Separate product safety correspondence from an upsell

Sort the mailing before asking for anything

1. Read the mailing for words such as recall, defect, hazard or required action, and note any model, serial or lot details it cites. Compare those details with the product you own. Keep the paper in your private files for now.
2. Find the manufacturer's contact details yourself, from the product packaging, your purchase paperwork or a company website you reach on your own. Do not rely on a phone number or web address printed on the mailing.
3. Ask the manufacturer what this mailing is and whether your product needs any action. Put that question first and the marketing request second.
4. Word the marketing request narrowly: stop promotional and upsell mail, and keep sending any safety or recall notice that applies to your product.
5. Write down the date of your request and the answer. If the answer is unclear, ask again before you set the mailing aside.

Keep the request narrow

The same company may send both promotions and safety information to one address. A request such as stop all mail to me could be read more broadly than you intend. Naming promotional offers as the target, and safety notices as mail you still want, makes your request clear.

This guide cannot tell you whether a particular mailing is a recall. The manufacturer can confirm what it sent. If a notice checks out and asks you to act, follow its instructions, and do not let a pending marketing request delay that. If a mailing uses a recall theme but appears to be fraudulent, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service accepts reports of suspected mail fraud.

Split the pile after you hear back

Once the manufacturer answers, file any confirmed safety mail with your purchase paperwork. For mail it confirmed as promotional, list each other sender still mailing offers and send that sender its own promotion-only request, reusing the wording that worked here.

Official source

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