Dumb Previous House Owner... AIBU?

[zingally]

First of all, I am happy to be told I'm being a cowbag. :)

A bit of relevant background
We moved into this house in September 2024. We purchased the house from a single woman named *Jane (widowed) in probably her late 50s/early 60s.
About a month after moving in, we received a "final demand" in the post for a small amount she owed to O2.

She hadn't left a forwarding address, so I enquired with the estate agent who handled the sale, and Jane begrudgingly gave them "permission" to give me her new address (a house on the other side of our large town). I dutifully re-posted it and thought no more of it.
Then in about December we received another "final demand", still for O2 and the same amount. I put this one in the post to her as well.
I've also sent on Christmas cards, and various mailings from different animal charities.

Fast forward to about September this year, we received a credit card from a reputable bank in the post, for her. We kept hold of it for a couple of weeks, expecting her to get in touch when she realised her error (after all, she knows where we live!) But she never did.
At this point, I was getting fed up of being her forwarding service, cut the card in half, and posted it BACK to her bank, with a covering letter.

Fast forward again to this week. We received ANOTHER credit card for her (same bank)! We roll our eyes and put it to one side - how on earth has she not changed her address on her BANK?!
Then today we received a "PIN reminder". Her ACTUAL PIN NUMBER.

In all honesty, I feel disinclined to put her new address on it... I've done it enough times now.
Would I but a total cowbag if I just returned it "Not known at this address"? Solely because I think she's stupid?

Same happened to me, I gave up forwarding letters after 2 years

I mean, you have a card and a pin and its Christmas time… 😁
obviously joking but yes this is incredibly frustrating. I had similar with the previous owners of my house, they even bought and registered a new vehicle to my address 6 months after I had moved in. Write not known at this address and return to the bank, alternatively if you have a branch nearby pop in and give it to them.

Just put it in the bin. If she can’t be bothered to change her address why should you bother worrying about it?

youre wrong for opening the mail. Put it in the post with not known at this address on it.

Just keep RTS any post
we had this for ages - I wrote not been at this address for two/ three years when returning them (in big capital letters) and eventually it stopped
I never opened anything

I take your point, but, with the history of "final demands" being linked to our address because of her, I feel justified in checking the contents.

Why are you opening her mail?!

We still get credit cards,bank statements,dvla,Christmas cards for the previous owners 4 years later.

I would just put everything in the bin, you're not her administrator and you've made best efforts.

Because she's still actively using my address for important shit, despite not having lived here for over a year?

If the baliffs rock up you tell them she’s moved and show your passport to prove your ID. Done we’ve lived her for 16 years and get a post card every year for the old owner’s from New Zealand- it’s been like a mini sort of newsletter card. I know more about her friends than she does. I just bin it lol!

You may "feel justified", it doesn't change the fact it is against the law.

3 and a half years on in my house and I still get mail for the previous owners. I tried v hard in the beginning to post it on but they wouldn't share thier address.
I open anything that comes through the door tbh. I dont look at the envelope just rip it open walking from front door to kitchen. I live alone I assume post is for me.
I have been sending stuff back to senders with Not Known at this address but I don't think the PO or the businesses are doing anything. I get all thier post all the time. Everything from appointments, bank statements, pensions plan updates, England Rugby membership, bank cards even the school letters about a attendance.

They never used redirection and after 3 and a half years I now just bin it all.

Write 'Return to Sender / No longer at this address' on the envelope and pop it back in the post box.

You shouldn't be forwarding stuff to her

She either pays for a Royal Mail forwarding service or you send everything back, or chuck it.

I wouldn't forward more than twice

Gosh, 'dumb' and 'stupid' are horrible words to use about a widow who's had to cope with a house move and all the things that go with it.

From now on just don't open them and pop them back in the post with 'Not known at this address'.

And don't worry about Bailiffs, you can prove you're not her and you've bought the house.

It’s illegal to open her mail. Doesn’t matter if you feel justified.
Dont forward on any post- return all to sender as no longer at address.

If you return to sender the bank and phone company will know to start using the credit agencies to find her new address and stop bothering you. Just write no longer at address- or no loner at address and put her new address on the envelope and put it in a post box. My postie, will take them straight from me so I don't even have to go out.

Write to the bank and say she is using your address for fraud and log with the police as well give them her forwarding address. Do not forward anything on. Nothing. Return to sender.

Stop opening her mail and just return to sender. Her bank will contact her to update her address.

We had this for 2 years.
Return to sender did nothing, they kept coming, so I just started binning it. Also from banks!
Interestingly letters stopped about 6 months after I just binned them

You need to stop opening her post. NO LONGER AT THIS ADDRESS works wonders but it can take time.

I used to receive lots of stuff from The Times, a power company, Sainsburys, various American Catholic societies and personal-looking post for the previous owner of our house (deceased). It took two minutes to write a callous "RECIPIENT DECEASED" on the commercial ones. Charity begging ones got binned. The personal ones I'd write a gentle message on the back of the envelope. The only one I ever opened was a personal letter with no return address on the outside. In it the clearly elderly writer had included his new phone number, so I rang it with some trepidation. It turned out the two had been writing to each other every year for more than sixty years. He cried. I cried. Argh.

This

No you wouldn’t be. I still get some post from previous owners and I’ve been here 15 years! I used to redirect it to their new address, then I put ‘not known at this address’ and now I just bin it.

It’s against the law to open other people’s mail so don’t open any more.

Not the brightest of ideas to tell the Police you've been opening other people's mail.