Do you send post on to previous Owner/tenant?

olly300

Sometimes Royal Mail's redirection service doesn't work.

However people who it doesn't work for normally attempt to go back to their old address within 2 months to check you have their post.

So keep the post and don't forward it for 2 months.

If the old tenants come around for it find out if they have a redirection and tell them it's not working.

If the old tenants come around and don't have a redirection say that you were about to return it all to sender. Then if they have a cheek to come around next time say there is no post for them.

sulphate

I would forward mail for awhile but wouldn't expect other people to do the same because it's my responsibility to get my mail forwarded. Sometimes though it's not the old tenant's fault - my husband told the SLC of his change of address but they only changed his 'home address' not his 'contact address' on their databases so the mail carried on going to the wrong address. :T

When we moved into our last rented house we forwarded mail for our landlord for several months. The week after we stopped doing it the EA called asking if any letters had arrived for him recently!

newsgroup_monkey

No. And I don't expect it to be done for my previous address either.

I think it's fair to put "Return to sender" on the letter.

I am in the following situation;

1. Previous tenant (did a runner). All letters are either letter before action or bailiff notices. I've opened most of them and phoned the relevant agency to explain that they don't live here any more. To be honest, many of the agencies had multiple accounts open so half a dozen calls got rid of all of those.
The only other ones I get are from the council telling them that their child is welcome to start at the local school. I know for a fact they haven't changed their address because there's no way in hell they would get their child in if they don't live in the area any more.

2. A policeman who is on long-term sick, who moved out over a year ago and is still claiming to live here. In addition, he still has his car and motorbike registered here apparently. This only came to light because I sent everything back "return to sender" and our regional constabulary were so particularly concerned that they sent an HR person round to see me (they did arrange it first). Apparently, this guy could be now done for fraud (he doesn't live in the same county now). Interestingly, I have just had a demand for payment from the local gym as he hasn't paid this month!

Look at it this way:

What if the previous tenant / owner was still taking loans and CCs out in this address and I keep forwarding their stuff on?

In a few months time, I'll get a bailiff knocking on the door demanding goods and payments. No offence to anyone, but I don't fancy that.

geoffky

Stopped after two years..
Even phoned the pension company to tell them they no longer live here.
Still getting pension mail

Torry_Quine

I would send post on for a couple of months at least as things do slip through even with a redirection in place and it costs nothing to you. Simply write on the new address and put in the post box when passing next.

mandragora_2

How long does it take? How much does it hurt? I'm in the ''Seriously?" camp here.

Lagoon

When we moved in, the previous tenants left us a letter with their new address. We didn't send the mail on for a month, because we didn't want to be doing it too regularly and hoped that they'd soon get their mail sorted.

They were living about 20 minutes away. After a month, they showed up at the door asking if we'd got their letter as they hadn't received any mail. We loaded them up with their letters, and they asked us if we could continue to forward their mail.

We did, a month later. After that, we started with the Return to Sender approach. They've never been back, but we're still getting regular mail for them including birthday and Christmas cards, and postcards that we've read and that seem to come from close friends and family. I have no idea how the people they speak to regularly aren't aware that they've not lived here in years.

We no longer RTS. For the past year, everything has gone in the bin.

Old_Git

I bought in May ,moved in June .I spoke to the postie and said how do I deal with the post for the previous owner ,they have debt collectors looking for them .I didn't redirect my mail but the postie has been delivering my post (still addressed to my old house )to my new house .Its the same postie for both houses.

olly300

mandragora wrote: »

How long does it take? How much does it hurt? I'm in the ''Seriously?" camp here.

Actually it can be lots of hassle.

Where l live now in either direction I go I have postboxes within walking distance. However the previous occupants changed their address before moving so I only got about 5 letters for them and that was in the month they had moved out.

In a place I lived before the postbox was some distance away and not near where I took public transport to work or for leisure.

This meant by the time I got to forward the ex-tenants (please note the plural) post or return it to sender I would have at least one full carrier bag of post. In some cases a carrier bag would take less than a week to fill up.

Luckily after 3 months the amount halved and over a year later there was hardly any.

Moby_Tide

6 years after moving in we still receive the broadband bills, yearly pension correspondence, DVLA letters etc. the previous owner lives 3 doors away.

For those in the "seriously" and "it only takes 5 minutes" camp. You're bang on. Seriously, it takes 5 minutes to update your own address. Do it, or don't expect to get your mail.