Companies Using Mailing Lists For Credit Cards 'Not Illegal'

Harvard officials said yesterday that there was "nothing illegal" about recent mass mailings of credit card applications to undergraduates whose names were gathered from central mailing lists.

Market Development Corporation, a St. Louis based firm, provided Gulf Oil with a list of Harvard students names, according to a representative of Market Development who asked not to be identified.

Students have also received offers from Sears. Arco and other creditors seeking business. The representative added that the corporation obtains lists of students' names from school directories and then "rents" these lists out for commercial purposes.

"I think students apprecitate the opportunity to get the plastic," Robert E. Overton, President of Gulf Consumer Services Company, said.

According to Daniel Steiner '54, Harvard vice president and general counsel, companies formulating lists of students' names and addresses from the undergraduate directory are not breaking the law.

"It [the directory] is a fairly public document." Steiner added.

Jerold L. Heisler, executive vice president in charge of sales and marketing for Market Development Corporation, said that the corporation has lists of "some three million names of college students" which it "rents" out.

"We try to be selective in terms of whom we will permit to rent these names," Heisler said, adding that he considered the mailing of credit card applications to be a "legitimate practice."

According to Overton, the purpose of the letters and credit card applications which he sent out to students at 115 colleges in Gulf's marketing areas was to provide these students with an opportunity to establish their credit ratings.

Assistant General Counsel Martin Michaelson said that he has not yet had any complaints from students who have received credit card applications from Gulf of from any other company.

"If someone felt that their privacy had been invaded in any way we would be happy to look into it," said Michaelson, who added that currently nothing is being done to keep student name lists from circulating.