Previous owners post - 18 months later!

imfml

Just wondering if anyone has any advice.

I bought a house 18 months ago, and post for the previous owners still arrives almost daily. They still get alot of post from banks and the likes.

I know they live close by, I'm surprised they don't realise they're missing mail to be honest, and that they didn't bother updating their details with companies. It was one of the first things I did when I settled in.

I used to put 'Return To Sender' on the envelope and stick it back in the postbox, but now my attitude is, if they aren't bothered updating their address, why would I go out of my way!? Now I just stick it in the bin.

I spoke with the postman who says that they have to be delivered, which I can understand.

Just wondering has anyone any advice? An Post don't seem to have any official way of stopping this type of mail.

seamus

I bought my current house 7 years ago and last week we got mail for their nine year old daughter.

Tbh, what I do with it depends on what it is. Good citizen-like you should write return to sender on everything, no matter how long ago they left. That's the law.

In reality I only do that now for stuff like bills or the above mentioned letter from the HSE. Marketing mail or stuff that's clearly not important just goes in the bin.

We were getting stuff daily for them for the first year, then weekly for the next year, then monthly. Now we still get 2 or 3 pieces of mail per year for them.

pwurple

Ah yeah, we get stuff. I stick it all in a bag, and drop it over to them. They usually get suitably mortified seeing some randomer appear at the door, and swear to change the addresses.
It tails off.

The_Conductor

I bought my current abode- in 1997. I got a letter for a hearing test/hear aid calibration for the previous owner- in the post today- 18 years later.

miezekatze

Do you have their new address? If so, I'd forward it with a note. We did that for the first year, now it's all returned to sender, or if it looks like junk it goes in the bin.

freelancerTax

some people are just idiots, when I moved into a flat in London the previous Tennant asked if I would give his post in next door, I said I would. doing this for 6 months, then a package we were not expecting arrives and my gf signs for it. after bringing it inside she realises its for the old Tennant. 30 minutes later I get an angry phone call from the previous tennant asking why we took his package?

he arrives at my door 10 minutes later and starts ranting about how I should not have signed for his package... I reminded him that he shouldn't get stuff delivered to my flat... the guy did not even thank me for handing in his post next door and was very rude.. I gave him his package and told him to change his address and informed him that royal mail had a paid service to redirect mail (£80 a year)

I closed the door and after that day any mail for him went in the bin. post for him was still arriving a year after...

Uno my Uno.

I rented a place and mounds of post used to arrive for the family who had rented it before us. They used to arrive every couple of months to collect it and would swear they had changed addresses. The last time they came by they got a bit snippy because another former tenant's mail had been mixed in with theirs, everything went in the bin after that.

foggy_lad

Don't write return to sender but put "not known at this address" and the post office will return any post to the senders who will then realise that you are not just refusing the post but you are not their customer.

Arbiter of Good Taste

I am about to send a snotty letter to the Chartered Accountants Regulatory Board telling them that after two years having us return letters sent to the previous resident, that they should update their contact list.

L1011

Try 22 years - I only know it's that long as I know who they are! Apparently AIB have been told by them but as there's some dispute over a closed but in credit account they won't change details. I hand them over a year or so at a time.

Anything else gets sent back as not known or deceased (previous owner).

Miaireland

I had this problem a while ago. I ended up writing on all the envelopes unknown at this address and also wrote that they did not have my consent to have my address on their databases. Not sure if it had any standing but never got anything after that.

JuliusCaesar

I don't think that An Post actually 'return to sender'. I suspect that anything I put in the post marked Return to Sender just gets binned at the Post Office.


Any postal workers here who could let us know?

beertons

I let all the post build up in my house for about 18 months, and wrote return to sender on every letter. Nothing has arrived in the last year addressed to him.

Try living houseshare that's seen a lot of different people over the years. 90% of the post is for previous tenants and we receive post for about 6 different people (who aren't in the house and most I've never met), something arrives at least once a week. Two of the people were in the house in my time so every so often I ask them to collect it the rest gets thrown in the press under the stairs, it's not my problem but if someone ever called then it's not dumped so they could get it.

L1011

JuliusCaesar wrote: »

I don't think that An Post actually 'return to sender'. I suspect that anything I put in the post marked Return to Sender just gets binned at the Post Office.


Any postal workers here who could let us know?

They do. Particularly on licence / franked post.

JuliusCaesar

Thanks L1011

So it's Vodafone etc who keep sending letters out even though they keep getting them back marked 'not known at this address'? Don't they have a system??

traineeacc

We still get post for the deceased former owner - bank statements. I have told the bank that he died a number of years ago they refuse to update their records, has to be executor apparently.

Arbiter of Good Taste

Miaireland wrote: »

I had this problem a while ago. I ended up writing on all the envelopes unknown at this address and also wrote that they did not have my consent to have my address on their databases. Not sure if it had any standing but never got anything after that.

Does anyone know if this works?

John Mason

Could be worse, I had 5 years of guards turning up at my door every few months, looking for the previous owners daughter, refusing to believe I was not her and that I had never met her.

It took a little trip to the Omnibus man to sort that one out.:mad:

OldMrBrennan83

This post has been deleted.

seventeen sheep

I just mark it all "Unknown at this address" and stick it all in the post box once every couple of months. No big deal, it does start to trail off, and it's not like I have to go out of my way to find a post box! As a renter who has moved regularly, I'd appreciate if others did likewise for me rather than just dumping the post. (I do try to update my address with anyone who'd be mailing me, but chances are there will be a couple you'll miss.)

All "return to sender" means is just that - return to sender. It doesn't mean the addressee will be taken off the system or anything, it'll probably be interpreted that they don't want to pay their bill or whatever it is!

campingcarist

JuliusCaesar wrote: »

Thanks L1011

So it's Vodafone etc who keep sending letters out even though they keep getting them back marked 'not known at this address'? Don't they have a system??

With me, its Meteor. I keep writing "return to sender, unknown at this address" but I still get their letter every month. It must be cheaper to send out a letter every month than change the contact details!

fricatus

We just put up a little sticker above the letterbox saying "XXXX family no longer at this address - please return mail to sender" and the post-person presumably did so, since we got nothing further for them.

L1011

seventeen sheep wrote: »

All "return to sender" means is just that - return to sender. It doesn't mean the addressee will be taken off the system or anything, it'll probably be interpreted that they don't want to pay their bill or whatever it is!

The private credit rating agencies share data on bills that are returned as gone away - this shouldn't impact normal bank lending that uses the ICB but if you move and stuff is returned as gone away unpaid it can have an impact:

http://help.creditexpert.co.uk/help/sv635/Credit_report/whats_GAIN

Both Experian and Equifax trade here and are used for store credit, mobile phone operators, etc, etc.

seamus

John Mason wrote: »

It took a little trip to the Omnibus man to sort that one out.:mad:

I chuckled