Skip to main content
Skip to main navigation
Skip to talk navigation

Active discussions

Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Saved Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Flip

1 2 3 4 5

AIBU?

that if you don't know someone well enough to hear they've moved ...

124 replies

PineappleDanish · 19/12/2019 08:35

That you don't need to send a Christmas card?

We've been in our house 12 years. Every Christmas we get a card for the previous residents, no return address. Opened it this year to see if there were more clues inside. Message reads: to from Claire, Niall, Eva, Sarah-Louise and Michael. Hope to catch up with you in 2020.

Yes I hope you catch up with them too Claire, so they can tell you that they moved house in 2008.

Similarly, we had a card through the door yesterday for an ex-neighbour who is now a close friend. They moved out 8 years ago, and don't live too far away. Their card was addressed to wrong house number - for example we're 87, they were 89 and the card was addressed to 81. Postie obviously realised they weren't at 81, so thought the 1 was possibly a 7.

So if you're a Claire living somewhere in the Republic of Ireland who is merrily buying cards each winter and wasting money on postage to Scotland, please stop. They've moved and haven't told you.

OP posts:

Thanks

Share

Report

Am I being unreasonable?

AIBU

You have one vote. All votes are anonymous.

Hohonoshow · 19/12/2019 11:50

I had this for a few years until I got fed up, resealed the envelope and wrote 'not known at this address' and 'return to sender' and shoved it back in the post box. As they'd written their own address on the back of the envelope, I assume they got the card back. I haven't heard from 'Joan' since
If they had their return address on it, why on earth did it take you a few years to get fed up and return to sender?

Thanks

Ummusomebody · 19/12/2019 11:52

We had a postcard last year from a family in the US with a family photo and something along the line of look at what you're missing (not). The problem is my DH's family has lived in the house for more than 15 years. My best guess is someone intentionally gave out the wrong address. Waiting to see if I willet another this year. I wanted to do some facebook snooping but by the time I actually got to it my toddler had eaten half the card. She was really into paper then!

Thanks

AlrightyyThen · 19/12/2019 11:52

Mynameisrow I had similar at an old house where I was getting cards for a little boy with £10 in, I kept all the money safe (but not all the cards as they were bog standard and taking up space)

By chance I saw a FB post with matching details on by someone I knew that had tagged a person, I messaged them and it was the right person and they lived 4 doors down! I popped the money and latest card in an envelope and posted it for them

I was happy the little boy got his money, I felt like a savings account 😂

Thanks

IamPickleRick · 19/12/2019 11:59

We had 6 years of the wrong card coming and I couldn’t ever understand it.

In our new house the family next door have the same surname as us (its not a common one) and our numbers are such that they could be confused (think 3/5). We often get their post and they get ours but we both find out quite funny because of the strange coincidence! “Merry Christmas Mr Theodopolopoidus!” They shout to each other every year!

Thanks

greenlavender · 19/12/2019 12:01

@BasinHaircut - that's rude.

Thanks

CatEnabler · 19/12/2019 12:03

She may have alzheimers or dementia be kind. She is probably a lonely old lady somewhere!

Thanks

BasinHaircut · 19/12/2019 12:53

@greenlavender what was rude?

Thanks

PineappleDanish · 19/12/2019 13:12

Yeah I can't see the rudeness in the post either. In fact, nobody's been rude at all.

I do love how when there's a really obvious explanation (my old neighbours clearly don't think that it's important to tell Claire and Niall that they've moved) everyone scrabbles to make up stories which are far, far less plausible.

Anyway it's easily sorted. Stop sending Christmas cards altogether.

OP posts:

Thanks

RhinoskinhaveI · 19/12/2019 13:18

I once received a Christmas card containing £20 as a gift for the previous owner when I had lived there for about 2 years 😲
my current place I've been there 10 years and I still get a card for the previous owners but sadly no money 😁

Thanks

Oldraver · 19/12/2019 13:22

I have been getting cards for Norma at 26 but addressed to my number 32 for 21 bloody years. The first few years I took the cards round and she said something like "oh yes we used to be number 32, they changed the numbers"..though I dont know how that worked as we are the only people to of lived in 32

Thanks

Londonmummy66 · 19/12/2019 13:34

We'd been living in our house for 10 years and then one evening a knock on the door. Lady tried to barge past me and hand me her coat as she had come to a party - hosted by the previous owners. When I said they didn't live here any more she told me not to be ridiculous as she was really good friends with them. Didn't like it when I pointed out they couldn't be that close if they'd not told her they'd moved. She was so rude and disagreeable - obviously thought I was "staff" and didn't warrant decent behaviour - that I told her I didn't know where they'd moved to (actually just round the corner).

Thanks

RuggerHug · 19/12/2019 13:42

Londonmummy66 think they moved just to ditch her?

Thanks

blackwych · 19/12/2019 13:51

We moved into this house 8 years ago and every Christmas we get cards for the previous owners. I always used to redirect them to their new address, but after 8 years how do I know that that is still their current address?

What I am finding strange is that last year and this year there has been a slight increase in the number of cards the former owners are getting. It's making me wonder if they are actually giving out the wrong address.

Thanks

blackwych · 19/12/2019 14:00

Even stranger, a couple of weeks ago an elderly man came to the door asking for Eric and Joan, not the names of any previous occupants. He was convinced he had the right house as he remembered the layout of the front garden. I couldn't help him at all and he said he would go and ask at the nearby pub. I thought he was looking for people he had had no contact with for years, but as he left he said he had just been speaking to Eric and Joan on the phone!

Thanks

1CantPickAName · 19/12/2019 14:04

Every year a friend sends a card to *Fred, Gemma & Kids

I have told her that I am no longer with *Fred, we separated 3 years ago. I received another one this year 😁

*not real names

Thanks

Oliversmumsarmy · 19/12/2019 14:06

We have been in this house since 1997.

Without fail we get a Christmas card for the previous residents.

It always reads See you soon.
Then signed Jo and Paul

Guess they haven’t seen them.

Thanks

Yokohamajojo · 19/12/2019 14:09

Yep, we moved in 2008 too and the first card to arrive every year is from Roy to the previous resident with no forwarding address. Although I think the guy who lived here previously was slightly dodgy as we have had many letters and bills through for him, no one seems to know that he moved.

Thanks

RedPanda2 · 19/12/2019 14:18

We get cards from previous home owners (10 years ago) some are from thier Niece or nephews. The previous owner is dead so clearly the families don't communicate!! I don't get many cards so don't mind really

Thanks

LazyFace · 19/12/2019 14:34

We moved into rented about a month ago. I just RTS-d about 2 kgs of letters from the past two years that was addressed to previous tenants. Some clearly from hospitals, schools, HMRC. It annoys me how previous tenants weren't even bothered to return these.

Thanks

Honeybee85 · 19/12/2019 14:40

YANBU.

I bought gorgeous Christmas cards 2 years ago to send to friends and family.
I didn’t have any left to keep as a souvenir for myself but didn’t bother too much about it as I was happy to surprise people with a beautiful Japanese Christmas card.

I send one to a friend that I had seen twice that year, once was during her birthday in january and another time in april to celebrate the arrival of her second baby during a party for baby, so I visited her town twice for the occasions .

During the baby’s party she said she’d be in touch and we’d go out for dinner as we did often in the past. Didn’t hear anything from her all year and when I congratulated her on her birthday in january and asked her how she liked the Christmas card from Japan, she told me she had moved during the year (but hadn’t bothered to let me know). It was the last time I contacted her and I haven’t heard from her again either.

Thanks

CaptainCallisto · 19/12/2019 15:11

My parents bought their house in 1983. Every year, without fail, they got a hand drawn Christmas card to Anne and Michael, from Margaret. After about 2010 her handwriting got shakier and shakier each year, and she started sending shop bought ones. Mum mentioned yesterday that they haven't got one this year. I felt quite sad really - we never knew her but her card was a Christmas tradition in our house. RIP unknown Margaret!

Thanks

Boobahs · 19/12/2019 15:40

We used to get a card from someone who enclosed a letter to the previous elderly owners, she wrote all about her family and it appeared that she had ailing health. We moved in in the October so don't think they had chance to tell her that they'd moved. Fortunately I know their new address so I wrote a letter back to her telling her that they had gone and gave her their new address. She wrote a lovely letter back thanking me profusely, along with a Christmas card for us. Bless her.

Thanks

Boobahs · 19/12/2019 15:46

Forgot to say, we do still get letters from the opticians, their caravan club, their coach holiday company... Received one today actually, from the bank regarding a change to the interest on their savings account. After 4 years, I've given up writing their new address on and reposting them. They all just go in the bin now.

Thanks

PineappleDanish · 19/12/2019 16:22

That's sad about Margaret, @CaptainCallisto,

OP posts:

Thanks

highheelsandweathercocks · 19/12/2019 16:26

We get a card with a printed label for the previous owners every year. This is our fourth Christmas. Our children are at the same school so it's become an annual tradition that I hand it over to her on the school run now. Last week she said that she thinks that they haven't updated their Christmas spreadsheet of addresses and just hit 'print', because the birthday cards for the children have arrived every year at their new house without fail.

Thanks

Flip

1 2 3 4 5

Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.