Still getting someone else's mail

[ArielRae]

We have lived in our home for 6 years now and we still get mail occasionally for the previous tenant. I always right not at this address on the mail and put it back in the mailbox. Recently we have been getting alot more mail for them. Does anyone know of a better way to stop getting this family's mail?

 

[Robmom]

I'm not sure, but I have been in my house for almost 15 years, and I still get the occasional piece of mail for the previous owners.

 

[angierae]

Could you talk to/leave a note for your mail carrier?

 

[cluvsdisney]

I would call or go to the post office to see if you can cut it off at the source.

 

[msmama]

We get mail for the ORIGINAL owners of the house (at least 3 owners since them). We finally looked them up in the white pages (online) and called them. We have their new address now so if we get something that looks important we forward it onto them (with their permission we throw out the junk mail).

 

[jennyf2]

We've been in our house for almost 3 years & we still get their mail. At Christmas we rec'd about 5 Christmas cards --of course I didn't open them but it was obvious.......I put it back in the mail & note "wrong address" on the outside of the envelope. I would guess we get about 4 pieces a month...

 

[marie1203]

Same thing we been here over 3 years and I still get mail for the old owner. I went to the post office fill out a form and it stopped for a week and it started again.

 

[HM]

You should write "Return to Sender" and then an arrow to the sender's address in the corner, as well as "No Longer at this Address" on the envelope. Hopefully the mail will get back to the sender and they can mark that person off their mailing list or check for themselves (if personal) for a new address.

I also agree that notifying your post office of the problem might be of help.

 

[Purseval]

We got letters from the IRS, credit card companies and bill collectors for the previous owner. Problem was the guy owned a small business, apparently had no family and had died. Not said he died and moved away, died as in they found his body when it started to stink up the neighborhood. I called the IRS to let them know but it didn't help. It's just something you have to put up with. Once I notified the IRS I just chucked everything else in the garbage.

I actually didn't know that they found him in the house until we were getting ready to move out. Never heard any strange noises or things going bump in the night but it least it answered the question as to why I had been able to buy the place at such a good price.

 

[Swimalie]

Go to the local post office and talk to them. They can put a "do not deliver" on any mail that comes in the previous owner's name. I had to do this because we bought a house in 1992 from someone with the same last name as ours and they had a son. We've moved twice since then and still get mail for their "son" - things like college aid, selective service, etc. I went to our local post office and told them he is not in our family. Haven't gotten any mail for him since then

 

[EclecticWAHM]

We've been in our house 7 years now and still get mail from the previous tenants. For years I'd do the return to sender, no longer at this address thing, but when I kept getting mail from the same return addresses after doing that, I just stopped. Now anything that comes for them just goes in the trash. I'll only deal with someone else's junk for so long. Not my problem anymore.

 

[mjbaby]

I get mail a few times a month for prior residents, too - sometimes not only the people before me, but also for the people before *them*! When we first moved in I tried to put a stop to it, but was never able to end it completely.

These days I figure that I, too, have left a trail of non-forwarded mail at places that I have lived so now I just chalk it up to the circle of life.

 

[pixiewings71]

We've been here for 7 years, 8 next month and we still get mail for the previous owners....we even get mail for EX husband who NEVER lived here.....we always write address unknown/return to sender on it and drop it off at the PO.

 

[SookieStackhouse]

It is not rare for us to get our neighbors' mail. I just put it back in the mail box as outgoing mail.

We have received, Netflix movies, electric bills, insurance stuff, and junk mail.

 

[3boymthr]

Sometimes I wonder if people don't go on to websites and register to get e-mail coupons, etc. and knowing that they'll get actual junk mail use an old address when they register. 'Cause we started getting junk mail for the old owner years and years after they had moved out and we'd gone years without getting anything.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Right. If the addressee can't be bothered to notify senders of their updated address(es), there's only so much the current resident can reasonably be expected to do.

 

[ready123go]

11 years here and we still get old tenants' mail, last two or three owners' mail (100 year old house, so several owners), BIL's collections (never lived here!), deceased FIL's collections (DH is a 'jr.'), immediate previous owner's collections and tax stuff, etc.
Oftentimes, some unscrupulous, greedy and/or lazy database marketer will sell lists with mis-information to companies. We have even received collection calls for previous owner at our phone number where the company tried to threaten us (didn't get far with me!). Good luck trying to get it straightened out!

 

[herdtoDisney]

One really good way to not get unknown persons mail is, to put your family name in the mailbox, like this 'Smith Family ONLY' . This lets the letter carrier for that day know that ONLY mail for 'Smith' should go there.

Sometimes, a mail route does not have a 'regular' carrier everyday-think day off, vacation, injuries, personnel moves-so by labeling your box, it lets the carrier for that day know exactly who should be getting mail there. It helps even the regular carrier who knows your name, because if he/she sees a piece of mail with a different name, he/she doesn't know if it's an old name, or if perhaps a friend/relative has moved in with you. So labeling helps.

 

[deedeetoo]

We get junk mail addressed to my dh's ex, and they were divorced 20 years ago and she never lived in this house. We just put it all in the trash.

 

[Gigi22]

The Elvis Presley solution--mark each item, "Return to sender, address unknown"!