papers, documents and records by the wheelbarrow load.

[….]


I am trying to go as paperless as possible.

My paperless initiative is in part, because technology has advanced to the point that I can now handle many office and administrative functions more efficiently - without paper.

However, my reasons for going as paperless as possible are in part, as a matter of practicality. Above and beyond the fact that we travel a lot and are simply not at home to get hardcopy paper-mail at our post office box; at my advanced age, handling mountains of paper day-in and day-out has not gotten any easier.

Curiously, after almost 40-years of office administration, if you hand me a piece of paper, in several hours, I have no clue as to where it is. However, I always seem to be able to find electronic paperwork… Caroline will tell you that I have come to like reading online so much that I scan-in letters and writing-newspaper-research materials just so that I can read it on the computer…

Moreover, a large part of my decision to go paperless is a product of my environmental activism, which in part springs forth from faith beliefs…

Whatever - - I am a geek and although a few electrons may be inconvenienced; paperless is far more efficient…

That said, LOL – the initiative sure has had some interesting moments – and a few profound failures; however, it has been for the most part, quite successful…


Kevin E. Dayhoff June 20, 2012 The Tentacle http://www.thetentacle.com/author.cfm?MyAuthor=41 The mindless meanderings of a mad writer. Click here for a larger image: http://twitpic.com/hnwxx

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Babylon Judd Fluck Family: Welcome home. LOL

Babylon Judd Fluck Family: Welcome home. LOL: Labels:  Dayhoff photos travel ,  Dayhoff Travel ,  US st Florida 2012 Feb   US Postal Service, USPS, USPS junk mail, Junk mail unwa...


Labels:  


And actually this has happened to me several times in the past year. 


Much of - most of what you see in this picture is junk mail, i.e. unsolicited and unwanted marketing and sales fliers and mailers - mostly from the continuing education management industry involved in seminars, conferences, publishing, distance education and digital education products for health care professionals… 


It’s nuts…


SATURDAY, MARCH 3, 2012

Welcome home. LOL

20120302 POBox welcomehome US Postal Service, USPS, USPS junk mail, Junk mail unwanted catalogs,