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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

not to want to accept post for the people who moved out 6 months ago?

46 replies

LizaRose · 06/06/2007 08:13

The previous occupants of our house moved out in December, we moved in in April. There has been quite a large amount of post for them, including vehicle tax forms, bank statements, mobile phone statements. Twice the people have come to our door and asked for us to put their mail through next-door-but-one's letterbox (friends who will forward it to them). I thought this was reasonable, but DH is concerned that they are still using this address for important correspondence, and could maybe use the letters as proof of address to obtain credit. He also thinks they still have a key to the house and were accessing it to collect their mail whilst empty as there was very little on the mat when we moved in. The lady (former occupant) came yesterday and said the postlady is still putting mail addresses to them in next-door-but-one's letterbox even though it has our address on it. DH wants to complain to Royal Mail as he thinks this is not allowed.

So, am I a complete arse to stick all this mail back in the post box as "not known" and complain to Royal Mail? Or would I be a mug to let them get away with it?

OP posts:

tissy · 06/06/2007 08:17

Well if you think they still have a key, change the locks, for a start.It's more likely, however that they were having their mail redicrected initially, so that is why there was very little on the mat when you moved in.

woopsadaisy · 06/06/2007 08:23

woopsadaisy · 06/06/2007 08:24

and by 'm' i meant

my landlady has all her mail still sent here, even a bank card! she kept ringing up to see if her pin number had arrived! how the hell was i supposed to know!!

Original poster

LizaRose · 06/06/2007 08:25

So why not just continue to get it redirected? We have ours done for 12 months. And why have they not changed their address on their car registration, bank accounts and phone accounts? I'm inclined to think they're just disorganised, but why should I let complete strangers use our address for things like that?

OP posts:

ChippyMinton · 06/06/2007 08:26

Ask them nicely to sort it out, as you are not prepared to deal with it anymore and will return everything as 'unknown' in future. It's probably nothing sinister, they are just disorganised

bozza · 06/06/2007 08:40

Agree that they are probably just disorganised. But what happens if they are so disorganised that they forget to pay a bill and the bailiffs come round? I would give them a deadline to sort it. OK things can get overlooked when you first move, but they have had six months.

OhNo40 · 06/06/2007 08:45

We had this when we moved into our previous house. They had run a business from there, the woman was on the mailing list of every animal charity known to man and we ended up coming back from our honeymoon to find more post for them than for us, 9 months after they'd moved out.
I phoned Royal Mail who explained that they are legally obliged to deliver post as addressed. HOwever, the provided me with a load of prepaid, pre-addressed envelopes to return all the previous occupants' post to them (Royal Mail). They then write to the senders saying "gone away" and it apparently has more effect than just putting letters back in the post box with this written on.
The amount of post we received for them did drop dramatically after this.
I should say that this was 7 years ago so I don't know whether they still offer the same service but it might be worth a phone call.

tissy · 06/06/2007 08:46

redirection costs money! Maybe they are short of money, or perhaps just tight. Maybe they are too disorganised to have got round to changing addresses with all the hundreds of companies/ institutions they dealt with?

NatalieJane · 06/06/2007 08:48

We have lived here for nearly 4 years and we still get at least 6 items of post a week to the bloke that used to live here. Nothing that seems important, mostly junk mail and invites to art galleries and stuff.

Nothing like our old house, we used to open theirs after a while (long story as to why we started opening them, won't go into it now, but we felt we had to to find some info out about his erm.... dealings.....) anyway, the previous owner was obviously into hard core porn on a major scale and the things that fell on the mat were disgusting.

winniepoo · 06/06/2007 08:51

We have been here for 10 years and still get post for an R MUllen - not even the neighbours remember him!

LilRedWG · 06/06/2007 08:53

Try Mailing Preference Service. You can block junk and I think old tennants post.

tjacksonpfc · 06/06/2007 09:10

my partner that i lost was a postman and we had the same problem what you have to do with every letter that comes through your door that isnt for you is scribble out your address on it write gone away on the ebvelope then put it back in the postbox what will then happen is that letter will end up back on the desk of your postman who has got a procedure to go through to kill the mail off and return it to the companys it takes a few months of doing this for it to get through the system backk to the companys to get the idea but the mail does stop but you have to do it with every single letter. at the end of the day its not down to you to re direct there mail for them and unless there is an offical redirection in at the post offfice the royalmail have to deliver to the address on the envelop. hope this helps if you perserve with writting on every envolope and putting it back in the post box it will stop.

BabiesEverywhere · 06/06/2007 09:10

We had this problem...alongside collection agencies, social services and other undesirables turning up at our door,looking for the last owners. Unsurprisingly the old owners refused to give us a forwarding address, afraid we'll pass it onto their debtors I suppose.

Anyway...what we did was crossed off the address, write 'Return to sender' on the letter and repost. That way the senders knew that the people they were trying to reach had moved on.

Though we did get several letters addressed to the house which I did open, from collection agencies asking where the last owners new address, once I explained we didn't have it, the mail stopped

HTH

LilRedWG · 06/06/2007 09:12

How do I deal with the postman taking it upon himself to redirect their mail? I really don't want to get him in trouble, because he's lovely and just trying to be helpful, but I'm not 100% comfortable with them still using this address (even though they seemed like nice people).

saralou · 06/06/2007 09:13

i used to gt letters all the time for the people who used to live here... i would just forward them on initially, then one day i was suspicious of a letter so i opened it, theyd left all their debts in our address and they were threatening bailiifs.

so from then on i opened all their letters and phoned the companies and gave them their forarding address!

i'd be concerned like your husband is too.

Original poster

LizaRose · 06/06/2007 09:23

LilRedWG, do you have the same problem? It seems the regular postlady is delivering mail addressed to these people to a neighbour to be forwarded, we get it when another postperson delivers. So heaven knows how much is actually coming. And it is impossible to return all the mail as we don't have it all!

I have no contact details for the former occupants, so I can only contact them if they come to the door again or if I give a letter to the neighbours who are their friends.

OP posts:

bookwormmum · 06/06/2007 09:33

I'd return each and every envelope marked ' not known at this address' and bung it all back in the post.

It might be worth contacting the DVLA directly to say that there shouldn't be any cars other than your own registered to your address, equally for licence holders. You don't want bailiffs coming around for non-payment of road tax/speeding fines or parking tickets. Similarly for bank docs - return them directly. There should be a return address on the back of the post. It's going to be a hassle for a while but it could be worth it.

We had a letter addressed to a Ms Patel or similar name from another council at our address (where my parents have lived since 1972) re a council tax demand for another property. I'm not embarrassed to say that we opened it (even though technically this is illegal) and notified the other council that someone had given them a false address. It's bad enough paying your own council tax without being asked for council tax for another borough!!

LilRedWG · 06/06/2007 09:36

Yep - same problem. In fact, the temporary postman just rang the doorbell with a parcel for me and a letter for previous owner.

Weegle · 06/06/2007 09:39

I thought it was illegal to open someone elses mail, or not pass it on/put it back in the post? Or have I imagined that?

I would put all the mail back in the post with "not known at this address - return to sender".

flightattendant · 06/06/2007 09:41

They should have forked out for redirection, it's just confusing everyone otherwise...

When I moved in here, apart from the legacy of hundreds of cat fleas living in the carpet there were millions of letters from debt collection agencies, unpaid bills, bailiff warnings etc. all of which cost me quite a lot on phone calls to explain that I was NOT the previous occupant and would they kindly NOT write to me any more threatening to turn up at dawn on so-and-so day to take away our telly!!!

Pisses me off when people are so inconsiderate.
Good luck!

Original poster

LizaRose · 06/06/2007 09:45

Well, I spoke to the Royal Mail and they have advised us to put it all back in the post labelled "Please RTS, no longer at this address". They have also passed on a complaint to the local manager as the postlady is not allowed by law to deliver mail to an address other than that on the envelope. So I suppose I will now be unpopular with former occupants and the postlady.

OP posts:

LilRedWG · 06/06/2007 09:47

Well done you! I guess I need to pluck up the courageto do the same, but I doubt I will....

mm22bys · 06/06/2007 10:05

We moved into our house three years ago and still get the occassional piece of mail (bank statements) for the previous owner.

I just bin it....I did go to the effort of forwarding it for a while but why should I have to do it three years later?

To the OP, this sounds dodgy to me, rather than asking it to be delivered to another address, why doesn't she just change it with the firms? I can't believe Royal Mail is colluding as well, that must be illegal.

Nbg · 06/06/2007 10:07

I throw previous owners mail out now. Unless I think somethings important.
A few weeks ago I opened one and it was a bank statement but it had account numbers and sort codes on. So I called them bank, told them our dog had ripped it up and that the owners werent here anymore but dont send the statements as its a bit dodgy!

ComeOVeneer · 06/06/2007 10:08

Haven't read the whole thread, but, we moved in January and paid for a 12 month redirection from our old place, however, we still get mail (very kindly) redirected by the new owners as royal mail don't do their job properly. It is petering out as we inform those that have sent the letters of our new address. Must admit we sorted the important stuff (bank/car/insurance etc) as soon as we moved.

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