Neighbour keeps opening my post?

[pollysproggle]

I lived in a rented house for a year then the landlord wanted us out. Unforeseen circumstances which meant they needed to live there.
We were in a bit of a fix but fortunately for us the house two doors down became available to rent so we moved in there. Leaving a big gap between the time we left and they needed to move in.

The old house was let out again, I'm assuming short term to bridge the gap between them moving back in.

Obviously when you move there's a lot of things that need your updated change of address and all the main things, bills etc are changed over.
Things that hadn't been, Tesco clubcard, pets at home card- things like that.
When new tenants moved in I introduced myself, it's a very friendly and neighbourly street and said sorry if any post comes for me I'm just two doors down now if you wouldn't mind popping it in or I can collect it.
Giving mine and DP's name so she knows it's ours.
As all these forgotten things arrive I change the addresses over as I go.
New tenant was very nice about it and did Pop things through my letter box so she knows who they're for but I started to notice that letters had been opened.

They're not important things, mostly junk mail but opened none the less.
My pets at home parcel was missing the mini bag of cat treats too.
I didn't say anything because they're not there for long and the mail isn't that important but thought it was odd.

Recently I went back on to amazon prime after cancelling 6 months ago. Ordered something on my phone app (a small toy) and just clicked the 'buy now' not thinking about the address change.
Got a text yesterday saying when it would be delivered and was in- wasn't until I got the text saying it had been delivered did I realised it was to the old address. These texts are pretty much automatic as soon as it arrives.
Instantly went and knocked but no one answered so I thought it was delivered through the letterbox and no one was home. more fool me for not checking the address, I'd have to wait.
No one came by with it, fine. Knocked myself around midday and they were home. Took a good 5 mins of hunting (by them) for this parcel that arrived yesterday.
They then appear with it, opened. The toy box is handed to me with the packaging separately with some excuse about them not knowing my name so didn't know who it was for then closed the door.
Also if it makes any difference, far too large a box to go through the letterbox so someone must have taken it in.

They said they had more letters for me 'somewhere' but will bring them round later.
Once they've checked the contents no doubt.
AIBU thinking these neighbours are taking the piss rifling through my mail and opening my package?

It's horrible of them.

But you really should have gone through the Royal Mail and had all your post redirected. It's far easier in the long run than doing it yourself with every company/entity that you get post from regularly.

Agree, pay for a redirect, and anything that comes to the redirect - including the junky things - update them.

For your amazon, go on now and change it.

Accept the new people living in your old house will not act in the way you would, so you can get grumpy about it, or you can fix the problem by not having crap go to them.

(We've been in this house 9 years, we got post for the previous residents still now and then. We did have forwarding address to start with, but now I just write "return to sender, not known at this address" on the evelopes and shove in the post box. I view it, if they can't be arsed updating the databases by this time, they can't want the post).

Hmm. In the US the postal service will forward your mail for free for a year. They then turn around and make massive amounts of money selling access to your new address:

www.nationalchangeofaddress.com

How much does your post charge to redirect your mail?

Yes, moving is stressful but changing your address and sorting mail redirection is a pretty major part of the process, to protect yourself if nothing else.

However they shouldn’t be opening your mail. Have you asked them why they are doing that?

Do people just sit there festering with anger and malice because a neighbours letter arrived?

I think you are completely misunderstanding peoples responses. No - it appears to be you who is angry. I would just bin it and think no more about it.

They probably said it was Ok because they didn't want to annoy you or thought you meant you hadn't got around to doing the redirection yet.

You need to accept it, OP, repeat after me "I am a Cheeky Fucker"

Do people just sit there festering with anger and malice because a neighbours letter arrived?

They get fed up with it - is that the same thing?

Speak to your postie.

I was absolutely lovely for the first 10 or so accidental letters / parcels/ magazines etc etc.

But then it becomes clear that you are dealing with a CF who had no intention of paying for a redirect and it will never stop. So yes then I get pissed off.

Just redirect your mail OP and then your problem is solved.

I kept getting mail for an old tennant of my flat, I just binned the lot of it. Christmas cards and all.

There's 2 low effort solutions to the problem -

1. your neighbour checks the post and pops round to yours a couple of times a week with the stuff for you
2. you go on websites for places you have accounts and update the address.

Why do you think that just because both are 'low effort', you have a right to decide the one that's best is the one where your neighbour does the work, not you?

they said they didn't mind

They might not have realised that it was going to drag on for weeks to be fair.

They are BU to open your mail

But YABU to still have parcels going to your old address! Junk mail is one thing, but parcels that you’ve actively ordered to your old address I would be pissed off to be still getting if I was them.

Personally I’d be returning things to sender (unopened). If you can’t be bothered to take 30 seconds to update your address before you order a parcel, then I couldn’t be bothered to make sure it got to you.

The solution to your problem is extremely simple and entirely in your control: update your bloody address before you order parcels!

My old tenant didn't redirect their mail and didn't give me a forwarding address. I kept retuning mail "gone away" until I finally opened one to find it was a letter from debt collectors notifying me bailiffs were instructed.

Ok so maybe I'm a bit of a CF for thinking it's not an inconvenience to them!
It wouldn't be for me but they're not me so I've been unfair there. However...they have knocked on our door for things and we have helped them out when didn't need to.

The parcel was a complete accident- billing address was changed on amazon but the delivery address stayed the old one for some reason. It's been removed altogether as an address now.

I only lived at that house for 1 year and don't get masses of mail so thought what I did get would be sorted in a few weeks.

It's been weeks since they put anything through but this parcel thing just brought it all back about the opened letters - now they say there's more but didn't give it to me when I was at their door earlier so we'll see what shows up.

I've done the redirect- lesson learned!

I still think they're weird for opening my stuff and pretending they didn't know my name.

You don’t get to decide what is or isn’t an inconvenience for someone else who has no obligation to you!

I still get post for the previous tenants of my house (they left 2 years ago - I bought the house from the landlord) IT's opretty much all the kind of thing that isn't of great importance (as far as i can tell from the envelope) I wouldn't open it though. I put 'not at this address' and stick it back in the letterbox (I have no forwarding address for them).
I will admit to waiting until I have several letters so I can post a batch at a time.

But yes I would get redirection from the post office and then go through all your amazon etc accounts and change the address. It may not be illegal to open someone else's post but it is very rude, especially when that person only lives a couple of doors down.

If you don't want to pop it through someones door, then don;t say it is Ok when they ask you. Say 'I don't want to do that, so can you get it redirected by the PO please'

just an aside-you have to pay to have your mail redirected??and it is illegal here to open mail not sent to you,return to sender on envelope and let the sender figure it out.same with deceasd person,write deceased on envelope and put in post box/i get alot of junk mail for husband .he died a year ago and still getting credit card aps and such

You should summon the police as your neighbour is committing a criminal offence by opening post that is not addressed to them. It is not compliant with the law to open others' mail. In this situation, the police should be telephoned.

I think you should have done a redirect. 34 pounds for 3 months, 47 for 6 months or 67 for 12 months.
It is a pain getting other people's post and i think making a decision that you're going to inconvenience them to save money is bad form. You have no idea what is going on in their lives - they may get home from work and just want to chill not be forced to do an errand however small.
Get the redirect and a bunch of flowers to say thank you for the ten times they've had to trek round.

I imagine the response would be to ask why the hell op doesn’t have her post redirected . The neighbour hasn’t broken into op’s house to steal it.
Op has taken no steps to ensure the neighbour doesn’t have access to it.

I would automatically open an amazon box without even glancing at the address.

You are inconveniencing them.

It's not illegal for then to open the mail, unless they are intending to use the information to commit acts to your detriment without good reason. They they may be concerned that you are continuing to use their address and may wish to inspect the contents of letters to ensure they are not being defrauded. In any case you should have dealt with this proactively not reactively and updated all companies with your new address immediately, or pay for a RM redirect.

I think you should have done a redirect. 34 pounds for 3 months, 47 for 6 months or 67 for 12 months.
It is a pain getting other people's post and i think making a decision that you're going to inconvenience them to save money is bad form. You have no idea what is going on in their lives - they may get home from work and just want to chill not be forced to do an errand however small.
Get the redirect and a bunch of flowers to say thank you for the ten times they've had to trek round.

It's double those prices for two people- I've just done it!
I agree, I don't know what's going on in their lives and they don't know mine either. Didn't stop them ringing my doorbell at 9pm at night when the tap came off flooding the bathroom and they couldn't get hold of the landlord. But we helped as they're our neighbours now. They know us- w're not just random names on letters of people they don't know.
They opened my parcel and letters which is wrong and weird - I'm not getting them flowers.
They've been thanked- even when I was handed and opened parcel I thanked them.

To be fair, DH has opened parcels I've earlier taken in for neighbours who are out because he was expecting something from Amazon, saw the packaging and didn't think to look. It's easy done.

You do the 'small effort' of setting up a redirect or if you don't want to pay for it, you make the effort to make a note of who sends you post that you might want to keep and update your details, it's easy enough to just look which loyalty cards you have.

Beyond that, you just have to accept if it doesn't bother you enough to update, then you can't get arsey about not recieving the post.

I did receive it. The problem was that it was opened.