Debit card

Jetter

My new debit card was stopped because my post was opened by somebody who rang the bank and told them I was no longer there.  It was the bank’s fault as I had told them the new address but they had not updated their systems properly and the card went to the wrong address.  Is it legal for someone to open your post and contact the sender?

noh

Jetter said:

........................  Is it legal for someone to open your post and contact the sender?

Yes if it has been posted through their front door.

Jetter

I read that it was illegal to open somebody else’s post.  Just wanted to clarify it.

MDMD

Section 84 of the Postal Services Act 2000

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/26/section/84

They possibly would have a good defence of reasonable excuse, as they were trying to find out who sent it to stop any more being sent, although they should have just returned to sender

eskbanker

MDMD said:

Section 84 of the Postal Services Act 2000

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/26/section/84

They possibly would have a good defence of reasonable excuse, as they were trying to find out who sent it to stop any more being sent, although they should have just returned to sender

Surely it's para 3 that applies here, rather than para 1, i.e. it was opened after delivery rather than during transmission.

This imposes a much lower barrier than solely 'reasonable excuse', i.e. it's only an offence if the opening was also "intending to act to a person’s detriment" which it clearly wasn't if they contacted the bank to advise of the error.

wiseonesomeofthetime

"Return to sender" has never worked, in my experience. Total waste of effort.

That said, I don't open post not addressed to me. If RTS has failed on a previous mail, the next time one drops through my door that I don't recognise, it simply goes in the bin.

Frogletina

I once kept getting post from a company which was not addressed to me and 'return to sender' did not work as they kept coming back so I bundled the large manilla envelopes all up together with sellotape and again added 'return to sender' only for the whole bundle to to come back again!

So I opened them, and in largest envelope was a bundle of correspondence and share certificates. Among the correspondence, all stapled together, was a recent letter from the company saying they could not contact the customer at the address (mine) and a letter from the customer giving the company their forwarding address written several months previously. So I forwarded the bundle on, and that resolved the issue. 

Jetter

Thanks everybody for your replies.
It’s a bit worrying because I told the bank of the new address.  They said it was a systems mistake and the address was not updated on the system that sends the card out (sounds like a bit of human error to me) so it sent it out to the old address.  I wish they had contacted me immediately and not waited until I contacted them to tell them I had not received my card.  Now I have to wait for the new card to arrive and meanwhile I cannot use the old card either as they have cancelled that too.
Luckily, I have another account and also internet banking so I can manage.  But it just goes to show

even if you think you’ve done everything right there’s always something that can go wrong.  I’m pretty annoyed with the person who did it, as they know me and could have contacted me.  They are off my Christmas card list now.

veryintrigued

Jetter said:

.I’m pretty annoyed with the person who did it, as they know me and could have contacted me.  They are off my Christmas card list now.

Out of interest who would you have addressed, the Christmas card, to if they weren't?

In all seriousness some people don't check the addressee on post when it comes through their letter box. Especially when they live alone, why should they - probably just assume it's theirs.

MalMonroe

That's a weird bank though because every bank I've ever used has requested information such as change of address, etc., in writing. That way, there's no argument if they deny having received the information, too.  The fact that they stopped the new debit card is good, protection for you, even if they do seem a bit dozy.

Jetter

I contacted my bank again to make doubly sure they have updated all their systems with the correct address and also put in a complaint as their actions left me unable to use their card until I received the new one.  They were very helpful and double checked every thing for me and said would I like some compensation as it was clearly the bank’s fault and they suggested £20.  I wasn’t seeking any recompense but accepted it gladly as I had spent a lot of time and money on phone calls, emails etc.  So although they messed up in the first place, they tried to make amends and will look into making sure their systems are co-ordinated when a customer updates their address.