Unsolicited mailings raise concerns but legit
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A couple of mailings are hitting local mail boxes that have some people raising a red flag. But this time, things are on the up-and-up.
One letter comes in a business sized envelope from a company called Westat. The logo on the letter inside says it's from the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control.
The letter reads, in part: "We are gathering information from adults about health. Your phone number was chosen randomly from phone numbers across the U.S. Westat, a health research company, will call you and identify themselves as calling for the CDC."
Turns out this one is legitimate. A spokesman at the CDC says the letters are advance notice for the annual National Adult Tobacco Survey. Letters are going out to roughly 125,000 people across the country to notify them of an upcoming 15- to 25-minute telephone interview. CDC stresses participation in the survey is voluntary and anonymous.
The letter includes phone number and instructions for any questions or concerns.
The second mailing is from a company that offering cash you for your old gold, silver or platinum jewelry. The packet from Express Cash Gold includes a paid overnight FedEx envelope so you can send your jewelry with insurance protection. Your cash is promised within 24 hours.
Given the numerous warnings about unscrupulous gold buying schemes, the unsolicited aroused the suspicion of the Kent consumer who received it. However, an extensive check for complaints and investigations found no problems reported. The Better Business Bureau gives the company a rating of A+.
I called Express Cash Gold and asked why they're sending these mailings unsolicited. Operations manager Dimitri Kolokouris, the owner's son, told me the company only send packets to customers who request them online.
But Kolokouris said outsiders -- possibly competitors -- use malicious computer programs, also known as "bots" to complete applications on the Express Cash Gold website using the names and addresses of random consumers without their knowledge. This could be one way you can end up getting all sorts of mail from people you've never heard of.
One letter comes in a business sized envelope from a company called Westat. The logo on the letter inside says it's from the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control.
The letter reads, in part: "We are gathering information from adults about health. Your phone number was chosen randomly from phone numbers across the U.S. Westat, a health research company, will call you and identify themselves as calling for the CDC."
Turns out this one is legitimate. A spokesman at the CDC says the letters are advance notice for the annual National Adult Tobacco Survey. Letters are going out to roughly 125,000 people across the country to notify them of an upcoming 15- to 25-minute telephone interview. CDC stresses participation in the survey is voluntary and anonymous.
The letter includes phone number and instructions for any questions or concerns.
The second mailing is from a company that offering cash you for your old gold, silver or platinum jewelry. The packet from Express Cash Gold includes a paid overnight FedEx envelope so you can send your jewelry with insurance protection. Your cash is promised within 24 hours.
Given the numerous warnings about unscrupulous gold buying schemes, the unsolicited aroused the suspicion of the Kent consumer who received it. However, an extensive check for complaints and investigations found no problems reported. The Better Business Bureau gives the company a rating of A+.
I called Express Cash Gold and asked why they're sending these mailings unsolicited. Operations manager Dimitri Kolokouris, the owner's son, told me the company only send packets to customers who request them online.
But Kolokouris said outsiders -- possibly competitors -- use malicious computer programs, also known as "bots" to complete applications on the Express Cash Gold website using the names and addresses of random consumers without their knowledge. This could be one way you can end up getting all sorts of mail from people you've never heard of.
I got a call just last night from some company saying "your credit card has been approved". Since I just complete a bankruptcy (due to medical bills; I was over $250,000 in debt), I was rather surprised. I have not owned a credit card for 10 years, and have not applied for one, so I started asking questions - he hemmed & hawed, said that it was not necessarily a credit card, that it may have been some other sort of credit I had applied for. I assured him I had not applied for ANY sort of credit in a number of years. I asked him who was the company issuing the credit, he would not/could not give me a name. I said "no" and hung up on him.
 @LocalLady Actually...you are a perfect person to extend credit to and they (credit card companies and such) know it....you can't file bankruptcy again for like 7 or 11 years (can't remember) and they know you'll take crappy terms just to have a credit card.....
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Play it smart. :)
Simple. Shred. Hang up.
The BBB is no longer the bastion of honest, quality businesses it used to be. Many businesses have had poor ratings and a substantial history of unresolved complaints.
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After paying to join BBB, history of complaints magically vanishes and rating skyrockets.Â
If they happen to call me it will be one quick phone call. This having their nose in everyone's business is rediculous.
I've discovered a pretty simple way to discourage junk mail. Â Whenever I get a piece that has a business reply envelope for the response device, I simply return it with a polite request to delete me from their mailing list. Â Since most direct mailers get their lists from other mailers, the word gets around and the mailers are paying for it. Â The result is that I get very little junk mail.
 @Cetus We've done that for awhile also. I would happily stuff those expensive Fed-Ex delivery envelopes with all of the crap mail they unload on us unsolicited, and send those off to the vultures that go after people's gold and other valuables.Â
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Oh, and lots of rocks to really up the weight, of course!Â
 @margegunderson:Â
Or, how about instead of rocks, a bunch fo Fools Gold?
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;o)
Sorry people but you should be able to figure these things out on your own.
Time to allow the people to opt-out of junk mailings. Let the post office send them back to the sender and bill the sender for the aditional cost. We need to put a lot more teeth in the pot-out phone list also!!
 @bustedupredneck You're on the right track, but anything invading our personal space should be opt-in, not opt-out.
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Instead of being forced to chase them down and document countless requests to stop calling, mailing, e-mailing, texting, etc. their annoying spam, let the onus be on them to get permission and find out who doesn't want their crap so they can leave the rest of us alone.
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They actually use the fact that almost NOBODY would willing receive their worthless crap as justification to send it against our wishes!Â
 @bustedupredneck Would be nice.  I've managed to get ride of everything except the local grocery store spam which goes right from the mail box to the trash.