End mailed follow-up from a car-shopping inquiry
Ask each dealer that received your inquiry to stop printed sales follow-up about it. A request to the dealer is the direct route for that dealer's own mail. A general credit-offer opt-out covers only the offers within its scope, so it is not a substitute.
Work from your inquiry list
- List the dealers and sites where you asked about a car, with dates. Sent emails and form confirmations help.
- Match each mailer to a name on that list.
- Write to each dealer through its own website or a contact you already used. Include the inquiry date and the vehicle you asked about.
- Say what to stop and what to keep, such as email from a dealer you are still talking to.
Mail from names you never contacted
Some mail may come from a company you did not contact. Do not guess how it got your address. Write to it separately, using the name and address on the piece.
A mailed financing or credit offer is not automatically a prescreened offer. The FTC lists a separate opt-out program for prescreened credit and insurance offers. If you cannot tell whether an offer falls under it, you can still ask the sender directly to stop.
Sample inquiry follow-up request
Example for your own use. Replace the bracketed details and review what you share.
Decide on the dealer you may still use
If you are still considering one dealer, choose before writing whether it should switch to email or stop entirely. Then send that dealer a version of the request below that says so.
Official source
Have an unwanted advertisement ready?
Photograph one piece you are authorized to handle, with the sender and full mailing label visible. Review the details before submitting. The first request is free; the sender controls the response.
Try one request free