someone opening late mums post....

fiscalfreckles

Can't you set up re-direction again with the post office?

And you must go through everything and inform the companies sending it that your Mother is now deceased.

I still get mail for the person who lived in my house before the ones we bought it from (over 5 years ago!) Quite frankly, I get annoyed that they didn't sort it all out properly when they moved.

Freddie_Snowbits

When we moved in 1999, the previous owner had deceased at the age of 92. Her familiy failed to complete all of her probate and for 18 months, we were unable to transfer the gas and electricity to our names, Old Gladys as we knew her, was paying from he current account by DD. We informed the relatives, but to no avail. We go letter after letter for her, pensions the lot. We returned these to the sender etc. After 18 months, Gladys payments stopped and we able to transfer the accounts to our name and start paying. We found by another method (error by meter reading spotty moldoom of a student) that the gas meter had overread for a number of years and got credited for this as well. Sorry it may not be the same for you, but when we did move after doing the place up, we were only allowed to redirect for 2 years!

Try the MPS service.

For pensions try

http://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/

smcaul

RM deliver to addresses, not people. Therefore the new occupants are quite entitled to open any post delivered to that address - it is down to whoever is sorting out her estate to ensure all companies are notified. probably not what you want to hear i'm afraid.

bestpud

WE have had several letters about some post office bonds that have matured. They belong to the children of the people who lived here around 10 years ago!

I wouldn't try and get the money but I still open any mail that comes for them (we get none for anyone else who has lived here). They have xmas cards come every year too and one of the senders writes about what they are doing now etc, but never put an address and never seem to worry that they clearly get no xmas card back!

I think there is little else you can do if you have no forwarding address. If it was a cheque for instance, it is better opened and destroyed properly imo.

However, this woman knows where you are so has no excuse and I can see why you are mad about it!

Amalea

smcaul wrote: »

RM deliver to addresses, not people. Therefore the new occupants are quite entitled to open any post delivered to that address - it is down to whoever is sorting out her estate to ensure all companies are notified. probably not what you want to hear i'm afraid.

I don't think that is true, haven't found an "official" source to back this up (too tired to look for long) but did find this:

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?p=21431913

DjP

err

why not perform a sting

send something (addressed in your mother's name) that looks like it could be a cheque/cash/etc

but have permanent die in it

you will soon have proof of mail being illegally opened (or not as the case maybe)

x

borosteve_2

Theres a mile of difference between opening someone elses mail and trying to cash a cheque. The post office must have the tapes from when this woman tried to cash the cheque, and with the neighbour and the teller this is pretty good evidence for police investigation in my opinion.
If you talk to the police again make sure you tell them all of what you have written here. If they still try to fob you off ask to speak to the duty inspector. If this doesn't work ask for the persons name and ask them if they have a number for the IPCC (Independant Police Complaints Comission). If they do or don't I doubt very much they will give it to you but hopefully they might stop trying to fob you off. If you still get nowhere then try http://www.ipcc.gov.uk/index.htm.
Good luck.

vetfred

Unfortunately, a lot of people believe that letters addressed to other people which arrive on their doorstep suddenly become letters which they can open as if they were their own, which they are not.

Let's hope the people deliberately opening other people's mail instead of returning it to sender never have their important documents dropped through another person's door.

In this case, rather than go to the police as an individual, perhaps go to the insurer since it was their payout and there was an attempt to defraud their company? They may have more pull in pursuing any criminal activity.

andyrules

vetfred wrote: »

Unfortunately, a lot of people believe that letters addressed to other people which arrive on their doorstep suddenly become letters which they can open as if they were their own, which they are not.

Let's hope the people deliberately opening other people's mail instead of returning it to sender never have their important documents dropped through another person's door.

In this case, rather than go to the police as an individual, perhaps go to the insurer since it was their payout and there was an attempt to defraud their company? They may have more pull in pursuing any criminal activity.

Quite right. I always thought that it was an offence to 'interfere' with HM mail even if it arrives on your doorstep in error.

Added to that, in this case the woman had a contact to redeliver the mail, so no excuse. She is clearly a thief and trying to defraud your mum's insurer, I would wonder what else she has done without your knowledge.

This has got to be a criminal act, and if I were you I wouldn't mess about with letters myself but march down to the police again and insist they follow it up! How easy would it be for anyone to pick up another's mail, in a block of flats for example, and riffle through it for cheques to fraudulently cash? Postmen have been known to do this (thankfully quite rarely, I believe) and are always prosecuted.

She obviously has a motive if she's a 'smackhead', moreover, should she be raising another generation who are already accused of systematically destroying identifying features with a view to defraud?:rolleyes:? (but that's another thread!)

Make sure you keep the evidence and I would be contacting other institutions you know your mum dealt with to find out if anything else has 'disappeared' and been cashed!

Please follow it up, this woman has tried to steal your late mum's, and (I assume) what is rightfully your's and your sister's money.

foreign_correspondent

I cannot believe how many peple open others post! It is illegal to open someone elses mail, even if it arrives at your address.

Try contacting Royal Mail for advice.

I still get letters for ex-tenants, I put a line through the address, write on the envelope: 'return to sender, not at this address' and pop it back in the postbox. This is what I understood the proper way to deal with this is.

What right or reason would I have to open it? Also, this way the sender knows that person is no longer there, and gradually the letters stop!