Wwyd?

[GJM]

Have you never received mail delivered to your house that doesn't belong to you? I always get my neighbors mail by accident and I go put it in their box.

I would never think of opening it!

 

[Buckalew11]

Trust me making a change at the Post Office doesn't always work like it should.

On our last move, some mail I received, other mail got left at my old house, some mail was sent back to the sender - it was awful trying to get my mail. And this is after I went to the Post Office and put thru a forwarding address.

You still don't open mail that doesn't belong to you -

I moved and had my mail forwarded. I probably got half of it at the new address. The other half was still delievered to the old house. Since I still worked at the old house doing hair, I was able to get my mail there. Plus, my mom bought the house so she still gives me a piece or two a week!

I changed my address with the State (tax papers and the like) and I received city and county tax paperwork from them--one at the new house and one at the old! The state sure isn't getting all of this right! It makes you wonder what you are getting and what you are missing.

 

[scrapquitler]

Since everyone on the DIS has opinions about things, I figure I'd post this situation here and ask my fellow DISsers....WWYD?

We bought our new-to-us home in June (well closed in June). For two weeks we were at the house every day cleaning what the previous residents left behind (they pretty much packed and left and did not clean).

So as we went back and forth from our old house to the new one each day for work, we'd bring a few boxs and misc odds and ends to try and get as much stuff as we could out of our old house before our "big move" day of June 26.

Anyway, during those two weeks, we would get the mail at the new house. Most of the mail was for the previous residents, we set it in a pile to deal with later.....planning to write "return to sender" or "no longer at this address" on the envelopes and put it back in the mail box.

Well, we never did. Today I found the stack (had been moved form place to place as we unpacked) and went through it. Everything that looked "important" I wrote on the outside envelopes "RTS" or "NLATA" but the rest I trashed. Then I saw the card. In the pile was a card -- a birthday card. I thought to myself "Oh man, I should have sent this back sooner so it could have been returned or forwarded to the recipient" I started to trash it, but a voice in my head told me to open it (after all it was very late) in case there was a check in it and I could mail the check back to the sender with a note that the family had moved.

Apparently, the card was for a small child and inside there was a $5 bill.

So I ask......WWYD with the $5.

You should have been sticking it back in the mailbox all along. And btw, it is illegal to have opened that card. You need to return the card and the $5 to the sender.

 

[chloelovesdisney]

Yes it is. It was legally delivered to their home. They own the property. They can do whatever they want with it.

TITLE 18--CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

PART I--CRIMES

CHAPTER 83--POSTAL SERVICE


Sec. 1703. Delay or destruction of mail or newspapers

(a) Whoever, being a Postal Service officer or employee, unlawfully
secretes, destroys, detains, delays, or opens any letter, postal card,
package, bag, or mail entrusted to him or which shall come into his
possession, and which was intended to be conveyed by mail, or carried or
delivered by any carrier or other employee of the Postal Service, or
forwarded through or delivered from any post office or station thereof
established by authority of the Postmaster General or the Postal
Service, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than
five years, or both.
(b) Whoever, being a Postal Service officer or employee, improperly
detains, delays, or destroys any newspaper, or permits any other person
to detain, delay, or destroy the same, or opens, or permits any other
person to open, any mail or package of newspapers not directed to the
office where he is employed; or
Whoever, without authority, opens, or destroys any mail or package
of newspapers not directed to him, shall be fined under this title or
imprisoned not more than one year, or both.

(June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 778; May 24, 1949, ch. 139, Sec. 37,
63 Stat. 95; Pub. L. 91-375, Sec. 6(j)(16), Aug. 12, 1970, 84 Stat. 778;
Pub. L. 103-322, title XXXIII, Sec. 330016(1)(B), (G), Sept. 13, 1994,
108 Stat. 2146, 2147.)

 

[usnuzuloose]

We were renting a home for about 2 yrs, well we kept recieving mail for the prior people. We had paid off our car, an envelope came and I opened it and it was pink slips and a check for the amount they paid over. I felt stupid but the bank was right around the corner, I went in and explained and said I really thought it was mine. But I thought to myself how do you pay off a loan and not give the bank your new address.

I would call the realtor and see if they left a forwarding address, or return it to the sender. Attach a note and say your sorry. Jo

 

[We_Love_Disney]

TITLE 18--CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

PART I--CRIMES

CHAPTER 83--POSTAL SERVICE


Sec. 1703. Delay or destruction of mail or newspapers

(a) Whoever, being a Postal Service officer or employee, unlawfully
secretes, destroys, detains, delays, or opens any letter, postal card,
package, bag, or mail entrusted to him or which shall come into his
possession, and which was intended to be conveyed by mail, or carried or
delivered by any carrier or other employee of the Postal Service, or
forwarded through or delivered from any post office or station thereof
established by authority of the Postmaster General or the Postal
Service, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than
five years, or both.
(b) Whoever, being a Postal Service officer or employee, improperly
detains, delays, or destroys any newspaper, or permits any other person
to detain, delay, or destroy the same, or opens, or permits any other
person to open, any mail or package of newspapers not directed to the
office where he is employed; or
Whoever, without authority, opens, or destroys any mail or package
of newspapers not directed to him, shall be fined under this title or
imprisoned not more than one year, or both.

(June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 778; May 24, 1949, ch. 139, Sec. 37,
63 Stat. 95; Pub. L. 91-375, Sec. 6(j)(16), Aug. 12, 1970, 84 Stat. 778;
Pub. L. 103-322, title XXXIII, Sec. 330016(1)(B), (G), Sept. 13, 1994,
108 Stat. 2146, 2147.)

That is for the carrier. Not the owner of the property that the mail was addressed to.

 

[Mimi1965]

Yes it is. It was legally delivered to their home. They own the property. They can do whatever they want with it.

OMG-do you REALLY believe that? Nuts!


I have important mail of my neighbors misaddressed to my adress many times-I would not DREAM of opening it

The OP needs to put it all in a BIG envelope and bring to the post office

 

[RunningGirl]

Yes it is. It was legally delivered to their home. They own the property. They can do whatever they want with it.

Let's say someone sends something to you, with your name on it, but inadvertently writes your address at "123" instead of "132". Does that mean that the residents at "132" get to keep your mail?

 

[chloelovesdisney]

lol, I just goggled opening someone else's mail and this thread came up.

 

[allyphoe]

It was legally delivered to their home. They own the property. They can do whatever they want with it.

If it wasn't addressed to them (where "addressed" refers to the person's name, not the mailing address), intentionally opening or destroying it likely constitutes mail tampering.

United States Codes (Federal Law Register)
Sec. 1702. - Obstruction of correspondence

Whoever takes any letter, postal card, or package out of any post office or any authorized depository for mail matter, or from any letter or mail carrier, or which has been in any post office or authorized depository, or in the custody of any letter or mail carrier, before it has been delivered to the person to whom it was directed, with design to obstruct the correspondence, or to pry into the business or secrets of another, or opens, secretes, embezzles, or destroys the same, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both


Sec. 1705. - Destruction of letter boxes or mail

Whoever willfully or maliciously injures, tears down or destroys any letter box or other receptacle intended or used for the receipt or delivery of mail on any mail route, or breaks open the same or willfully or maliciously injures, defaces or destroys any mail deposited therein, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years

 

[luvdzny]

It needs to be sent to the person that it was addressed to, put it back in the envelope and mark RTS on the envelope. It doesn't matter how old it is or how small the amount is, it is not yours.
If I read this correctly, it sounds as if you committed a crime:

TITLE 18--CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

PART I--CRIMES

CHAPTER 83--POSTAL SERVICE


Sec. 1702. Obstruction of correspondence

Whoever takes any letter, postal card, or package out of any post
office or any authorized depository for mail matter, or from any letter
or mail carrier, or which has been in any post office or authorized
depository, or in the custody of any letter or mail carrier, before it
has been delivered to the person to whom it was directed, with design to
obstruct the correspondence, or to pry into the business or secrets of
another, or opens, secretes, embezzles, or destroys the same, shall be
fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.

 

[dislaney]

Yikes. It all should have been put back in the mailbox with Return to Sender written on it!

 

[Handbag Lady]

TITLE 18--CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

PART I--CRIMES

CHAPTER 83--POSTAL SERVICE


Sec. 1703. Delay or destruction of mail or newspapers

(a) Whoever, being a Postal Service officer or employee, unlawfully
secretes, destroys, detains, delays, or opens any letter, postal card,
package, bag, or mail entrusted to him or which shall come into his
possession, and which was intended to be conveyed by mail, or carried or
delivered by any carrier or other employee of the Postal Service, or
forwarded through or delivered from any post office or station thereof
established by authority of the Postmaster General or the Postal
Service, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than
five years, or both.
(b) Whoever, being a Postal Service officer or employee, improperly
detains, delays, or destroys any newspaper, or permits any other person
to detain, delay, or destroy the same, or opens, or permits any other
person to open, any mail or package of newspapers not directed to the
office where he is employed; or
Whoever, without authority, opens, or destroys any mail or package
of newspapers not directed to him, shall be fined under this title or
imprisoned not more than one year, or both.
(June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 778; May 24, 1949, ch. 139, Sec. 37,
63 Stat. 95; Pub. L. 91-375, Sec. 6(j)(16), Aug. 12, 1970, 84 Stat. 778;
Pub. L. 103-322, title XXXIII, Sec. 330016(1)(B), (G), Sept. 13, 1994,
108 Stat. 2146, 2147.)

I think this bit in red covers it.

 

[golfgal]

I would have put ALL the mail right back in the mail box, rubber band it together if necessary and put a sticky note on the mail, please forward. I certainly wouldn't open any of it, let alone a card that probably contained money. Poor kid's mom will probably be posting on a message board somewhere how Grandma forgot his birthday and never forgets anyone elses too.

 

[Wishing on a star]

Wow, I don't care if the previous family did, or did not, attempt to change their address. It doesn't matter at all why or how the mail ended up in the mailbox.

If it is very obviously NOT your mail, you have no conceivable reason whatsoever to open it. There was no reason for the OP to need or want to know what was in that card/envelope. No reason, really, to even collect and 'go thru' that mail at all.

The OP meddled where they had no business.
And, could possibly have, technically, committed a crime.

 

[Ceila]

Get a grip people!!!!

The previous owners had a responsibility to make the change at the post office. That was their error.

Don't worry, OP, you didn't do anything wrong. You broke NO laws. Contact the post office for the mailing address of the previous owner. A quick note explaining what happened with the card money and other mail should more than suffice.

I think people have "a grip."

The OP knew the mail was for someone else, knew how to take care of it, and opened it anyway. What she did was both illegal (as others have shown) and unethical, and I can't even understand why she needs to come on to a message board to figure out the right thing to do.

 

[Wishing on a star]

I think I do....

But, I won't post it here.... not even with a flame-suit on.

 

[mom23boys]

I would have put ALL the mail right back in the mail box, rubber band it together if necessary and put a sticky note on the mail, please forward. I certainly wouldn't open any of it, let alone a card that probably contained money. Poor kid's mom will probably be posting on a message board somewhere how Grandma forgot his birthday and never forgets anyone elses too.

I agree with this, you should have never opened their mail.

 

[Magic Mom]

I would not have opened someone else's birthday card in the first place. But if I had, of course I would seal it back up and return it to the sender with a note apologizing for not sending it back earlier and for opening it.

What else would you do with it? Not keep it, I hope???

 

[Scurvy]

I can - sort of - understand why you'd go through the mail and only send back the things you thought were important, though you actually should have sent back everything. I can't remotely understand why you thought it was a good idea to open anything that wasn't yours, especially not something like a card. It was completely unethical and there was absolutely no good reason for doing such a thing.

If there is a return address on the envelope, I think you need to stick it in a larger envelope and mail it back with a note apologizing for opening it. If there is no return address or you aren't willing to apologize, you should seal it up and write "Not at this address" or "Moved" or "Please Forward" on the envelope and stick it back in the mailbox. Maybe it was supposed to be forwarded and slipped through the cracks. As others have mentioned, that happens often, unfortunately.

ETA - After re-reading the OP I'm even more confused. Why would you even consider trashing the card? You had to know it would be important to someone. None of this makes any sense to me. I don't understand what you were thinking.