Do I keep the voucher

[skipperjonce]

We’ve lived in our current house for nearly 2 years. Very rarely we receive mail for the previous owner. As I don’t have a forwarding address I normally return to sender.

Last week we received a Christmas card for her containing a £20 m & s voucher. I opened it as it felt bulky and there was no return address on the envelope. The card was from Uncle and Aunty whoever and again no return address, just the voucher and a short message.

So AIBU to keep the voucher and spend it. It’s already paid for after all?

@lockupyourcinammon

That’s so tacky to consider spending it. I once had the same, a £30 boots voucher with no way of finding the intended recipient. I didn’t bloody spend it!

So what did you do with it?

If I couldn't trace the owner I would spend it and then pop into my favourite charity shop and donate the same value, in fact I have done something similar in the past and if in the future you're asked about it you can say you donated the money.

@nzeire

The details of Aunty will be in the m and s customer system ?

I have never given a shop my details when buying a voucher. If it’s bought online, the shop still won’t give those details out to the OP and you can’t go in your local store and ask anyway as it’s totally different system

Why would you even considering it? It's not yours, so of course it would be stealing. The fact it will go unclaimed is irrelevant.

Half of people really need to reconsider their morals especially at this time of the year.

I wouldn't spend it. If their aunt and uncle asked if they've received it, and then they come to your house to ask for it back you're just going to look like a robbing bar stool.

I'd make some effort to track down the intended recipient. We googled the name of someone who had £20 cash in sponsor money incorrectly sent to our address. Luckily they had an unusual name, so we could see they were at 6 Flake St, not 6 Blake St as addressed.

The outrage of people over opening someone else's post is hilarious though. Last year I opened a parcel delivered to my address in someone else's name, solely to look for a return address. Having found nothing I posted on the village facebook nosey neighbours group and was absolutely roasted for having opened it, and half the group were in favour of calling the cops on me .

The law in fact says it's illegal to open someone else's mail intending to act to a person's detriment and without reasonable excuse and I am pretty certain that trying to unite owner and post would be considered reasonable.

@TheTurnOfTheScrew

I'd make some effort to track down the intended recipient. We googled the name of someone who had £20 cash in sponsor money incorrectly sent to our address. Luckily they had an unusual name, so we could see they were at 6 Flake St, not 6 Blake St as addressed.

The outrage of people over opening someone else's post is hilarious though. Last year I opened a parcel delivered to my address in someone else's name, solely to look for a return address. Having found nothing I posted on the village facebook nosey neighbours group and was absolutely roasted for having opened it, and half the group were in favour of calling the cops on me .

The law in fact says it's illegal to open someone else's mail intending to act to a person's detriment and without reasonable excuse and I am pretty certain that trying to unite owner and post would be considered reasonable.

In ops case those, she had no valid reason to open it and she also plans to spend it, how is that a reasonable excuse?

Like a pp my first thought would be to use it to buy food and donate. I couldn't keep it. It's wrong.

Wonder how much money shops earn on unspent vouchers.

@peboh she probably opened it to see if there was a return address! Is that not a valid reason?

This happened to me and I posted on Facebook the name of the intended recipient and that I had mail for them. I got the gift to them. You should at least try.

I'd try to find them, but if I couldn't, I'd spend it & move o

I have to agree with others, this is all about the kind of morals you have.
To be honest I would say keep it, because I am sure that is what you plan to do and you have already come up with a list of excuses and reason, than the real one (that being your lack of character).
I opened it as it felt bulky and there was no return address on the envelope. Translation I thought it might have something valuable I could keep. Also I would be interested to find a bulky envelope that only contained a card and a voucher??
You say you don't know and cant find an address, but I don't think you have even tried. Asking neighbours would be the first choice of action but maybe that's just me.

As I said you should keep it- but dont play games and act as if it an innocent mistake and out of your hands.
You are a shyster- own it and move on

The correct thing to do is not to open it but write ' not at this address' and put it in the postbox.
The Royal Mail will handle it.

If no return address and no forward address you are not unreasonable to open. I would donate it to a good bank or Salvation Army. Better it go to charity than be wasted. I would not keep it. It would not feel right but donating it to charity would.

If you've lived in the house for nearly 2 years, I'm guessing the previous occupants maybe bought a 1 year postal redirect that covered last Christmas?

I would use FB to try and track them down. You could try ringing m&s to see if a sparks card was used when the voucher was purchased so they can track the sender, but there's no way marks is giving out someone else's details. You could also try the solicitors that did your house sale, that's who we gave the previous occupant's card to.

Don't stick in back in the post boxing, the post office won't know what to do with it either, they have even less info to go on then you.

I would spend it after making all attempts to trace it.

@pumpkinpig

Wrong Postal services Act 2000 section 84 (3)

84 Interfering with the mail: general.

(1)A person commits an offence if, without reasonable excuse, he—
(a)intentionally delays or opens a postal packet in the course of its transmission by post, or
(b)intentionally opens a mail-bag.
(2)Subsections (2) to (5) of section 83 apply to subsection (1) above as they apply to subsection (1) of that section.
(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.
(4)Subsections (2) and (3) of section 83 (so far as they relate to the opening of postal packets) apply to subsection (3) above as they apply to subsection (1) of that section.
(5)A person who commits an offence under subsection (1) or (3) shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both.

The people in our old flat opened my sons birthday card and stole his money, just 4 months after we moved, despite me checking with them a week later. Apparently they never received it. (Yes they did).

However in your instance it's been 2 years. So I'm not sure what else you can do?

And it's not like it's a child's birthday card (the bastards).

They may follow up by visiting as they are bound to double check the address with a close relative. I’d keep it and if they turn up “sorry I opened it”

So what did you do with it?

I put it back in the post with ‘not at this address’

@Universallyhappy

They may follow up by visiting as they are bound to double check the address with a close relative. I’d keep it and if they turn up “sorry I opened it”

Surely if they were that close aunt & uncle would have been given the new address. Or maybe they live too far away to pop in hence posting it in the first place.

Personally I wouldn't go to too much trouble to return it because surely you give people you're new address if you want them to stay in touch so I'd give it to the local food bank or buy food with it & donate that

I have an Easter card containing £20 in my drawer which my DD opened, but it was for two children. I have tried knocking on doors around the area, asking the local shop keeper if she knows these children, looking on Facebook to try to find the couple who sent it etc to no avail.
But I would definitely not spend the money. It was meant for somebody else. So it has been living in my drawer and will continue to do so until the owners hopefully come for it 🤞

Could you contact M&S to see if they have a record of who purchased the voucher?

I’ve lived in my house for 6 years and still get cards for the previous owners. Used to pass on to neighbours who said they know their address and would send it on for them.

Now they have moved and we STILL - 6 years later - get birthday and Xmas cards, I always open them to check for cash - not gonna lie!

There never is any though.....

It's been 2 years and auntie and uncle haven't been given her new address, they're not close are they.
I'm pretty sure m+s won't have auntiy Jane and uncle Fred on their database with no surname (I'm assuming this isn't on the card)
Yes it's morally dodgy, I'd feel a bit funny about spending it but you are unlikely to be able to get it to her so I'd either keep hold of it for a couple of months and see if she contacts you for it or donate it.

"So if post came addressed to your house with no return address what would you suggest? Just bin it without opening?

Some people on here just crack me up"

@skipperjonce No, I'd write 'No longer lives here' on the envelope and put it back in the postbox! So yes, YABU!