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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To think this a cheeky request?

19 replies

CailinDana · 05/10/2011 10:06

We recently moved into a new house, and as usual we keep getting post intended for previous owners/tenants. We got a note in the door the other day saying "Any post for X or Y please call [phone number]. Thanks" I have absolutely no intention of doing this. If they're too lazy to set up a redirect or to change their address with companies then I'm certainly not providing a free mail service for them.

AIBU?

OP posts:

aldiwhore · 05/10/2011 10:08

Well YABU as when we redirected mail, some still was sent to our old address. I'd do it for a reasonable time, phone the number, and say that you'll do this once a month IF there's any mail, but after 6 months you expect them to have got redirection sorted and any other bits addressed correctly.

Erica1001 · 05/10/2011 10:08

Do what we did just pit a line through address covering postcode and street say no longer at this address and put back in post box. Took about 2 months but don't get it any more

Shutupanddrive · 05/10/2011 10:09

Reverse the charges when you ring them?

Original poster

CailinDana · 05/10/2011 10:10

What I do at the moment is write "not known at this address RTS" and put it back in the post. I basically don't want to have to hang onto a load of other people's post and arrange for them to collect it. Is that mean of me?

OP posts:

chilipeppers · 05/10/2011 10:11

How cheeky! Your not being unreasonable at all i would feel the same way.

bowerbird · 05/10/2011 10:35

Unfortunately, the post office's redirect service allows a lot of post to slip through the cracks. This happened to me a couple of years ago, and was so grateful that the neighbour was nice enough to inform me and pass on the post (one letter I would have been devastated to miss). No of course, you don't have to do it, but it would be a very kind and thoughtful thing to do, and it wouldn't take up a lot of your time or energy. Why not store up a bit of good karma?

HecateGoddessOfTheNight · 05/10/2011 10:39

I certainly wouldn't bloody ring them every time they got a letter!

I might ring them and say that if they wanted their mail, they should give me their address and I will forward it to them, otherwise it will go back "return to sender"

GrimmaTheNome · 05/10/2011 10:41

I think they are BU if they've not set up redirection at all, but that YABU if you won't deal with a few mails. The redirection service isn't perfect, and it can be quite hard to remember every company who might need to write to you or there may be individuals whose addresses you don't have.

feedthegoat · 05/10/2011 10:44

I would happily pass it on for 2 or 3 weeks to allow them time to inform everyone but no longer.

It is nothing to do with the fact that I can't be bothered, but sadly I have seen the hassle people can be left with by bad debtors who scarper without a word. If you redirect mail long term, companies have no way of being aware they are no longer there and may quite reasonably send bailiffs round. Sounds extreme but unfortunately it does happen.

PelvicFloorOfAAAAARGHSteel · 05/10/2011 10:46

Business stuff I would RTS, most of it is probably junk anyway. Anything which looks personal I'd forward on but I'm not sure I could be bothered with phoning, arranging for them to collect, etc. It seems a little strange they've not left a forwarding address.

WhereYouLeftIt · 05/10/2011 11:07

I would probably call them once and ask if they have a redirection set up.

If they did, I'd ask for their current address and agree to forward anything that the Post Office missed for a month, and warn them that after that I would Return To Sender it. That gives them plenty of time to get their new address on file with anyone sending them stuff. I would NOT phone them again, I am not a concierge service.

If they did not have a redirection in place, I'd tell them to get one set up now, because I'm going to Return To Sender everything that comes through my door.

slavetofilofax · 05/10/2011 11:19

It depends what they were like when they moved out as to whether I'd bother.

When I moved into my last house, the previous owners had done a good job of cleaning the house and had left me a bunch of flowers and a 'welcome to your new home' card. They had a redirection service, but anything that got missed I put in a big envelope and dropped round to them, as they didn't move far away.

When I moved out of that house and into the one I'm in now, I left the same sort of thing for the new owners, and they in turn happliy brought post round to me, because again I didn't move far.

The people who lived in this house before me were tennants, left the place a mess, and gave no forwarding address (although my neighbours have it) so all their stuff goes in the bin or is RTS.

EricNorthmansMistress · 05/10/2011 11:23

It's a bit mean spirited of you. I think I would text the number and suggest they post you a few SAEs and say you will forward their post if it arrives. You aren't obliged to do this forever - anything you forward will be their responsibility to contact the sender from that point. I suppose they could have worded it more politely though.

scuzy · 05/10/2011 11:26

agree with Eric

whatever happened to just being nice! dont text every day but perhaps ever few days to let the know they have post. whats the big deal? assuming they are in the process of getting it redirected whats a few texts. the more i read MN these days the more i see that the niceness of strangers is a thing of the past.

zipzap · 05/10/2011 11:34

Ring them once to get their address and tell them to sort out redirection etc otherwise you will be returning to sender after the first month or two.

Save up their post for the first month or so and stick it all in a big envelope, send it on to them but make it pay on delivery.

make sure you get an address out of them (if not, call their estate agent or solicitor and see if they have one, start sending their post c/o solicitor and they will soon stop if they get bills on top!)

But as others have said - it's always really useful to have a forwarding address for previous house owners in case anything dodgy comes along and you need to send baliffs on to them. Speaking from experience - we once rented and the landlord sold the house without bothering to tell us and continued to accept our rent, use the address to build up debts etc. Luckily we had the number of his butcher's shop so we could send the bailiffs to him there but it would have been scary if we didn't have any way to prove that we weren't anything to do with him any more!

Original poster

CailinDana · 05/10/2011 11:38

The house was empty when we bought it, as far as we know the people who left the note are the tenants of the previous owner, and they moved out a good few months before we moved in. If that's the case then I'm wondering why their post is still coming here. Also from what I hear they destroyed the house and abandoned their cat and dog (this is according to the next door neighbour) so they definitely didn't clean the place and leave flowers! The house was dirty when we moved in - we're doing the place up so it didn't matter all that much to us.

I wouldn't mind if they'd left a forwarding address, I would have forwarded the mail onto them. It's more the fact that they left a note and expect me to contact them. I do feel a bit mean though. Basically I can't be arsed.

OP posts:

scuzy · 05/10/2011 11:40

oooo... does that last post constitute a drip feed?

OP forward it on or bin it. up to you.

WhereYouLeftIt · 05/10/2011 12:05

If they've moved months ago and mail is still turning up then they haven't been arsed to change their address with the senders. Not your problem.

octopusinabox · 05/10/2011 12:13

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

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