# Stuff being delivered to my address erroneously **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 14, 2025, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-being-delivered-to-my-address-erroneously/1023969 "2025-10-14T20:01:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2025, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-being-delivered-to-my-address-erroneously/1023969/1 "2025-10-14T20:01:56Z")
Here lately, I’ve been having a run of stuff being incorrectly delivered to my address. None is addressed to anyone who lives here, but it’s definitely our address. One is a woman’s medical stuff from Blue Cross/Blue Shield - EOBs and other routine type communications I assume (not opening it). Her name, my address. A dozen letters or so. The other is that some food has been delivered to our house for some other person (not us, not the insurance lady) by Gopuff. Perishable stuff lemonade and other cold items. Two times so far. Ive notified BCBS, and am trying to notify Gopuff, but so far nothing has changed. Is this some kind of scam? None is addressed to anyone in my family, and it’s not like your street number is private or protected. Or is it just weird coincidence? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2025, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-being-delivered-to-my-address-erroneously/1023969/2 "2025-10-14T20:10:35Z")
If you were receiving random trinkets from e.g. Amazon I’d think this applies: > [@Anyone else being the 'victim' of a brushing scam?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-being-the-victim-of-a-brushing-scam/1023359): > > A little over two weeks ago we started getting small packages addressed to “Colin Boone” several times week, both from Amazon directly and passed through USPS. Now, this house was owned by hubby’s parents before us, for a total of a little over 50 years of continuous occupation by people with our last name, No one by that name, or any part of it, has lived here, been a guest here, or even come to a gathering so far as we know. So apparently it’s a ‘brushing scam.’ At first we assumed it was … But you’re not. Might want to bring the USPS stuff to your local post office and ask them. ---
**Author:** ![Sigene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2025, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-being-delivered-to-my-address-erroneously/1023969/3 "2025-10-14T20:23:55Z")
We used to have food misdelivered because google had improperly labeled our house address. So when the driver would use google to find directions…it would consistently show up at someone else’s house. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2025, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-being-delivered-to-my-address-erroneously/1023969/4 "2025-10-14T20:31:33Z")
Yeah, not addressed to anyone here at all. I’m not sure how putting someone else’s address on your health insurance paperwork is part of a scam. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2025, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-being-delivered-to-my-address-erroneously/1023969/5 "2025-10-14T20:43:14Z")
I’m not suggesting that you’re being scammed. That was just a general reference to a thread with lots of various theories & experiences about delivery weirdnesses that you might usefully read if you hadn’t already. Is the GoPuff stuff coming by USPS or by some private courier (e.g. FedEx)? If USPS that might suggest some sort of change of address for those folks somehow got wrongly glued to your address. I agree the whole thing doesn’t smell nefarious; it smells like a database glitch. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2025, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-being-delivered-to-my-address-erroneously/1023969/6 "2025-10-14T20:50:30Z")
Private delivery people. From what I gather, gopuff is much like Doordash. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-being-delivered-to-my-address-erroneously/1023969/7 "2025-10-15T01:55:21Z")
> [@bump](#): > > gopuff is much like Doordash. With a name like GoPuff I’d expect something a lot more interesting than DoorDash. When I get similarly mis-addressed mail, it it looks important I mark it “Return to sender, addressee unknown” and put it back in the box. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-being-delivered-to-my-address-erroneously/1023969/8 "2025-10-15T02:24:01Z")
> [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](#): > > When I get similarly mis-addressed mail, it it looks important I mark it “Return to sender, addressee unknown” and put it back in the box. It’ll just be redelivered to you if you fail to add “No such number, no such zone”. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-being-delivered-to-my-address-erroneously/1023969/9 "2025-10-15T04:15:29Z")
Never happened to me. I also cross out the address. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-being-delivered-to-my-address-erroneously/1023969/10 "2025-10-15T04:39:55Z")
I just got a round of 4 EOB-looking envelopes that are actually ads for an insurer. The addressees are all former renters, some from many years ago. I also received one, which is how I knew what the contents were. I figure someone has bought an out of date address database. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-being-delivered-to-my-address-erroneously/1023969/11 "2025-10-15T13:30:32Z")
We get plenty of mis-addressed mail- for some reason, the postman delivers the mail for a house a few streets over to us because we’ve got the same street number. I usually just drive it by and put it in their mailbox. And we _still_ get stuff addressed to prior occupants, despite having lived here for 18 years now. I’m pretty sure with the exception of the ones immediately prior to us, the rest have to be long dead by now. What I’m talking about is different; we got a huge flood of health insurance correspondence addressed to some woman we’ve never heard of. Her name, our address. And we’ve got a pretty good idea of what she’s been sent, because it happens that we have the same insurance carrier, so the shapes of the envelopes are somewhat revealing (the EOBs have a size/shape that’s different than the notification letters, for example). And the GoPuff stuff is odd. Some dude just showed up and left some gelato, raspberry lemonade, and a twelve pack of Diet Coke. And some other stuff a second time, all addressed to “Hannah L”, who is not anyone who lives here. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-being-delivered-to-my-address-erroneously/1023969/12 "2025-10-15T15:16:50Z")
For regular, USPS mail, write “RTS” (return to sender) on it in big letters, and put it back in your mailbox. The letter carrier will take it away, and if it’s first class it will get back to the sender, who may get the message and stop sending you stuff. Other classes will be discarded (I think). In any case, it won’t be your problem any more. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-being-delivered-to-my-address-erroneously/1023969/13 "2025-10-15T16:44:57Z")
The insurance stuff sounds like it’s a data entry error. That won’t be corrected until the beneficiary verifies her address (eg during a routine call or if she calls in because she’s not getting EOBs .) ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-being-delivered-to-my-address-erroneously/1023969/14 "2025-10-15T16:51:27Z")
I _think_ the letters you received from Blue Cross/Blue Shield, including the explanations of benefits, is a HIPAA violation. You might call them back and ask to speak to their privacy officer regarding this. They should be prompted to _properly_ investigate how these private communications went to the incorrect address. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-being-delivered-to-my-address-erroneously/1023969/15 "2025-10-15T17:15:51Z")
> [@bump](#): > > we got a huge flood of health insurance correspondence addressed to some woman we’ve never heard of > [@alphaboi867](#): > > insurance stuff sounds like it’s a data entry error Forms that have address completion can make it easy to get the exactly correct address, and easy to get a completely wrong address. (This is just an example of what I mean, go to [Find Out if T-Mobile Fiber is Available at Your Address](https://fiber.t-mobile.com/availability) and click on “Check Availability”, and start typing an address.) If you pick the correct address, it is entered in the exact form needed, perhaps “St” instead of “Street”. Select the wrong one, and it could be some address in a different state that has the same street number and first letter or two of the street name. I’ve definitely received at least one miss-delivered Amazon package for this reason. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-being-delivered-to-my-address-erroneously/1023969/16 "2025-10-15T17:21:53Z")
Yanno, that is probably exactly how this happened. Those self-filling forms are getting more and more common and a careless moment by the customer or some clerk will inject some other completely legit address into your records. With the result the OP sees. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-being-delivered-to-my-address-erroneously/1023969/17 "2025-10-15T19:54:26Z")
I did- I notified BCBS and pointed this out (used to work in healthcare IT myself), and they said they’d take care of it. I didn’t open them, that’s for sure.