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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to bin previous occupant's post?

64 replies

Kittenbittenmitten · 14/10/2019 13:05

OK. Let me be crystal clear. I haven't binned anything...yet.
When we moved in I noticed there were a large number of letters for a previous occupant. I wrote on the front of all of them "Not known at this address" and put them in postbox. We kept receiving them and I kept doing this. I managed to track the occupant down and told them. They said this shouldn't be happening but "they may need to get a redirection set up" and would I keep returning to sender if anything comes along. I have. Months later, it still appears nothing has been done. Quite literally, we receive post for this occupant most days. I went back to contact them but I found I was blocked. I'm sick of it so would AIBU?

OP posts:
Whatisthisfuckery · 14/10/2019 14:06

I’m in the same position. Pretty much every day I get letters for the previous tenant who moved out nearly 4 months ago. They’ve been put in a pile behind the door in our tiny hall downstairs. Twice now the previous tenants have been round saying they’ve had important mail delivered here. I’ve told them to do a re-direct but the clearly haven’t, probably because it costs. I’m fed up of having letters spilling all over the hall so I might just start binning them off.

Picklypickles · 14/10/2019 14:06

I do now, for the first 6 months or so I'd msg the previous occupants to come and collect but its been 5 years now so anything I get for them I just chuck, I would assume its nothing important such as bank statements etc anyway if it was they would have already changed their address.

SomeHalfHumanCreatureThing · 14/10/2019 14:10

If you bin then they'll just keep coming. RTS on all of them, but I'd call the most persistent ones, or any urgent looking bill type ones.

I had this for months. It did eventually stop, but only when I'd returned a LOT of letters.

MotherOfLittlePeople · 14/10/2019 14:10

We would return to sender at old address and tell the postman they didn't live there when things where to sign for. We did though happen to open one (not on purpose) DD1 opened it as she collected the mail, I'm glad though because it was a bailiff letter for some court costs! We rang and emailed them proof. We have since moved and already had A bailiff at the door the first day we moved in. All letters have been returned to sender since and no more bailiffs...yet.

SomeHalfHumanCreatureThing · 14/10/2019 14:13

RTS takes ages btw. In my experience, it can take weeks for a letter to make it back to a company and for them to do anything about it

OctopusNow · 14/10/2019 14:21

We are still getting the previous occupant's mail after 9 years Hmm.
I usually write Not At This Address on it with a big black sharpie and put them in the post box but I will confess to the crime of opening one once out of curiosity.
I'm glad I did, he owes money apparently so at least now it will be less of a shock to me if debt collectors turn up!

user1474894224 · 14/10/2019 14:22

Open them, check they are nothing mega important and then bin. By mega important I mean I returned a letter from the hospital about their childs appointment - as it's not the kids fault the parents didn't do their admin. And I also returned a P46 to their own accountant....surely they could tell their accountant they had moved!!

They did set up a redirect for 3 months - but only in their main name - not for their companies. Our friendly postman actually stopped delivering letters to them for about 6 months. But now I just open and bin. We've been here 18 months - so I don't feel I'm being unfair.

AdobeWanKenobi · 14/10/2019 14:25

The best ones to RTS are the ones you’d naturally bin - advertising crap. Seems to be one database for all of it so I took out a huge swathe of rubbish for previous occupants by RTS those.

I had an expensive magazine monthly for past owner. Told her this but still it came. In the end I contacted the subscription provider and that stopped.

Currently sending back the mother lode of post for some business or other and their unpaid taxes and the like. Suspect that one might result in bailiffs though as they simply aren’t getting the message that these people don’t like here.

Our house was a short term rental before we bought it. I made a list last year of names of people we get post for and there was about 15 individual ones. It’s finally slowing but again this mornings post was from a pension company for last owner. A supposedly intelligent woman who twelve months on still hasn’t changed her bank address.

AdobeWanKenobi · 14/10/2019 14:27

Oh and someone who lived here about ten years ago took a contract out with O2. I had all the paperwork thanking them for joining. Wasn’t a hugely expensive handset so assume mistake rather than malice but O2 were useless as I wasn’t the account holder.

Original poster
Kittenbittenmitten · 14/10/2019 14:30

Well Mumsnetters... some of you are right. With permission from kind thread contributors, I've satisfied my nosiness and opened some letters. Yes, they owe money.

OP posts:
Original poster
Kittenbittenmitten · 14/10/2019 14:33

There are debt recovery instructions in place. I will contact the creditors directly.

OP posts:
Willow2017 · 14/10/2019 14:36

I just bin now. A year after moving in and countless RTS/ this person doesn't live here/ not here for 18 months etc written on envelopes the same stuff keeps coming.
Not my job to act as go between. Previous tennants did a moonlight months before we moved in.

I have had people at the door looking for them but they were pleasant and accepted they no longer lived here and never came back.
I had a 3 page list of companies to inform of my change of address etc and managed it so so can others.

shearwater · 14/10/2019 14:43

I do now but was admittedly more patient before I started binning their post. I think after ten years of returning to sender, then realising I could open the post under certain circumstances and writing to the individual companies involved I am now justified in binning anything I receive for them.

leomama81 · 14/10/2019 14:47

How would you want to be treated if you forgot to organise a re-direct?

They said themselves they should organize a redirect, they can't be bothered or don't want to pay. OP has done all she can - how long should she keep acting as their personal assistant?

Anything important, they will no doubt have spoken to the organization. If they haven't, that is on them at this point.

Joerev · 14/10/2019 14:48

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/3687109.stm

Original poster
Kittenbittenmitten · 14/10/2019 14:54

I've just read that link thanks. DH says I shouldn't divulge the fact that I opened their mail as it's against the law!

OP posts:
Frankola · 14/10/2019 15:00

Our previous owner didn't organise a redirect and would knock on the door months after we moved in. Then he stopped coming and the only letters were clearly final demand letters and debts ( it was all over the envelope!).

We just started throwing those away lol.

DontCallMeShitley · 14/10/2019 15:00

I still get some stuff for the people that hadn't lived here for about 20 years. We bought the house from them. However all their tenants managed to sort themselves out except one who had moved down the road and it was being dropped in to them. Once a note was put on it, that stopped.

I think it is a case of returned mail not being dealt with by the sender so I open it and turn it round so the address is not visible after crossing it out, and put a note on it to the effect of 'Addressee has not lived here for 20 years, do not send any more mail' . If it is ignored I send a similar but with a note that ignoring the request and further mail will be construed as harrassment. That stops it.

Skyejuly · 14/10/2019 15:04

Chuck in bin!

GrumpyHoonMain · 14/10/2019 15:07

Instead of forwarding them, write down does not live at this address. Once his credit cards / accounts start getting blocked he’ll take changing his address more seriously

myolivetree · 14/10/2019 15:15

You've taken all the right steps, contacted them and been patient.

And they blocked you!

Yes I would chuck anything irrelevant looking and open anything that could be a bill and ring and tell them. You don't want debt attaching itself to your address. I bet that's why they've been left coming to your address.

On a lighter note we had a Christmas Card ( addressed to our previous occupants) with photos of 2 little girls, come from a family in Hong Kong for 8 years. ( no return address) We watched those girls grow up. Felt quite hurt when they stopped......

BeyondMyWits · 14/10/2019 15:17

Opening mail with the correct address on it is not against the law.

The postal act of 2000 states : A person commits an offence if, intending to act to a person's detriment and without reasonable excuse, he opens a postal packet which he knows or reasonably suspects has been incorrectly delivered to him.

Nat6999 · 14/10/2019 15:28

I'm still getting post for someone who moved out at least 10 years ago, I have lived here 6 years, previous tenant lived here at least 3 years, but I still get post for even older tenants. I did all the return to sended bit for a couple of years, now I just shred everything I receive.

ColaFreezePop · 14/10/2019 15:36

I lived in a rented house where apparently a long left previous tenant had mental health issues so signed up to junk with all and sundry.
he tenants before me binned his post and still floods of it kept coming.

I started doing "return to sender on" it, and then for companies like banks and credit card I rang them to tell them the person hadn't lived there for over 5 years. The deluge stopped.

Luckily no debt collectors were involved. In regards to debt collectors letters either bin them or do return to sender as either way they will presume you are avoiding the debt.

@myolivetree the debt attaches to the person not the address.

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