Mail from ex partner still being delivered to my address

riwenna

I am still receiving mails addressed to my ex partner who has moved out of this address more than two years ago. I have seen a number of posts on this topic already, and most of them simply say to write 'Not at this address any more' on the envelope and post it back, which I have been doing for two years. Mild annoyance over the last couple of years, but is making me worry quite a bit currently due to the COVID situation.

The latest series of mails addressed for him has been from the NHS. I've checked the legislation and it seems I am allowed to open wrongly addressed post if I am not planning to act at anybody's detriment and if I have a good reason (I wanted to correct the mistake which is ongoing for the last 2 years), so I opened it -- and realised the letter is telling his he has been selected for a random antibody test to study the prevalence of the virus in the population. I had tried contacting the GP service we both were registered to, but they say (obviously) that they can't change his information based on what a third party (me) has told them. However, if his home address is not updated, I doubt he has updated his phone number either, so they will have no way of reaching him and confirming this change.

I am not planning to misuse this letter (e.g. by trying to order a test for myself; that would be illegal and wrong in all sorts of ways, likely detrimental to the underlying research being done). But, what really worries me is that this is his address information in the NHS register -- meaning that the Trace and Test system they are rolling out considers that we still live in a single household. Having the correct contact information and having a good Trace & Test system (which it is not from what I have been reading) is crucial in the progression of the pandemic, however I do not seem to be able to update my information to correctly reflect who is a member of my household (only myself for the past two years) and they do not seem to have the information that he has now moved to a 5-people household (and therefore would not be able to contact any of his close contacts in case of need). So at this point, I am asking what to do not only because I am personally mildly annoyed, but rather as it is in the interest of public health.

theartfullodger

It's amazing the low quality of glue people use these days & how many envelopes just "fall open" on the matter: And you simply can't help noticing the contents..

Simply stick them back in post-box - "not known at this address". Men eh?

riwenna

I've done that with every single letter addressed to him over the past two years -- nothing seems to have changed. I'm happy to say that I've opened this letter myself -- as far as I can tell, as long as I am not doing it with the intention of committing fraud and have a good reason, it is not an offence according to the related legislation.

However, this is really not about the mild annoyance of seeing his name on post from time to time. I am worried that the NHS having the incorrect record of his address (presuming he shares a household with only me, rather than living in a 5-people household) will result in them giving out wrong recommendations if either of our names ever pop up through the Trace&Test system. I really would not like to be told to self-isolate because of actions of somebody I haven't spoken to in two years. Similarly, they seem to have no awareness of his current contact, address, or the people he is actually sharing a household with (who would all put each other mutually at risk if any of them gets unwell).

princeofpounds

I really don't think your ex's address is critical to the nationwide success of the test and trace system. It isn't based on this address anyway, it's largely telephone-driven, and it largely depends on details people give at the time they take a test. If they do send something through addressed to your household, you can just correct them. They have way biggest headaches than a stale GP address database.

Let's be honest, it's just annoying to receive his mail. As artful says, just return to sender. If a firm keeps sending stuff, you can often call them and tell them their records are incorrect. I've done it before with financial firms. They won't change anything on your instruction, but they will often stop sending statements and try to contact the account owner another way. 

davidmcn

riwenna said:

I've done that with every single letter addressed to him over the past two years -- nothing seems to have changed. I'm happy to say that I've opened this letter myself -- as far as I can tell, as long as I am not doing it with the intention of committing fraud and have a good reason, it is not an offence according to the related legislation.

However, this is really not about the mild annoyance of seeing his name on post from time to time. I am worried that the NHS having the incorrect record of his address (presuming he shares a household with only me, rather than living in a 5-people household) will result in them giving out wrong recommendations if either of our names ever pop up through the Trace&Test system. I really would not like to be told to self-isolate because of actions of somebody I haven't spoken to in two years. Similarly, they seem to have no awareness of his current contact, address, or the people he is actually sharing a household with (who would all put each other mutually at risk if any of them gets unwell).

If mail is addressed to and delivered to your address, you don't even need to worry about the "having a good reason" bit - that's only relevant for mail wrongly delivered to your address (e.g. because it's for a neighbour). This is stuff which has been correctly delivered to your address because that's the address on it.

This isn't really a "House Buying, Renting and Selling" query though. I would deal with the track and trace stuff if and when crops up, obviously they'll understand that databases may be out of date, nobody's going to force you to self-isolate because somebody's GP records haven't been updated. They'll be checking who you/your partner have actually been in contact with.

riwenna

Thanks everybody for the advice. And @davidmcn, I can see it doesn't fit well with the threat topic but here is where all the previous similar questions got posted, so I figured I'd give it a shot as I didn't find a better match. I tried following up with a phone call, I am reposting all the mail with 'Not at this address' note, so I guess that's all I can do.

greatcrested

Have you conacted your ex?

Given him alist of all the senders and suggested he inform them of his current address? If you're not on speaking terms, do it via a brief, polite letter.

Then start binning his post and stop anxting unnecessarily.

swingaloo

Do you know where your ex is? You cant be registered at our doctors unless you live in the postcode but I don't know if that applies everywhere. I would just bin it all. I've been receiving mail for over 5 years for the last people at our current house. I've tried the 'Not at this address', I've made phone calls, I've even taken letters to the local bank branch as I often get letters from Lloyds but all to no avail. I've now given up and just bin the lot.

Comms69

riwenna said:

I am still receiving mails addressed to my ex partner who has moved out of this address more than two years ago. I have seen a number of posts on this topic already, and most of them simply say to write 'Not at this address any more' on the envelope and post it back, which I have been doing for two years. Mild annoyance over the last couple of years, but is making me worry quite a bit currently due to the COVID situation.

The latest series of mails addressed for him has been from the NHS. I've checked the legislation and it seems I am allowed to open wrongly addressed post if I am not planning to act at anybody's detriment and if I have a good reason (I wanted to correct the mistake which is ongoing for the last 2 years), so I opened it -- and realised the letter is telling his he has been selected for a random antibody test to study the prevalence of the virus in the population. I had tried contacting the GP service we both were registered to, but they say (obviously) that they can't change his information based on what a third party (me) has told them. However, if his home address is not updated, I doubt he has updated his phone number either, so they will have no way of reaching him and confirming this change.

I am not planning to misuse this letter (e.g. by trying to order a test for myself; that would be illegal and wrong in all sorts of ways, likely detrimental to the underlying research being done). But, what really worries me is that this is his address information in the NHS register -- meaning that the Trace and Test system they are rolling out considers that we still live in a single household. Having the correct contact information and having a good Trace & Test system (which it is not from what I have been reading) is crucial in the progression of the pandemic, however I do not seem to be able to update my information to correctly reflect who is a member of my household (only myself for the past two years) and they do not seem to have the information that he has now moved to a 5-people household (and therefore would not be able to contact any of his close contacts in case of need). So at this point, I am asking what to do not only because I am personally mildly annoyed, but rather as it is in the interest of public health.

Track and trace will not use the nhs database - because there isn’t one; there’s hundreds. Don’t worry

[Deleted User]

I think you are overthinking this.  Just leave it and get on with your life. I am sure you have better things to focus on.