opt-out runaround

or should i say, WAMU opt-out system from h*ll runaround?

Mystery of opt-out system

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Friedman, an artist, is a fierce opter-outer. He opts out of virtually any marketing scheme or mailing list on which his name pops up.

So he called the number of the local branch that was included at the bottom of the bank's letter and demanded to be taken off the branch's mailing list.

"They said they couldn't take me off the list because I'm not a customer," Friedman told me. "They told me to call Washington Mutual's main customer-service line."

So he did, and once again he was told that the bank couldn't opt him out from future mailings because he wasn't a customer.

Friedman said he was told that his only recourse was to contact the Direct Marketing Association, an industry group, and ask to be placed on the association's do-not-contact list. This list, in turn, would be passed along to Washington Mutual.

Trouble is, Friedman already did that. He said he opted out on the association's list six months ago.

"It's just outrageous for this huge institution to get my name and number, and send me offers I don't want, and say that they have no mechanism to remove me from their list," Friedman said. "It's insane."

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