Vent: Royal Mail "returned to sender"

I have today received an envelope from Royal Mail returning a letter I had sent to the last known address of someone I had not contacted for some time. On the back of the Royal Mail envelope it say

"When posting, always remember to:
. Write a full return address on the reverse of the envelope"

I had done that so why did they feel the need to open my envelope and address their envelope to me with just my first name (because that is what I had used when signing the letter) when I had provided my first and surname on the back of the envelope along with the address?

They also put a sticker on saying "addressee gone away" whereas the person putting it back in the post had simply written "Return to Sender". Does Royal Mail know something in addition to what has been written on the envelope by the person receiving it?

I'll try ringing the 0845 number to complain.
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Comments

  • bazzyb
    bazzyb Posts: 1,584
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    They also put a sticker on saying "addressee gone away" whereas the person putting it back in the post had simply written "Return to Sender". Does Royal Mail know something in addition to what has been written on the envelope by the person receiving it?

    They will usually try to specify a reason as to why something has been returned to you. It is likely that the regular postie would know that the person no longer loves there.

    It does seem odd however that they missed your return address - presumably it was clear and obvious as to what was the return address? It costs them a lot more money to send the item to be opened than it would to return the item directly to you unopened so I can't see that this would have been intentional.
  • mije1983
    mije1983 Posts: 3,665
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    They also put a sticker on saying "addressee gone away" whereas the person putting it back in the post had simply written "Return to Sender". Does Royal Mail know something in addition to what has been written on the envelope by the person receiving it?

    Possibly a standard action when somebody puts RTS on a letter. I suppose the thinking is that if the person still lived there they would RTS it. Therefore they have 'gone away'. Not going to be always the case but I suggest a large majority would be this reason.


    I'll try ringing the 0845 number to complain.

    Personally I'd ring the 0345 number...... ;)
  • gazebo
    gazebo Posts: 465
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    It will have been marked on the sticker as Gone Away because the person putting the sticker on it had to give a reason.

    It is unclear whether the item was handed back to the post person with Return to Sender written on it, or if it had been placed in a postbox and then dealt with by the postie who delivers that route. Look at the other options available on the sticker - Refused would be a potential option, but for a postie to use that, it has to be refused at the point of attempting delivery. Addressee Unknown would be the other, but again that would be given if the postie had been handed the letter back or if that has been written on the letter.

    In terms of why your return address was missed and the item opened, I cannot provide an explanation.

    Asking Royal Mail if they know something about the intended recipient that you don't will be a pointless exercise. If we aren't given a reason other than Return to Sender, and we have to fill in the sticker before returning mail, the default option is Gone Away.
  • A Rather trivial thing to want to complain about.
    Remember the Royal Mail service and its hard working team of post men and women are not a god given right to you so you should treat each and everyone of them with respect.
  • General_Grant
    General_Grant Posts: 4,804
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    A Rather trivial thing to want to complain about.
    Remember the Royal Mail service and its hard working team of post men and women are not a god given right to you so you should treat each and everyone of them with respect.

    You don't know the content of the letter which they opened.

    The service provided was paid for.

    Respect? Respect for my private correspondence?
  • mije1983
    mije1983 Posts: 3,665
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    What did RM say when you called to complain?
  • Fosterdog
    Fosterdog Posts: 4,948
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    Is it possible that the person now living at the address you sent it to opened it and then returned it to the postie a day or so later, the address you put on as the return address could have been destroyed.

    I really can't see what exactly you want to complain about, you sent a letter to an incorrect address and they have returned it to you.
  • Fosterdog wrote: »
    Is it possible that the person now living at the address you sent it to opened it and then returned it to the postie a day or so later, the address you put on as the return address could have been destroyed.

    I really can't see what exactly you want to complain about, you sent a letter to an incorrect address and they have returned it to you.

    The full address was still clearly visible when it came back to me because the envelope had been opened on another edge.

    The complaints are:
    + they delayed the return to me (evidenced by the date they have written on their red sticker affixed by the local delivery office more than 3 weeks earlier than it got back to me). The correct procedure was that the local office should have returned it to me rather than wasting their resources on sending it to Belfast for opening and re-direction
    + they opened a postal item there was no need to open and used the details it contained rather than the name provided on the envelope

    I have not complained to them that, when I phoned the number they provide on the back of their own envelope (an 0845 number), the first message is a suggestion to call an 0345 number as it could be cheaper! Perhaps the next print run will include the 0345 number.

    Any way my complaint has been registered and the local office should be told.

    As a side learning point - I know not to attempt to raise an issue by using the supposed "Vent" section of this website as it seems a means of allowing others to vent their frustrations against the poster's perceived petty problems.
  • It may well not have been RM that originally opened the letter as it could have been delivered to the address on it and then opened by the person living there.
  • kwikbreaks
    kwikbreaks Posts: 9,187 Forumite
    As a side learning point - I know not to attempt to raise an issue by using the supposed "Vent" section of this website as it seems a means of allowing others to vent their frustrations against the poster's perceived petty problems.
    Too true - posting here is often an invitation for abuse. Sometimes deserved abuse though....
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