Can my old landlord open my post?

Section62

35har1old said:

Section62 said:

theartfullodger said:

The quality of glue these days is terrible.  It's amazing how many things "fall open" when hitting the mat.

Get ALL you mail redirected, by both giving new address to those writing to you & paying for a redirection service with the Post Office (yes, that lot, bunch of *******s)

*Royal Mail.

Yes it's the Roysl Mail but you do have go to the post office to redirect.
They may be supposedly a setperate entity but there is still a connection .Shared use of post office buildings and vans  parked to the rear of buildings

Again, please check your facts.

Royal Mail redirection can be set up online -

https://www.royalmail.com/personal/receiving-mail/redirection

BobT36

Ask them not to open your private mail please, and to batch up and forward anything addressed to you onto your new address (compensating them for the stamp cost), go over to collect it, or return to sender. 

FreeBear

TheJP said:

35har1old said:

Brie said:

Legally they can open post received at their address.  Most people don't though and either forward it if they know the new address or return to sender or simply bin it.

I don't no where your getting that ii is legal to open mail that is not address to you
It is illegal to open our destroy mail.
You should be marking the letters return to sender

You are very much wrong. It is legal to open mail that has your address regardless of the name, it is however illegal to open mail not holding your address.

i have been opening my previous owners mail for years, the lazy !!!!!! still wont update his records.

Postal Services Act 2000

84 Interfering with the mail: general.

(3)A person commits an offence if, intending to act to a person’s detriment and without reasonable excuse, he opens a postal packet which he knows or reasonably suspects has been incorrectly delivered to him.

Any mail delivered to the address on the envelope is deemed to have been correctly delivered even if the name is wrong. So TheJP and others are correct in that it is not "illegal" to open mail that has been (correctly) delivered even if the person named has left the building.

RHemmings

When I try to find information from reliable sources on this, I find rather ambiguous results. E.g. from this legal firm:

https://www.fosters-solicitors.co.uk/insights/is-it-legal-to-open-someone-elses-mail/

https://www.landlordlawblog.co.uk/2012/09/27/dealing-with-post-after-tenants-have-gone/

https://www.lincsonline.co.uk/grantham/news/royal-mail-issues-warning-about-opening-someone-else-s-post-9003540/  (Statements from Royal Mail)

I'm not saying that it's legal or illegal to open mail addressed to your address but to a different person. However, when I try to check the facts I will say that the opinion that it is legal is a minority opinion, and the majority of the opinion I found including from the most reliable looking sources I can find says that it is illegal. 

marcia_

 Seems they're doing you a favour so you don't get extra charges and a ccj. 

housebuyer143

You should really change your addresses or do a redirect. People getting your mail is how you can get your identity stolen, get unknown CCJs etc.
The next tenants might not be opening your mail to help you.

doodling

Hi,

RHemmings said:

When I try to find information from reliable sources on this, I find rather ambiguous results. E.g. from this legal firm:

https://www.fosters-solicitors.co.uk/insights/is-it-legal-to-open-someone-elses-mail/

https://www.landlordlawblog.co.uk/2012/09/27/dealing-with-post-after-tenants-have-gone/

https://www.lincsonline.co.uk/grantham/news/royal-mail-issues-warning-about-opening-someone-else-s-post-9003540/  (Statements from Royal Mail)

I'm not saying that it's legal or illegal to open mail addressed to your address but to a different person. However, when I try to check the facts I will say that the opinion that it is legal is a minority opinion, and the majority of the opinion I found including from the most reliable looking sources I can find says that it is illegal. 

None of those are reliable looking sources I'm afraid.  The only one that actually references the law makes it clear that only postal packages in transit are legally protected and that that protection ceases once they are delivered to the correct address, whilst saying the opposite.  The other two are no better than rumor.

You need to recalibrate your "not everything on the internet is true" filter.

la531983

I would suggest the OP picks their battles, and gets a redirect sorted sharpish. 

MobileSaver

RHemmings said:

when I try to check the facts I will say that the opinion that it is legal is a minority opinion, and the majority of the opinion I found including from the most reliable looking sources I can find says that it is illegal. 

@FreeBear has referenced the only reliable source that matters; the actual law in the form of the Postal Services Act 2000.

It is perfectly legal to open anything that is delivered to your address unless you are "intending to act to a person’s detriment and without reasonable excuse".

user1977

MobileSaver said:

RHemmings said:

when I try to check the facts I will say that the opinion that it is legal is a minority opinion, and the majority of the opinion I found including from the most reliable looking sources I can find says that it is illegal. 

@FreeBear has referenced the only reliable source that matters; the actual law in the form of the Postal Services Act 2000.

It is perfectly legal to open anything that is delivered to your address unless you are "intending to act to a person’s detriment and without reasonable excuse".

If it's an item addressed to and delivered to your address then it's legal to open it, full stop.

The "intending to act to a person's detriment" etc bit only applies to something incorrectly delivered - which is by reference to the address, not the name, e.g. something addressed to your neighbour.

The postie has correctly delivered the OP's items to the address stated on them - the law doesn't concern itself with what happens after an item has hit the correct doormat (other than the usual laws about theft, fraud etc).