Previous owner declining to update address

Ade_J

user1977 said:

Ade_J said:

at there any other options to safeguard ourselves? 

Safeguard you against what?

The fact that they didn’t sort a redirection doesn’t bother me - I’m more than happy to drop post around to their friend. 

What bothers me is the quantity suggests they haven’t updated their address and the parcels could suggest they might even still be using this one. We’ve had formal letters, letters addressed to his company (he was self employed), we’re not talking junk mail.

The consensus seems to be it’s nothing to be concerned about though - thanks everyone!

sheramber

OutdoorQueen said:

You can register previous occupants with the mailing preference service.  It might not have much impact but it will start to alert organisations that they no longer live at the property. It is free.   

https://www.mpsonline.org.uk/consumer/register

Also make sure you update the electoral role with your details.  Some organisations may refer to this to see who is currently registered at the property when they receive the returned mail.  

As others have said, I would also just put the post back in post box with  “ No longer at this address” on.  

Thanks for the link. I have done it.

london21

sheramber said:

I bought my house 2 years ago and am getting lettres addressed to the seller, despite returning to sender. It is the return address so onviously they are ignoring the returns.

Last  year  and this year I have received a Union letter- name of union is on the envelope- which is marked  'private and personal" and "important this is not a circular"  It is addressed to a different name to the seller, who lived here for 7 years, so who knows when she lived here.

Again, the return has been ignored as a year later I receive another letter. 

I do not have a postbox nearby and have to make a special trip to reach one so next lot will get shredded.

Not worth making trips with increased petrol price. Pile the letters then on your way can drop it. Otherwise bin it if return to sender not working. 

silvercar

https://www.checkmyfile.com/jargon/gone-away-information-network.htm

Paully28

drop everything in the nearest bin and forget about it. 

molerat

sevenhills said:

thegreenone said

The postman is duty-bound to deliver all mail addressed to your house and cannot be verbally instructed to deliver elsewhere.  Contact the Sorting Office and explain. 

Does it make any difference if the new owner has a official or unofficial method to redirect his mail, the result is the same.

So it is OK to commit a criminal offence providing the result is the same ?

lr1277

I think I have mentioned this on other threads on this forum.

I moved in as a tenant in 2016 to my current place. The landlord (and current owner) bought this place in 2011. In 2016 and 2017 I was still getting letters for the person who owned this property before 2011. Based on the address on the back of the envelope, the sender seemed to be some kind of educational grant awarding body.

After a few letters where I returned the letters with not known at this address, I then added the following note to the back of the envelope with words to the effect of:

The current owner bought this place in 2011. The addressee has not lived at this address since then.I do not have a forwarding address for the addressee. Please stop sending letters to this address for the addressee.

That did the trick.

prowla

Return to Sender

https://youtu.be/PU5xxh5UX4U

pinkshoes

If you return them to sender then they'll make more effort to update their address on everything. 

If you keep passing the mail to a neighbour then address updates will take forever!

eddddy

Ade_J said:

The fact that they didn’t sort a redirection doesn’t bother me - I’m more than happy to drop post around to their friend. 

Yep - as I said, I think that seems like a perfectly reasonable, friendly and helpful thing to do.

I'm surprised that approach seems to enrage so many people here. 


People sometimes post on this board about massive injustices, being evicted from their homes, losing huge amounts of money, etc. But one thing that seems to generate a huge animated, negative response, is when somebody asks about redirecting a previous occupant's post.