ConsumerWatch: Opting Out Of Phone Books

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5) -- In many Bay Area neighborhoods, it's phone book season. New directories are being dropped off at doorsteps and not everyone is happy to see them.

Lloyd Nimetz of the group "Phone Book Free San Francisco" is one of those unhappy recipients. Nimetz has collected more than 1,500 unwanted directories in his garage in the city's Mission district.

"Each of these books is an orphan phone book. It's a vote of no confidence. People are essentially saying 'We do not want these phone books. We consider them wasteful,'" Nimetz explains.

The Yellow Pages Association has a website that is intended to help consumers opt-out of unwanted deliveries.

But Millbrae City Councilwoman Gina Papan says it still needs some work. "I called last year to opt-out and I still ended up with two books at my house," Papan explains.

Phone book publishers acknowledge the site isn't everything it should be. "We're working to make the site as easy to use as possible, but we could certainly improve on it," said Peter Hillan of the Yellow Pages Association. Hillan says an improved version of the site will be up in early 2011.

Last year, California State Senator Leland Yee sponsored a bill that would have given consumers more opportunities to opt-out. Opposed by the phone book industry, it went nowhere. Senator Yee's office says he may introduce the bill again next year.

Publishers of the directories say that despite the growth of online directories, plenty of people still let their fingers do the walking. Peter Hillan of the Yellow Pages Association contends 8 out of 10 Californians still use phone books, a figure Nimetz disputes.

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