When do you stop re-directing previous owners mail?

[Newbarnsleygirl]

We have been in this house for nearly 10 months and the previous owners have been gone over a year but we are still getting heaps of their mail.

I've stopped re-directing it now but I still feel a bit guilty for not doing it.

What has everyone else done?

[Janh]

Not your problem at all, NBG.

If you can't bring yourself to bin it, stick it in a drawer somewhere and they can come and ask for it (or pay the PO to redirect, tight gits.)

[MarsLady]

return to sender or bin!

That's it really. If they've been gone over a year then it's time to stop, besides they could have organised for RM to redirect their post if they were concerned about it. Maybe they didn't want to spend the cash. Your responsibility is over!

[Tinker]

I still get some after 12 years! Chuck it in the bin now. I'd give them 12 months, I think - to get birthdays etc out of teh way. Then, bin it. But think you woudl be ok to just give them about 3 months to get their act together.

[Surfermum]

After this long, if it was anything that looked personal, like a birthday card, I would forward it, but anything else I would return to the sender.

[Tinker]

I open it now. Think that's definitely illegal

[Newbarnsleygirl]

Well they've been gone since April last year so you would have thought they'd sorted everything out by now.

[elliott]

I don't see how it can be illegal to open or bin a letter sent to your address. But if you want to stop the flow of mail, you'll have to return to sender with 'not known here' on the envelope.
Personally I think a year is plenty of time - unless something looks particularly personal or of interest.

[expatinscotland]

the last two tenants in this place had horrid credit. we keep getting red letters and bailiff threats. i have a form letter i print out to respond to all of them to let them know this is a rental and the address of the landlord. never hear from them again!

[Newbarnsleygirl]

We had that problem in our last house, expat.

We even found letters, court summons and documents under the carpet in our bedroom!

[expatinscotland]

Yes, NBG, we've had court summons as well for these people. The lassie hasn't paid on her £15,000 of student loan debt. I sent a letter via registered post for that one. We've lived here a year and the place was vacant when i viewed it a month before we moved in, so it must have been a while since she bailed.

The other skivers have a very Spanish sounding name and bailed on silly little debts like £100 here, £50 there.

We even had a bailiff come to teh door once! I showed him my ID and tenancy agreement. He was really apologetic.

[Furball]

if you register With MPS (mailing preference service) you can a) either just take off previous owners details not to get junk mail or b) do your address so nobody gets any junk mail either you or the previous. - I know which I'd go for! Takes a month or so to actually kick into action, but stops all the cr@p comming through.

[nutcracker]

I chuck it in the bin, once i have opened and read it.

I only open it so I know when there is a baliff likely to be knocking the door. Did ring a couple to explain that the person doesn't live here but the wanted me to prove who I was and send them one of my utility bills.

The pervious tennants obviously still have everything down as this address because the woman got sent 3 parking fines last week, all given the week before.

You would think though that Sky and BT would realise that seeing as I am their customer at this address that the old person no longer lived here.

[Gwenick]

We have been in this house for nearly 10 months and the previous owners have been gone over a year but we are still getting heaps of their mail.



Is that all - the people that owned the house BEFORE the people we bought it from moved out 4yrs ago we STILL get post for them (even had the cops turn up looking for them a few weeks ago!)

We chuck most of it, except for thing like holiday brochures which we keep as they could come in useful.

Oh and DH always opens 'obvious' junk to have a look to see how they've designed it LOL

[MrsBubsDeVere]

We have been here 8 years now and STILL get mail for them, we now just throw it in the bin without opening it.

[nutcracker]

Yeah we get the police here too. You really would think they would know that they aren't here though, i mean they were present when they were all evcited.

[Gwenick]

The couple that they were looking for where a middle aged couple!!

[expatinscotland]

The bailiff felt pretty badly when he asked for Tom Donaldson and an American woman answered the door. 'Do I LOOK like Tom Donaldson?'

[CliqueMeister]

after about a year I actually opened a couple of letters .. most of it was just junk mail so I started writing 'return to sender and remove from database' on envelope and sending it back .. much less over the subsequent year

[Furball]

expatinscotland - I get that on the phone with wrong numbers. I always say 'Do I sound like I could be XXXX' blimey!

[Newbarnsleygirl]

I've just registered with MPS.

Thanks for the link Furball.

[bibiboo]

We forwarded mail monthly for 6 months at our own expense, and then put a note in the last lot saying that if they wanted us tpo forwrard any more, they could send us stamped addressed envelopes. They never did, so we bin it. They never even said thanks for posting it to them for 6 months in the first place!

[mytwopenceworth]

i never did, just wrote on envelopes 'not known at this address' and put it in postbox. I thought that was what you are supposed to do with misaddressed mail, cos royal mail have forwarding facility and people surely inform folks when they change address so i just presumed anything still coming thru my door was junk.

[Twiglett]

Bibiboo you don't have to pay for forwarding mail though

you just write the new address on the envelope and pop it back in the post and they redeliver it for free