Could be illegal but wwyd?

[Mollychristmas]

This might sound awful (and illegal although I can’t see how anyone would know!) but what would you do in this situation?

We’ve had some Christmas cards delivered to our house addressed to the old owners. This is the first year we have got them so I imagine the old owners redirect has ended. (We have lived here just over 2 years)
From feeling the weight and how flexible the cards aren’t I think a couple might have money/gifts cards/letters in them.
Now for the AIBU, would you open them and hope for a return address?
Or would you just chuck?

I am of the mind to open and see if there is a return address, if not I would donate any money and chuck the cards, DH thinks that’s awful not to mention illegal and we should just chuck them even if there is money etc in them.

We don’t know the old owners new address but I suppose the estate agents might do something although having been over two years now I don’t know if they would or even could help (data protection et al) and it seems a huge amount of hassle for a few Christmas cards. The cards don’t have a return address.

What would you do?

Just here to find out what's in them!

@nannybeach If I found a stranger's purse while out and about I would make every effort to reunite it with its owner (and have done this on a few occasions). But finding a lost item while out and about is worlds away from having an item pushed through your letterbox into your own house.
I would absolutely open them and keep the contents if I wanted it. My house was previously a short-term let. Like fuck do I have the time or inclination to track down the previous 15 tenants and return all their bank statements, birthday cards, magazine subscriptions etc because they were too lazy/absent-minded to update their contact details. And I absolutely would expect the new occupants of my old flat to do whatever they fancied with any of my wayward post.

I love how many posters think that conveyancing solicitors would be willing to act as former clients' Christmas card secretaries and that the police would be bothered with the case of 'The Incorrectly Addressed Xmas Card'.

Oh FFS just open the bloody thing! If there's money in it but no return address either pocket it or donate it, bin the card, and if anyone comes looking for it (v unlikely) tell them you binned the card. Job done.

Have there been any prosecutions for someone opening a Christmas card I wonder? Often I don’t even look at the name and just open it

It’s also probably unlikely they would end money if they didn’t know them well enough that they had moved. We got a card this year probably do most years

Put Not known at this address & the post office will deal with it. We kept getting post fir someone else delivered to our house. Some of it we wrote nit known etc etc and more recent stuff we hadn’t got round to returning. of it turned out it was for a neighbour & the sender just had the wrong number, but the right road. When they realised, they called round & we gave them what we had and they got the rest from the post office..

I am afraid it is illegal to open someone else's mail under the Post Offices Act 2000. As advised earlier, it is best to either ask the estate agent or to mark it "return to sender" and repost it.

Open them

Postal services act (2000):
(3)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.

So, you are fine if a reasonable person would consider it reasonable to do this. Since most of MN thinks it's reasonable, I think you'd be fine.

Open them. If there’s no address tape them back up and drop them back in the postbox with ‘Unknown at this address’.

Return to sender - it’s the job of the post office to sort it out.

Open them.

I did this once and gave the £50 in it to my neighbour who had just escaped DV.

The old owner had emigrated and no one knew where to.

The postal services act 2000 says:“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.”

So what has happened? Forwarded on or opened? (Over-invested in this now).

Opening mail that is not addressed to you is a crime - as a result you SHOULD NOT open the mail. Furthermore, stating that you would dispose of the items would almost amount to Theft - you are assuming the lawful right of the intended recipient and permanently depriving them of that item.
YOU SHOULD RETURN THE ITEM TO ROYAL MAIL AS 'ADDRESSEE UNKNOWN AT THIS ADDRESS'
Royal mail have designated staff who are empowered to open the mail and deal as necessary - they are permitted and covered within the law.

There is no myth with regards to the Law - it is very clear and you nay wish to seek independent legal advise from Citizen's Advice to confirm these details.

Just scratch out the address and mark 'return to sender - moved x years ago'. The post office may be able to trace them but, whatever, they will deal with them. Please don't consider opening post that is not addressed to you, it's bad enough to do it by accident (I have done that and apologised, also someone came round to me with something she'd opened which was for me, wrongly delivered to her; she was mortified but I reassured her).

Open them! I opened a wedding invite intended for the previous owners of our house, and I wrote to the RSVP address - the couple replied to me thanking me for taking the time to reply. I felt warm and fuzzy!

So, @jillb55 , as @chubbylover78 points out it's NOT illegal unless you are acting to the person's detriment AND you have no reasonable excuse AND the package is incorrectly delivered.

What I always wonder is what is "incorrectly delivered"? If it's come to the address on the package then even if the person doesn't live there, then surely it's been correctly delivered, and you're free to open it for whatever reason...? I started a thread to ponder that question...
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/legal_matters/3725304-Its-legal-to-open-someone-elses-post-but-what-does-incorrectly-delivered-mean

Both options are actually illegal, best thing too do is drop them in post box with "No longer at this address" on envelope and the post office will open them, if theres any return address theyll do the returning.

Furthermore, stating that you would dispose of the items would almost amount to Theft - you are assuming the lawful right of the intended recipient and permanently depriving them of that item.

@123Easy - has that ever been tested in court? If you open the letter that doesn't mean you intend to permanently deprive them of it. What about if you kept them on the basis that you are waiting for the addressee to come and claim them. Would a court really say you had deprived someone of their property if it were a piece of junk mail which they never took ownership of in the first place?

Don't think its worth losing sleep over, either put them back in postbox and write not known at this address, or open them/bin them, Not your problem to sort out really. Anyone close enough to send gifts/money would almost certainly have correct address, and if they sent it to the wrong address and you don'have a forwarding address there's nothing you can do, particularly after 2 years. In the extremely unlikely event it included a small amount of cash/giftcard I would keep hold of it for 6 months and see if previous owner turned up to claim it and if not spend without feeling guilty!

Get a bloody grip. Who cares if it's the law. Even if it was illegal nobody is going to chase that up.

It’s not illegal.

@DadDadDad - You have highlighted a part of the response I made and then have queried another aspect that was not highlighted. I will therefore answer in full.

Yes, the matter has been tested in Court - Prosecutions with regards to opening mail that is not addressed to you is covered under the Postal Services Act 2000 - it is a crime as you are not permitted to do this. Refer to my instructions of returning post of this nature, unopened to Royal Mail.

Throwing items away would amount to theft - if you do not throw the item away BUT, you have already opened the mail, you have already committed a crime.

As stated, the law is clear - you have access to legal advise to discuss this matter further via Citizens Advice.