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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

mail for old tenants - AIBU to return it to sender.

24 replies

lurkerspeaks · 19/08/2011 14:33

The old tenants moved out 6 weeks ago. I moved in 3 weeks ago.

They didn't leave a forwarding address in the flat or with the rental agency so I have been returning all their mail to sender (I printed out a whole wodge of stickers that basically say 'not known at this address - return to sender')

One of them has just come round to ask for their post. I explained that I have been returning it to the sender. They were pretty upset as apparently some organisations have been getting upset (banks/ credit card companies) about the stuff being returned.

I then explained that they could have set up a royal mail forwarding service (I've did it, it costs 40quid for a year and there was only a very brief set up time required) or left me or the agency their address and stuff would have been forwarded. I have said that I will forward any mail which arrives from now onwards (and she has left their new address which I will print on stickers).

AIBU to think this really wasn't my problem and as an early thirties professional (like myself) she really should have sorted it out and not got cross with me.

They also didn't cancel their utilities accounts / inform the council which has resulted in me having problems opening up accounts/ getting a parking permit which was hassle I didn't need.

OP posts:

Empusa · 19/08/2011 14:34

YANBU!

Totally their fault for not sorting something out!

JambalayaCodfishPie · 19/08/2011 14:40

Their fault, not yours. Impressed with your stickers though - i've just been using a sharpie to scribble and write 'Not known at this address'.

AMumInScotland · 19/08/2011 14:41

YANBU - they should have sorted it out before they moved, one way or another. AT the least they could have asked you to keep it if they hadn't arranged anything else!

DesperatelySeekingSedatives · 19/08/2011 14:48

YANBU It's not your problem they've been disorganised idiots. It's up to them to forward mail and update people as to their new address. Cheeky cow. Her not you.

LolaRennt · 19/08/2011 14:50

yasnbu!

Gonzo33 · 19/08/2011 14:51

YANBU - They are at fault for not being more organised.

EldritchCleavage · 19/08/2011 15:00

Don't commit to forwarding forever-I would be tempted and write to say you will do it for the next however many weeks, but they do need to put a proper forwarding arrangement in place.

RustyBear · 19/08/2011 15:04

I agree, really wouldn't commit to forwarding forever - we got mail for the previous owners for nearly ten years after we moved in here- by which time I knew that the guy who used to live here was dead, and his wife had remarried and moved to Oldham....

microserf · 19/08/2011 20:21

YANBU!!!!! a damn cheek to expect you to hold onto their mail and absolutely their own lazy cheap fault for not setting up a redirection.

i'd personally not commit to forwarding as i've been chased by old tenants for mail "which must have arrived by now" which didn't bloody arrive and they began to imply i was holding onto it... as if i'd want their rubbish cluttering up the mantelpiece!

ChairOfTheBored · 19/08/2011 20:32

Not at all unreasonable! When we bought our house the previous owner hadn't told anyone she was moving, banks, gym, phone companies, none of them.

I bundled it all up and gave it to the estate agent after 3 months. They tried to pass her new address onto me, but I mumbled something about data protection and hot footed it out of there!

Mitmoo · 19/08/2011 20:39

Keep sending it back you are doing the right thing.

AKMD · 19/08/2011 20:58

YANBU, I had this from the old owners of the house we bought last year. They kept coming back every single friggin week for post, despite us telling them that we were returning to the sender. I was not amused, especially as I had newborn DS to look after and resented being disturbed like that. The last straw came when their car got delivered to our house from a recovery yard (I told them to take it away again) and the man turned up the next day in the middle of a feed to ask me to look out for a certain item of post from their insurance company and call him when it arrived, at which point I told him NO and if he or his wife or any other member of their family turned up on our doorstep again I would call the police. I have since binned anything that comes addressed to them and haven't seen them since, thank goodness.

EldritchCleavage · 20/08/2011 06:10

You do need to be careful-AKMD's post reminded me of what happened to my sister.

The old owners of her house turned up months after the sale wanting post. Wouldn't do a re-direction or give her an address. It soon turned out they had done a bit of a moonlit flit to escape debts, so it suited them to keep what was now her house as their postal address.

She refused to get into forwarding post and returned it all to sender.

Acekicker · 20/08/2011 08:16

YANBU - now you have their address, write to them and say you will forward for 3 more weeks which gives them plenty of time to set up a redirection and after that any more mail will be returned to sender.

Also pass their new address onto the rental agency and speak with them about the utilities issues etc.

StealthPolarBear · 20/08/2011 08:27

YANBU - we still get letters from the last people from the DVLA - so presumably their car and van is not taxed and no doubt not insured too

StealthPolarBear · 20/08/2011 08:27

we've been here since 2007

Lara2 · 20/08/2011 10:33

YANBU - they should have sorted it.

We've lived in our house for 14 years and still get the odd bit of mail for the last owners - I just bin it now. Nothing ever looks like bank/money type things.

gorionine · 20/08/2011 10:36

I do the same!
Ther is one company though who does not seem to get the message that their customer does not live here anymore and keeps on sending stuff, last one I received froem them I wrote a "novel" on the enveloppe urging them to amend their data base!

It makes me feel a bit sad when it is cards cards and there is no return address.

StrawberryTot · 20/08/2011 10:45

YANBU - i would have laughed in their face for getting upset, they have had plenty of time to sort it and they left no forwarding adresss. what exactly did they expect you to do?

Thumbwitch · 20/08/2011 10:50

YANBU at all.
People should take responsibility for their own mail - I always set up a mail forwarding service when I move, usually for a year to cover everything.

Stupid people - what did they expect you to do with it??

We have been living in our house here now for nearly 2 years and the previous tenants have been out for nearly 3 - but we still get mail from the mobile phone company for one of them. We've tried return to sender, we've tried talking to the company direct but they won't stop sending shit to us because "the holder of the account has to tell us he's moved". Fuckers.

Helenagrace · 20/08/2011 11:29

YADNBU

We still get mail for the previous owners five years on. They ran an accountancy practice from home and I've had nasty letters from HMRC because their clients haven't filed accounts and CT returns. I had to contact HMRC to ensure they understood that our companies are nothing to do with the previous owners. I routinely open mail for the previous owners now and return it. I know I'm not supposed to open someone else's mail but I also need to protect my companies' reputations. I can't afford to be associated with them.

I would only forward mail if they provided pre-printed stickers and I would make sure that I did it only when I felt like it. There's nothing like getting mail late to make them sort out a redirection or get around to sorting out change of address letters.

ZillionChocolate · 20/08/2011 11:38

I moved in April, notified everyone I could think of and did a 3 month redirect with Royal Mail. When the odd thing turns up, I notify whoever sent it. I've left an address with the new tenants and hope that they will forward anything that's slipped through the net. I accept though that if there's a delay then it's my problem.

The people who's house I've moved into haven't redirected post, given us a forwarding address, haven't told DVLA they've moved so haven't done a very thorough job of updating. We're supposed to drop their post off with the estate agent. I'm building up a big enough pile before I can be bothered.

LittleMissFlustered · 20/08/2011 12:52

Zillion Build a very big pile, put it in one envelope, put on one stamp and post it. The agent has to pay the unpaid postage which might make them rant at the other party:)

roses2 · 20/08/2011 17:21

Tape an argos catalogue to the envelope, mark return to sender and I guarantee you they will never send post again - they'll have to pay the excess postage fee. I did it once years ago to Capital Credit Cards as they were sending junk mail every 2-3 days. It was hilarious!

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