Effectiveness of 'Opt-Out' Disclosures in Pre-Screened Credit Card Offers

摘要

To gain a better understanding of consumer comprehension of opt-out notices in prescreened credit card solicitations, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) contracted with Synovate (a leading marketing research company) to conduct a mall-intercept study. This report discusses the objectives, methodology, and key findings of the study. The main goal of the study was to compare the effectiveness of the different versions of the opt-out notice in communicating the messages that consumers can opt out of prescreened offers, and how they can do so (i.e., by calling a toll-free number or mailing an opt out request to a consumer reporting agency). A second purpose of the study was to gauge whether additional, ancillary information could be communicated effectively as part of the notice.