Would you steal someone else’s post? Poll Results/Discussion

Maggie_Bob

I'm sick of getting mail addressed to the previous occupants here. At the start, we just sent everything back, but by the time British Gas had set a 3rd different credit company on us, we decided to open anything that seemed to be a credit demand, phone the company and have them mark it on their file as no long being at this address. Basically, the couple who lived here before us (nearly 4 years ago now) moved to Australia and left pretty much everything unpaid - credit agreements for laptops and furniture, utility bills etc.

Also, because the house is split into 3 flats, and the other occupants don't seem to give a toss, we end up with stacks and stacks of mail, which I stick "return to sender" on and pop back in the postbox once a week - and still it keeps coming. The scary one was when a TV licence demand turned up for a name we didn't recognise, addressed to the whole building and not an individual flat. We called them up pronto and told them someone had been fibbing them...

Anyway, would I open someone else's mail? Yup, it's the only thing that keeps me sane among all their junk mail (unfortunately, interesting things rarely turn up!)

hollydays

zzzLazyDaisy wrote: »

Opening someone elses mail is a criminal offence and you can be prosecuted. Having said that I am still getting junk mail for a couple who lived in this house 5 years ago. I put it through the shredder

Surely,Lazydaisy it depends on your intention,eg if it was accidental,and or what you intended doing with it.

ashleypride

zzzLazyDaisy wrote: »

Opening someone elses mail is a criminal offence and you can be prosecuted. Having said that I am still getting junk mail for a couple who lived in this house 5 years ago. I put it through the shredder

No. It's a offence if you are acting to a person's detriment and without reasonable excuse. I open every piece of mail that comes through my door, and I have never commited any offence.

Paul_Varjak

I still receive mail (re-directed from my old address by Royal Mail) so, I have set up redirection for a second year.

Unfortunately, a lot of businesses simply do not action any change of address or keeping sending mail when you ask them to stop.

Then there is BARCLAYS!!!! They started sending account statements to my mum almost three years after she died and 30 months after the account was closed!

When I complained by e-mail the e-mails bounced back from 'earth', 'mars' and 'mercury' - I kid you not!!!

When I complained by phone I got two replies with different complaint references - one for me and one for Mr. Collins (whoever he is).

And what was Barclays solution to the problem? To put their own address on my mum's closed account so that future account statements are sent to them instead!

teddyco

I would do my best to follow the 'golden rule', and treat my neighbor as I would like them to treat me.

Imagine our world if everyone loved each other as they love themselves?

This is why my wife and I are so blessed!

zipman23

I bought my first house last January and the previous owners did have a redirection but it was only for a month or so. Royal Mail recommends at least 12 months to be on the safe side. After that I delivered any post myself as it was only round the corner but without so much as a thankyou or kiss my !!!!, I started opening it. If its on my doormat, its my property right? Anyhoo, we kept getting their joint Abbey bank statement and his credit card statement.

After sending bank statements back we eventually rang them up to complain about still receiving them so they blocked the account and the only way it could be used was for them to go in and update their details. Serves em right I say! Credit card statement was still getting delivered. He didn't really owe that much money on it to be honest as most of it was £12 late payments because he hadn't paid his monthly minimum. They went in the shredder.

Also got car tax renewal forms for both of their cars but unfortunately the dog got to that before I did and did a better job than my bloody shredder. He even got a fine for having an out of date tax disc haha!! Again, serves him right!

His new house that he paid £180k for was on the market again about 4/5 months after they bought it because they had a barny and she moved out! We still get stuff for her in her maiden name but its mostly junk so it mainly gets binned. Haven't had anything for them for a while now but considering I'm now a postie, I know exactly what to do with it...and your right whoever said it....us posties love killy offs!!! :rotfl:

PrinceGaz

Criminal offence or not, if it was a magazine covering a topic I was interested in, and I had no way of forwarding it to the person intended, I must admit I would probably open it and read it myself.

I do have a personal moral-code I choose to live by, but that particular scenario (no way to forward it) means the options are now: bin it, return it, or read it. Many people would bin it, some would return it, but as it was a magazine I was personally interested in, I would feel okay about opening and reading it myself. It wouldn't make me feel good by doing so, but I would feel justified in doing so. I would however notify the magazine sender by the cheapest means possible (probably email, unless they had an 01 or 02 number I could use) that the intended occupant was no longer at this address and that I had no forwarding address, and if they asked about my returning the magazine, I'd agree to do so- and recycle it. They are never going to know or even be bothered as they wouldn't send it out a second time.

That might not sound like a very nice moral-code to follow, but in doing so I have notified the sender the recipient isn't here and saved them from the trouble and cost of disposing of a returned magazine (because no major company sends them out a second time- they are all sent out in a batch on a set date, any return would be destroyed). The fact I read and recycled it would make no difference.

That is what I would do, and it would not break my personal beliefs in doing so for mail which I had no way of forwarding and was not personal, in other words magazines and the like. I should point out that personal or official mail, I continue to return to sender since moving to where I am nearly a year ago. I wouldn't want others to open my mail of that sort, so I obviouslly would never do so with theres.

arthur_dent_2

I actually have this situation myself, for the first 6 months I gave all the owners mail to her at the school gates including magazines etc, but now unless it is real mail ie not junk mail, I don't bother. As for the bird magazine I will return it once more but after that I think enough time has been given.

hollydays

zipman23 wrote: »

I bought my first house last January and the previous owners did have a redirection but it was only for a month or so. Royal Mail recommends at least 12 months to be on the safe side. After that I delivered any post myself as it was only round the corner but without so much as a thankyou or kiss my !!!!, I started opening it. If its on my doormat, its my property right? Anyhoo, we kept getting their joint Abbey bank statement and his credit card statement.

After sending bank statements back we eventually rang them up to complain about still receiving them so they blocked the account and the only way it could be used was for them to go in and update their details. Serves em right I say! Credit card statement was still getting delivered. He didn't really owe that much money on it to be honest as most of it was £12 late payments because he hadn't paid his monthly minimum. They went in the shredder.

Also got car tax renewal forms for both of their cars but unfortunately the dog got to that before I did and did a better job than my bloody shredder. He even got a fine for having an out of date tax disc haha!! Again, serves him right!

His new house that he paid £180k for was on the market again about 4/5 months after they bought it because they had a barny and she moved out! We still get stuff for her in her maiden name but its mostly junk so it mainly gets binned. Haven't had anything for them for a while now but considering I'm now a postie, I know exactly what to do with it...and your right whoever said it....us posties love killy offs!!! :rotfl:

What are killy-offs?

johncmcloy

We get junk mail through all time to our exact address and postcode a name which neither our neighbours nor us have any idea who it is. After receiving it for months in a row decided to open some, contains money off vouchers for whisky and pet foods. Favourites lol