Fed up Bank sending mail after 2 years for previous occupant because no known other address

[MisForMumNotMaid]

I've been faithfully returning letters to sender for what will be 2 years in the new year. Lloyds bank send several letters most weeks now. I haven't opened them, as I understand that I could be fined. I can't bin them because I understand I could be fined. So i return to sender. Which is fine to a point.

After sending probably more than 100 letters back (just to
Lloyds) with not known at this address moved out early 2013 etc. I decided to ring lloyds today when two more of the letters landed on the door mat. Apparently they're legally obliged to mail about certain things, they can't change the address without account holders permission and can't forward the mail anywhere else.

So legally am I stuck, obliged to return mail indefinitely?

What about money laundering regulations and traceability/ terrorism funding etc. How can the bank allow an account to be held at someone else's address indefinitely? Obviously I realise thats a bit of an extreme leap but this seams mad.

Can i threaten to charge mail handling if they don't disassociate this/ these account(s) with my address?

Just throw it out. I think you've done more than enough. It's the account holder's responsibility to keep their address up to date. They probably don't even use the account.

I'm not an expert but I don't think its a crime to open or throw away mail after it's been delivered. Even less likely that there is a law that would compel you to return it to the sender. If you're worried you could store them somewhere? But if it were me, I'd throw them out.

We had this with Santander and they gave me the same "can't change address on your say so". Luckily I also had an account with them so I wrote again to say I was not associated with him in any way and if they continued sending me mail I would be contacting the police, since using someone elses address for financial things is fraud.

Never heard from them again

Thank you for the responses. I'm being a bit of a pedant. In theory, the mail act 2000 implies that binning mail is an offence because its intentionally causing a delay in its delivery an indefinite one. Opening mail addressed to someone else I've always thought was a crime.

I think i'll pop to branch and go the using my address is fraud route. Its silly but its really getting on my nerves (i must have too much time on my hands, or lots of important things to do so I'm getting bogged down by little issues instead).

Here's a link to the relevant section of the Postal Services Act (2000)

www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/26/section/84

From the above, I would interpret it as it reaches your house and is considered 'delivered' so after that point you are not committing a crime. Also, from the above, it is only a crime to open the mail if you are "intending to act to a person’s detriment".

If this person is a previous occupant of the house, which you implied they are, it's not fraud. They've just forgotten to update their address.

Thank you. I will go to the bank to stop them but will also start binning. Its been long enough.

Dp is like this with our previous occupant. I work in an area where legally we have to send mail to last known address if no other is known...but we don't spa people.
I reckon most of the mail coming for our previous occupant is just spam and routine offers.

Have you tried googling his name or looking on 192.com to see if you can find where he's moved to? If he owes the bank money, hey really ought to be trying to trace him so I bet it is just spam.

Its bank letters, stuff from DVLA, debt collection stuff (one letter was opened in error), mobile phone I think, plus junk mail. The junk mail has dropped right off though.

I think he's probably moving around quite a bit. A bit of a sad set up. Mum essentially moved out the house when her DC were mid teens and dad left a few years before that. Teens wrecked house over a few years and then were effectively evicted for house to be sold (solicitors got involved and they were paid to vacate as part of the divorce settlement). We have no addresses for any of them.

I give them twelve months, then anything else gets binned. I figure that twelve month is enough time as there are some mail that only arrives once per year (insurance, etc) sorted out. Redirections are cheap, so there's no excuse.

Possibly the solicitors have an address. I don't know if a solicitor's letter will hold any weight. Depends if the bank really want to contact them or are just following their rules ie to mail to last address.

My advice would always be, forward to the solicitors that dealt with the sale, then they can respond to the bank letter or forward the letter.

It gets it out of your hands and hopefully it will stop.

Well i went into the local branch of Lloyds bank. They dealt with me quickly, were really nice, said they could see it was a very active account with regular cash withdrawals etc. they have put a stop on his card so he has to contact them and they will ask him to go into branch to prove his address. They did have notes on file that the address was to be queried.

They were really nice and silly as it is I'm relieved that the letters from at least that source should now stop.