# Opening/Dumping other people's mail



## Jimmy (30 Jun 2005)

Hi,

I recently moved out of a rented house. I called back to the old house about 3 months after I moved out and asked the new residents if there was any mail for me. I got a blank "No!", and basically had the door closed in my face.
Even though I had got my address changed for most things, you would expect to have forgot a few which would need tidying up. There had been 4 of us living in the house previously, so you'd expect to have quite a few letters built up after 3 months. I was a bit taken aback by the abruptness of the response, but was polite and said nothing and left.

And am I right in saying it's illegal to dump other people's mail?

Then yesterday I received a letter from the new residents containing two bills. They weren't in their envelopes. They had been opened and then sent on to me. (Their landlord had my address). 

Am I right in saying that it is illegal to open other people's mail? 

I wouldn't have such an issue if they had sent me a load of unopened mail and the bills were among them, but I didn't like their way of doing thing.

Incidently, the date on the bills was for before I had called around. i.e. those bills were sitting there when I was told there was no mail for me. Maybe they hadn't got around to reading them yet ;o)

One bill was for ESB which was actually due to the landlord, not me, and the other was an ESB bill which was an oversight. The new residents sent it on coz they couldn't get connected untill the bill was paid.

Larry


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## stobear (30 Jun 2005)

Happened to Mrs bear, she got a load of studying material delivered by DHL, but she wasn't there when it was being delivered, so they left it next door. When we went to collect it the box had been ripped open.........


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## Gabriel (30 Jun 2005)

Send them a letter saying you're taking action over the opened mail.

Even if you don't it might make them sh*t their pants and they sound like a right bunch of a*seholes.


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## Humpback (30 Jun 2005)

From having moved around a bit in the UK, I've always now left behind a couple of A4 envelopes, stamped and with new address on it, in the old apartment.

I'll either have a word with the landlord, or new tenants if I can, and ask that they stick any post in the envelope for the first few months and stick in the post.

Saves them the hassle of re-addressing, and makes it an easy job for them to forward on your post to you.


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## sluice44 (30 Jun 2005)

I know the horse has bolted but I think An Post offer a service where they'll re-direct your mail if you move home.  I couldn't find anything on their website.


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## CCOVICH (30 Jun 2005)

Yes, I remember looking into the An Post service before, but it wasn't cheap (I guess they have to make money somehow).

Whenever I have moved into a house where mail has arrived for departed occupants, I would readdress it if I had a forwarding address, hold it until they called around to collect, or told the landlord.  

Common decency would suggest that you should hold mail for 1-2 months, but that's a fairly high standard these days.  Having said that, you do get sick of a pile of mail building up after a while.  

The former tenants of the last apartment I lived in before I joined the ranks of the FTB left a sheet of labels with their forwarding address printed on them, very handy I have to say.


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## soc (30 Jun 2005)

It is illegal to open other people's letters.  

If the new tenants receive a letter for you - all they need to do is cross out the address and write on the envelope:
*Redirect To:
John Smith
123 ABC,
Dublin X*

Pop it in the postbox... and it will be delivered to you.  They won't have to bother with a new envelope or postage stamp.

As a rule of thumb, when people leave the house - if they don't leave a forwarding address, I generally return their letters to the sender - marking the letter with:
*Person no longer lives at address.*

The only time I ever open someone's letter, is if I need to return to sender - but there is no return address on the envelope. I need to get the return address from the letter.  I generally state on the returned letter:
*Had to open letter for return address.
Person no longer lives at this address.*

I could throw the letter in the bin... but I'd prefer to let the sender know that the person they wrote the letter to has moved.

-soc


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## Vanilla (1 Jul 2005)

SOC- its still illegal to open mail under any circumstances- you should return the unopened envelope to An Post and they will open it and return to sender.


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## Grumpy (1 Jul 2005)

I`m still getting mail from the previous resident over 10 years later.
I`ve long since stopped returning mail anywhere.


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## soc (1 Jul 2005)

Vanilla said:
			
		

> you should return the unopened envelope to An Post and they will open it and return to sender.



So what exactly should I write on the 'unknown sender' envelope to get An Post to deal with the letter instead?  Will:
*Not at this address*

suffice?  Will An Post deal with the letter then?  It would be all the more easier of people just stuck a damn return address on the letters!

-soc


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## Merrion (1 Jul 2005)

Here is an information on the An Post Redirection service as mentioned earlier! http://www.anpost.ie/personal/personal_postalservices_swiftpack.html


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## Vanilla (1 Jul 2005)

Hi SOC, I agree its a pain, but you should limit your own exposure, regardless that you may be trying to be helpful. If you could meet your postman, just tell her or him, if not, just return to the PO, marking it not at this address.


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## Sol28 (1 Jul 2005)

I moved into an apprtment - Girl before me was very nice - Had her forwarding address - and kept forwarding her mail. But after a year of the same mail coming in I started adding a note to the back of the envelopes telling her to change the address permanently.

They still kept arriving - After that i did a return to sender - let the sender sort it out. Especially since i could see through the window that one of the regular letters was from a baliff company. Could just see them coming and taking my car away from the numbered parking space! Phoned the baliffs as well and told them she no longer lived there and to locate her elsewhere (didnt give them her address - wasnt my place to!)


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## EC1 (5 Jul 2005)

My parents still get letters for the former owner of their house (who moved out in 1981) from An Post. Ironically, the guy worked for An Post.


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## Queenspawn (5 Jul 2005)

Getting the mail redirected is the best solution. I know it costs a few bob but in all fairness it you need your mail just do it. It really isn't up to the next tenant owner to do your work for you .If you absolutely won't do the decent thing, and opposed to a previous poster I think the onus is on the departed (God bless us what a choice of words) then at least supply a stash of self adhesive labels with your new address. 

Personally I would feel very little obligation to pass on post for someone who hasn’t taken the effort to either inform his correspondents nor redirect the mail. If it's important enough they'll have sorted it out.

My rule of thumb is it were a regular cheque that was arriving would you tell the EU, dole, stockbroker that you moved?...


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## Eyeseeyou (5 Jul 2005)

Does cost a few bob and is worth it - but only when it works! Let me give you a UK  scenario..... married woman, redirecting mail to new house, with no remaining ID in maiden name it becomes impossible to have mail in that name redirected!
You may then say, why doesn't she take the time to inform all correspondants of the change of name...it takes time and relies on the efficiency of the correspondants.


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## DrMoriarty (5 Jul 2005)

> stash of self adhesive labels with your new address


...is the best option - can't see the justification for paying An Post to redirect, unless you foresee a large volume of urgent mail arriving, and presuming the new tenants/owners aren't complete so-and-sos. How much hassle is it for them to stick a pre-printed label on the odd envelope and throw it in a postbox, next time they're passing or sending post themselves (presuming it's only the odd envelope, of course!)

That said, naturally, it's only common sense/common courtesy to notify as many people/parties as possible of your change of address, and have your entry in the 'phone book altered - you can do that for free, once a year.


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## Eyeseeyou (6 Jul 2005)

CCOVICH said:
			
		

> left a sheet of labels with their forwarding address printed on them



Wish I had done the sticky label thing!

Eighteen months ago I moved house and arranged mail redirection.

Eerily, after submitting a post on this subject yesterday, I received a bundle of letters in the post this morning which had been posted to my old address in *JANUARY* 2005! Most of it was junk mail. However, one contained a PIN for a new chip and PIN credit card - I never received the card. I had cancelled this credit card shortly before I moved house so never expected any further correpondence from the bank in question. I spent a large part of today making phone calls and trying to find out whether a card had been issued in January, if so, where had it gone and had someone else been using it on my behalf. Turns out my oh so efficient bank hadn't properly closed the account, they don't know if a card was sent out, but are pretty sure that no-one has tried to use it in the past six months.

Wish I had done the sticky label thing and avoided the worry of somebody using my card for the past six months!


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## GreatDane (6 Jul 2005)

Hi

With all respect to the legislation, lets be fair here there are a couple of considerations:

A) Some letters arrive with no address for return pre-printed on them.  Options are either bin it or open it & see who sent it, so you can return it advising them the contact has moved on

B) After a certain period of time, mail still arriving at your home for a previous resident after you making every effort becomes a pain in the a$$ ... I think it's a little disrespectful of the previous resiednts not to make arrangements to ensure this does not go on indefinitely (be it redirecting of post, be it writting to notify parties you've moved or be it envelopes with stamps & the new address for things to be forwarded on).

Personally, I beleive the law is there to help us all ... but like most laws, there is infact a practical side to it ... it's the spirit of the law which must me considered, rather than always following the letter of the law, imho 

Cheers

G>
http://www.rpoints.com/newbie


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## terrysgirl33 (7 Jul 2005)

All I ever do is write 'not at this address' on the envelope.  It them becomes An Posts problem, not mine.  I don't try to send it to a forwarding address or see what it is, I just don't care.  I am in a situation where we bought the house new, so there aren't any other residents!!


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## Helen (8 Jul 2005)

Why does it take so long for the senders of the mail to get the message that their intended recipient doesn't live there anymore. VHI is one example of a company who has repeatedly sent mail to my address for the previous owner despite numerous 'Return to Senders'. I'm sick of returning all the mail aswell and do feel that it is totally disrectful of the previous owners not to arrange to collect it or do a proper job of changing their address.


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## JPSaltee (12 Jul 2005)

I live in a house of 6 flats and after a month or so a huge pile of post builds up, no previous tenants have left an address to my knowledge......so I just write no longer at this address and chuck them back into the postbox. 

I have lived a numerous addresses over the past 10 years - i'm guessing at least 8/9 so what i do is have all postal correspondence sent to my parents address and give them a buzz and they tell me what is there ( the mother has become v apt at reading post marks !) and they send on what is important. Can be a bit of a pain but at least i know my mail is safe and all my parents do is stick on a label ive printed and hand it back to the postman. Works a treat and my friends dont need to get a new address book just for all my addresses !!


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## Gordanus (12 Jul 2005)

I've used the An Post mail redirection twice and both times items slipped through, ie went to the address instead of being forwarded.  The landlady didn't bother her ass to return or forward them - I think she binned them.   I only found out cos a friend had taken a flat in the building and also a cheque sent to me never arrived.  A complete pain cos I then had to spend time on the the local post office and the redirection service.   There's no infallible system.


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