What do I do w/ these peoples mail?

[happybratpack]

I've spent the last 45 mins on hold to talk to someone at the USPS that can help me. I bought my house a year ago last month, the forwarding order for the previous owners mail expired as of the beginning of December. I have gotten all kinds of Christmas packages, cards, etc for them w/ the yellow sticker saying forwarding order expired. I wrote "no longer at this address, return to sender" on them and put them back in the mail. No luck, they come back w/ another stickey. I asked my Post-person and he said to contact the previous owners for their new address, then change the address on the mail. I can't find these people anywhere, I know they moved to FL somewhere.

So anyway, I have a pile of mail and several small packages sitting in my entry and I'm not sure what to do. Anyone "in the know" here?

Thanks!

 

[pansmermaidzlagoon]

The Post person has to be wrong (sounds like they just don't want to do anything)- it is not your responsibility to contact them/find their new address and get that info and do all that work - although it is very nice of you to do what you have so far. It was the previous owners responsibilty when they moved. It has been over a year. In my case it has been almost three, for well over a year I forwarded their mail because I saw in the real estate section what their new address was. I still find myself doing it on occassion - this year they received a Xmas card, so I felt since it was personal mail - and it was xmas I would do it once more. I just don't feel that after a certain period of time it should be the new occupants concern - and you certainly should not have to go to all that trouble after a year has gone by!!!

At this point I would tell the post person to take the stuff back - that it is not your responsibility - I have never had a problem with the "return to sender" - it never comes back to me after that - thank goodness.

 

[SplshMtn99]

RETURN TO SENDER - no longer at this address since _____

 

[Brianne]

We're still getting the previous owner's mail 1 1/2 years later---some of them are major pieces of mail, like from the IRS (we're starting to think he's hiding from them ). I've tried everything to get the post office to stop delivering his mail to us, but nothing's working!

I figure it this way: since I've got at least one piece of "return to sender" mail in my box to be returned everyday, at least now I can tell when the mail's arrived since the flag is down instead of up.

 

[Charade]

If it's something nice, keep it. Otherwise, toss it. Sound harsh but you've done the best you can.

 

[goofy4tink]

Go back to the USPS and bring those packages with you. Hand them over and tell them those people do not live there anymore. If they try to tell you to 'find the other people' inform them that that isn't your job. I had this same issue. Now, I just throw the stuff away. I'm actually getting mail for someone who died before we even bought the house!!!!
I had an issue with FedEx ground. They always get my address mixed up with the same number but on the East side of town. Same street number but we live on West **** and they live on East ****! And the item is addressed correctly...they just can't seem to read. So, after dh drove some items over to the other family, and it's about 7 miles away, we stopped. Called FedExGround and told them, once again they were making a mistake. Then they tell me that a driver will pick up the item in about 4 days!!! So, I called the company the package was from. they were very interested in this. Especially when I told them I was just going to leave the package outside to be picked up, in 4 days, and since it was most likely clothing the person who had paid for it wasn't going to be too happy to get soggy clothing! Again, I called FedEx when it wasn't picked up. Told them I was going to just chuck it!! Amazingly they were there within 3 hrs.
I figure that if you are still getting stuff, after a year, for these previous owners, whoever is sending it can't be all that close to them. Not if they dont have the 'new' address.

 

[msmickminn]

We've lived in our home for 3 yrs now and we still get mail for the previous owners.
Try putting REFUSED, instead of Return to Sender. That has worked for me so far... all though I haven't had to deal with packages.

 

[Nancy]

My DD's best friends dad is a mailman...I keep getting mail for someone that has never lived in this house! (I checked past owners in the title) he told me to mark it return to sender or not at this address and send it to the post office. I have never gotten the letters back again. If the post office can't deliver don't they go into a dead letter file? I'll have to ask him next time I see him.

 

[ChristmasElf]

The post office should be able to go into their computer system and find the previous owners forwarding address especially since it has only been expired about a month. Sounds like the mailman just doesn't want to do the leg work of returning it and looking it up and is trying to pass the buck to you.

We used to have a mail carrier that would NEVER walk any of the mail that had to be signed for up the driveway, would just put a claim slip in the mailbox and claim we weren't home to sign. So at Christmas that year, I just pretended to not be home when he would suddenly be walking and dropping off the packages (looking for a tip) he was so obvious, as some of the things he would carry up the drive would have had no problem sitting in a regular sized mailbox.

 

[jennyl772003]

If the forwarding order has expired, the package is supposed to be returned to sender. Make sure all of the bar codes are crossed out, put return to sender on the package, and send it back out. If your carrier tells YOU to forward it, tell your carrier you will be talking to the Postmaster. That is out of line.

your problem is just that the machines are reading the old bar codes and accidently sending it back to you.

 

[Andrea]

i am having the same problem, but mine are bills, magazines and junk mail for the people that used to live here before us, and its crazy some days we dont even get mail because all of it belongs to the other family

 

[jbdreamer]

I would just keep writing "return to sender" - there is no reason for you to go to all this trouble. And it's not your responsibility to track these people down.

For some odd reason I get mail with my sisters name, at our address. She has never lived here, and we both have diffenet last names now. Why is this?

 

[NMAmy]

I would take the packages down to the post office myself and ask to speak to the Postmaster. It is NOT your job to track down the former occupants and forward the packages on to them.

I keep getting mail for the former occupant of our house as well--however, when I write, "Not at this address, Return to Sender" the letters don't come back to me. That's just crazy. Between these and the letters for my ex-husband (who has NEVER lived at this address), I spend a lot of time putting mail back in the mailbox!

 

[mickeyfan2]

Put return to sender on again and drop them at the PO.