I started a thread in GQ a while back to ask about one’s obligations re handling of mail for previous residents at one’s address. Only got one response, but it was a firsthand report of somebody who called the post office and asked. Their answer: forward for a while, then feel free to throw it away.
I know there was no forwarding order because the nice supervisor at the post office looked it up for me. She couldn’t find any evidence of any forwarding order originating from my address from anyone.
Second, as I said, if the previous tenant couldn’t be arsed to fill out a forwarding order request, then I can’t be arsed to care. Especially since the USPS would probably try to re-deliver said mail back to me. Lather, rinse repeat.
Third, I fill out the requests for forwarding orders to have my mail forwarded. I also contact the people who send me mail to let them know I’m moving, because that is the proper procedure for this sort of thing. I wouldn’t be angry at the new resident because… get this… I’m capable of taking the necessary steps to make sure I get my mail. I don’t expect anyone else to give a shit about my business but me. Capisce?
Robin
I had a 2nd line installed for my store. It turned out that the line used to belong to a Chevy dealer. I got so sick of calls for the Chevy dealer (that number was still listed in a directory somewhere), that I decided to just use the number for the fax machine. I assumed people would get the message after hearing the fax scream in their ears.
So what happened?
I started getting faxes for the Chevy dealer. sigh
No, you know nothing of the sirt- all you know is that “the nice supervisor at the post office” told you there was none. If the previous occupant had filed one, but the OP had lost it or secrewed up, do you think she’d either know or disclose that? (Does it shock you to find out that once in a while the Post Office makes a mistake?). Thus, you have no idea at all whether or not the previous tenant had filled out a forwarding order request.
Next, if you properly annotated the letters (which includes lining out the old address so that the computer can’t read it but a human can) then they wouldn;t come back.
Finally, you may do so- but as I said, you are betting that the PO never ever screws up (a bad bet). If you did fill out the form completely and correctly, but the PO lost it or screwed it up, would you still want the new occupant to throw out your mail?
I have a cell phone. Originally, I had service with TMobile, but right about the time when it was decided that people could port their numbers from one service to another, I switched over to Cingular (they had a phone I liked, and TMobile’s service sucked). It took two months to get it correct (from November to January) but eventually I had my fully functional Cingular phone number.
I don’t get very many calls. I mostly use my phone to text-message back and forth with the spouse, read email, and take pictures of my cats. Every few months, though, without fail, I end up with a flurry of phone calls all asking for the same person. I dutifully told them ‘nobody’s here by that name,’ but the calls persisted.
Finally I figured out what was going on: TMobile was assigning my number to a new person! Each time, I eventually ended up chatting with the TMobile rep (who called me), explaining the situation to them, and getting their promise that this would be taken care of and wouldn’t happen again. The calls stopped…
…for a few months, and the whole thing started over again. I’ve gotten to the point now where when I start getting these calls, I just say, “So, did TMobile give out my number to somebody else again?” The answer is invariably a surprised “Oh!” followed by “Yes, I think so…”
It’s very annoying, but trying to get through to TMobile’s customer support (even if I thought it would work, which I don’t) is a nightmare I’m not willing to contemplate.
As per your cite, I did contact my local law enforcement. As I mentioned earlier, a close friend just retired after 29 years with the Postal Inspectors office. (We had a retirement party for her last saturday, it was quite fun) They are the ones that investigate and handle crimes related to mail service.
I realize I was a little flippant in the way I phrased my first response. She said that it was polite to return mail that is sent to you in error, but that you should use your own best judgement in how long to keep doing that. I specifically asked her about this because we’ve occassionally received mail for someone else for about 2 years. She said I could keep returning it if I wanted but that even she wouldn’t at that point.
Even I would balk at doing it for one year, let alone two. For a couple of months, certainly.
The FCC has information at the bottom of this page concerning filing an official complaint. Give it shot, what can it hurt?
I’d do it for a couple of weeks, tops. Then I’d start letting it pile up. After a couple months it’s going in the trash. A couple weeks is more than enough time to realize that you’re not getting mail forwarded and take action to correct it.
So then what is your major malfunction? Both MsRobyn and myself both said that we did it for awhile, then eventually stopped. You proceeded to lecture us that we were being terribly rude and it was only a matter of time before the Fed’s hauled us away. Now you’re saying that you wouldn’t even do it?
:dubious:
No, but my choices were to trust the USPS information, or go to the ends of the earth to find something that probably didn’t exist. She apparently searched by address because she couldn’t find anything for it.
The mail was properly annotated. I lined through the address and wrote “Return to Sender” on it. It sat in my mailbox. There was no ambiguity involved. It wasn’t my mail, and I wanted the carrier to take it back. He didn’t and refused to deliver my mail. I had to throw the mail away just to get it gone.
Can’t you accept that some people don’t care enough to forward their mail?
Robin
We have owned our house and our phone number for five and a half years.
We still get Eddie Perez’ mail, and a law firm will not stop calling for Evelina Thompson.
Attam is probably in Gitmo or an undisclosed location… :eek:
I used to get phone calls (all from very elderly people) asking for Mrs Foley. My name is not Foley. This was when we first got the phone number-I assume we got it because Mrs Foley died.
The mail is a different story. Right now we are getting Yolanda Hughe’s mail. She like Working Woman magazine and the lower end knick-knacky catalogues. Frankly, her taste in mailing lists is all in her mouth.
But when we first moved in (18 years ago), we kept getting mail for a Tim Stewart. Bank statements, credit card apps-you name it. The people we had bought from were named Riche. Who was Tim Stewart? I asked a neighbor who has lived here for over 30 years-Tim Stewart used to live here. He hanged himself in our garage.
I can’t believe that noone in that family took care of his damned mail! WTH?
No, you could have and should have just placed the properly annoted returned mail in a *public *mailbox (you know, those big blue things on the corner?)- instead of playing pissing games with your postal carrier which did nothing but screw all three of you over. Now, how did that do anyone any good? You “cut off your nose to spite your face”, which is foolish and immature.
Wait, so her mail box. . . that is set up by the USPS to, you know, pick up mail and deliver mail and basically serve all her mailing needs. . .isn’t good enough?
Should she have also driven to the next town over? Maybe two?
Believe it or not (I know I didn’t until I moved to the Midwest) not every place has a public mailbox on convenient corners. In my city of nearly 40,000, there are very few mailboxes. I’ve only seen three around town, in far-flung locations, though I suspect there are a few more. The typical way of sending outgoing mail here is to leave it in one’s personal (curbside) mailbox, with the flag up, so the carrier will take it, or to drive it to the post office and mail it there. Taking mis-delivered mail is part of the carrier’s everyday job. MsRobyn’s carrier was remiss in not doing so.
We returned it for a year. After that, all bets are off, as far as I’m concerned. If you wanted stuff from those people, you would have changed your address with them in the last year. After that, you’re just letting me throw your junk mail out for you, which I will (not entirely gladly) do. It’s all part of the mail circle of life. I’m sure my junk mail is going to some of my old addresses, too.
I always wondered about that. I assumed the mail carrier was reading the addresses and could tell that one of the names wasn’t right, but didn’t know what the official Party Line was in regards to having to deliver it.
Now if you can tell me how to keep flyers out of my mailbox, I’ll buy you a pony.
If you read her post, MsRobyn was in a pissing contest with her mail carrier over whether or not he’d take the “no longer at this address” items out of her personal mailbox. Once she realized that, then the mail should have gone into either a public mail box or the PO itself. True, he carrier got fired over his failure to do so, but MsRobyn also got her credit screwed over and the “previous occupant” got her mail tossed by MsRobyn.
I’ve owned my house for over 6 years, and I still get mail for Moufassad Something or other. I tried “return to sender” - but now I just throw it away. I get credit card offers and other things, he didn’t seem to be a deadbeat. I don’t understand why he didn’t put in a change of address.