Mailman fails to deliver, becomes local hero

[OhZone]

Mailman fails to deliver, becomes local hero

Source: Los Angeles Times

Overwhelmed by piles of junk mail, 'Mailman Steve' quit bringing it to the people on his North Carolina route. Customers are grateful. The Direct Marketing Assn., however, is not amused.

"Mailman Steve" -- a pudgy, kindly 58-year-old who toiled along a route in a rapidly growing neighborhood here -- was given probation in federal court this week for squirreling away at least seven years' worth of undelivered junk mail, which he had stacked in his garage and buried in his yard.

It should come as no surprise that the U.S. Postal Service did not receive a single complaint from Padgett's customers about missing mail during the years he withheld pizza circulars, oil change discount notices and Chinese menus.

"That 'Mailman Steve' should get a commendation," Doug Kopp, one of hundreds of people who contacted local news media to praise Padgett, said in a call to the paper.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationwo...,0,42692.story
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What do you think of that one, guys? I had one friend who depended on junk mail to fuel his fireplace so he would be pissed but I say F the Direct Mail guys. lulz

[TrumanGrace]

yeah, it's pretty common to withhold junk mail for that reason, people aren't going to complain about not getting it and there's a whole lot of it.

[budthedog]

I need my supermarket circulars, since I don't buy papers, but otherwise I wouldn't mind.

[Hooded_Miracle]

Maybe people should be allowed to block real-world junk mail?

Otherwise, he's the worlds greatest living spam filter. Give him a raise or something, dammit!

[OhZone]

Spam filter. Yeah. Good one.

How about a DO NOT MAIL list for spam/snailmail?

[genderhazard]

I have done work for Post Offices in the past, He commited a federal crime. There are organizations/services you can give your name to that aids in geting you off mass mailing lists. You can contact you local postmaster for more info.

The mailers payed for a service, the postal carrier does not get to choose what they get to deliver.

[TF-Viewer]

Burn the witch!

[OhZone]

Well, genderhazard is right, of course. Damned witch! lulz!

[Hooded_Miracle]

I sense a massive amount of sarcasm. >_>

[elmo]

couldny all the people who praised him make a petition against the fine and stuff?

[TrumanGrace]

Originally Posted by elmo

couldny all the people who praised him make a petition against the fine and stuff?

I don't think a petition will erase penalties for committing a felony really. At the end of the day, GH is right, it was a crime. It's just one that is less likely to be caught because people aren't going to report it often.

[genderhazard]

Originally Posted by OhZone

genderhazard is right,

Originally Posted by TrumanGrace

GH is right,

My life would be soooo much easier if everyone just took that as a given

FYI

Write to the mail preference service (US) or the Mailing preference service (UK). These do-not-mail lists are maintained by the major marketing associations that maintain and distribute the major mailing lists, but they do work. The US mail preference service will charge you one dollar ($1) to add your name to their opt-out list.

Get rid of credit card solicitations in the US, by phoning 1-888-5 OPT OUT (or 1-888-567-8688). It is an automated number. Listen to the options carefully. It's well worth calling -- the opt-out is good for 5 years, or you can request to be permanently removed from their lists. This one phone call tells all four major credit reporting agencies to stop sending credit card offers. You can also make the request (5-year and permanent) using their online form. To stop junk mail from credit card, mortgage, and insurance companies, try going to OptOutPreScreen.com which allows you to remove your name from lists generated by the four major credit bureaus-- Equifax, Innovis, TransUnion, and Experian.

Get the Stop the Junk Mail Kit from the Consumer Research Institute. This kit comes with pre-addressed postcards for you to send to companies that send you those annoying catalogs, wasteful postcards, and unnecessary brochures.

If you do business with a company via mail services, it will put you on its contact list. So the first time you make a transaction (such as placing an order) with that company, ask to be put on its "in-house suppress" or "do not promote" lists. Tell the company not to "rent" or share your name with other companies.

Call your credit card companies and ask them to stop sending you cash advance checks. Even if they come (conveniently) with your bill each month, cash advances usually start accruing interest immediately, so it's not a good idea to use them. If you do receive them and don't plan to use them, you should destroy them.

Call individual catalog companies and ask them to remove you from their mailing lists. Sometimes it will be the same toll-free number that you would call to make an order; sometimes it will be a separate "customer service" number. Look around on the back cover and the order form. Occasionally, the customer service people will ask why you want to be removed. Simply explain that you are not interested in the products offered. Do have the catalog, or at least the mailing label from it handy when you call. Often they will request a tracking number or other code printed there.

Go after individual senders. Some items are sent in such bulk that they go to every resident on a postal route. These are addressed to "Resident," "Our Friends At," or some variant. Your postal carrier cannot, by law, determine what you consider "junk mail". All "resident" mail must be delivered as addressed. You must contact individual mailers to have your address removed from their database. Look around on mailers for return addresses and phone numbers. Here are quick links to some common ones.

America Online: phone 1-800-605-4297.
ADVO (responsible for the blobs of sales circulars and the little card with the missing children): Follow the link. http://www.advo.com/consumersupport.html
Val-Pak coupons: follow the link. http://www.coxtarget.com/mailsuppres...uppressionForm
Publisher's Clearinghouse: phone 1-800-645-9242 or email mailto:service@pchmail.com with your full address and instructions to remove from mailing list.
American Family Sweepstakes: phone 1-800-237-2400.
Pennysaver or Potpurri: phone 1-800-422-4116 and leave a detailed message with the full address, including ZIP code, as it appears on the mailer.

Stop all mail not addressed to you:

If you are getting first class mail for a former resident, you can write Return to Sender/Not at this address on the envelope and drop that envelope right in the mail box.

If you are getting bulk mail for a former resident, you may have to follow the above steps.
Place a sign by your mailbox that reads "No Free Papers":

Free Papers are another form of junk mail that often plagues our front lawns. Many of the people who deliver free papers will simply stop once the resident has placed a sign near their mailbox that that reads "No Free Papers". In the USA, it is illegal for anyone other than the postman to put things in your mail box.