USPS incompetence

[zahc]

Since we moved here about a year ago, we get a couple letters a week from previous residents. We tried to mark the letters with big bold letters RETURN TO SENDER but the mailman would ever take them back, and would just leave them in the mailbox. We tried other variants like writing NOBODY BY THAT NAME AT THIS ADDRESS but on the few occasions that the mailman actually took the letters back, they would re-deliver them a few days later, with our writing still on them. At this point, some of these letters have gone through this cycle at least 3 times.

My wife finally took a big bundle of them to the post office and explained to them that we keep getting these letters, they are not for us, and we don't know what to do with them. The lady at the post office crossed out the addresses and said she would see what she could do.

A week later, guess what we found in our mailbox? The whole bundle of letters, with the postal lady's writing on them and everything.

How illegal is it to destroy these letters? I don't have time to individually contact the senders and tell them their addressee dosen't live here any more. I don't think that would work any better.

[Fly320s]

Trash them. You did as much as any reasonable person would.

[Perd Hapley]

Trash them. You did as much as any reasonable person would.

This.

[HankB]

Trash them. You did as much as any reasonable person would.

But maybe there's money inside . . .

[MillCreek]

Several times a month, I get mail for someone else.  I am luckier, though, in that I just drop them in the outbound mail and they don't come back to me.  It does make me wonder where my mail is going, though.

[Nick1911]

I throw away a large volume of mail addressed to previous residents of this property.  Including an arrest warrent once!     (...for a previous resident...)

[Regolith]

I throw away a large volume of mail addressed to previous residents of this property.  Including an arrest warrent once!     (...for a previous resident...)

They send them in the mail? I thought they just waved it in your face when you asked why they were handcuffing you....

[zahc]

I guess the worst that could happen is I get sent away for a few months to some white collar resort. I should be so lucky...you know they have conjugal visits there?

[Regolith]

I guess the worst that could happen is I get sent away for a few months to some white collar resort. I should be so lucky...you know they have conjugal visits there?

Conjugal visits? Mmmm. Not that I know of. Y'know, minimum-security prison is no picnic. I have a client in there right now. He says the trick is: kick someone's ass the first day, or become someone's bitch. Then everything will be all right.

[Jim147]

I throw away a large volume of mail addressed to previous residents of this property.  Including an arrest warrent once!     (...for a previous resident...)

If it had been for you, it might have made Saturday morning a little more interesting.   

jim

[roo_ster]

I guess the worst that could happen is I get sent away for a few months to some white collar resort. I should be so lucky...you know they have conjugal visits there?

Yeah, but the visitor comes from the next cell over.   

[Hawkmoon]

Several times a month, I get mail for someone else.  I am luckier, though, in that I just drop them in the outbound mail and they don't come back to me.  It does make me wonder where my mail is going, though.

^^^ This.

It happens to us at home. OFTEN. Our new route carrier (as of about 18 months ago) is a young(ish) woman. Nice enough, but has the IQ of a pet rock. We get mail for people all over town. Usually the correct street number, the only issue is that the street is on the other side of town.

I also have a post office box. I've had it for ten years. I still get first class mail addressed to the previous box holder, and it doesn't seem to matter how many times I tell the nice ladies behind the counter that Mr. Spivak has not been using that box for at least ten years, I keep getting his mail.

[RocketMan]

To the best of my recollection, I've never had a letter come back on which I've printed "Return to Sender - Not at this address" and reposted. They have always disappeared into the land of the lost that is the USPS.

I wonder if this would work...place a large sticky label over the entire "send to" address.  Printed on the label is "Return to Sender - Not at this address" or something similar.  Toss the letter back in the mail.  The USPS now has only the return address to work with, and will actually return the letter to the sender. Just maybe they will get a clue.  If the letter isn't returned to the sender, it will likely end up in the dead letter office since the "send to" address is covered.
In any event, the letter is out of your hair.

[erictank]

To the best of my recollection, I've never had a letter come back on which I've printed "Return to Sender - Not at this address" and reposted. They have always disappeared into the land of the lost that is the USPS.

I wonder if this would work...place a large sticky label over the entire "send to" address.  Printed on the label is "Return to Sender - Not at this address" or something similar.  Toss the letter back in the mail.  The USPS now has only the return address to work with, and will actually return the letter to the sender. Just maybe they will get a clue.  If the letter isn't returned to the sender, it will likely end up in the dead letter office since the "send to" address is covered.
In any event, the letter is out of your hair.

May have to try that next time.  We get plenty of mail for previous residents (mosst recent previous residents have been gone 2.5 years now; we get mail for two other families at this address, every so often, no idea how long THEY'VE been gone), and most notably, last summer into fall we got a small USPS package for the guy before last who lived here.  Not once.  Not twice.  Not even three times.  This thing came back FOUR FREAKIN' TIMES. Don't think anything got written on it the first time it was sent back; second and third return notations were fairly low-key.  Fourth return... was not.  Nothing actionable, but I was obviously pretty hot about it, and whoever got the thing back obviously (finally) got the point not to send it again.

They probably spent more shipping that little box to us 4 times than the cost of whatever was inside.

[S. Williamson]

Maybe it was gold... 

[K Frame]

With the automated sorting and processing equipment that is now in use it's not surprising that this is happening.

Your best bet (what I've been told) to keep this from happening?

On the "TO" section, look for a barcode on the address. If the bar code is there, black it out or otherwise cover it up. This will often kick it out of the automated sorting and gives it a better chance at it not coming back to you.

[MechAg94]

I thought I would chime in here on a letter I got today.  The letter was addressed to a 2nd Lieutenant of a different name in Pensacola, FL.  I have never been in the military and I am in Texas.  I appears the house number and street are the same as mine, but the city and state are for Florida.  The zip code written is 775  1550 so I guess that may have been what get it misdirected.  Do you know anyone who uses a 7 digit zip code?  I assume for now that the local sorters and delivery people don't even look at the city and state, assuming that it is in the right city. 

I'll drop it back at the Post Office tomorrow.  Hopefully, it won't come back.

[never_retreat]

 Do you know anyone who uses a 7 digit zip code? 

Japan

[Perd Hapley]

 The zip code written is 775  1550 so I guess that may have been what get it misdirected.  Do you know anyone who uses a 7 digit zip code?  I assume for now that the local sorters and delivery people don't even look at the city and state, assuming that it is in the right city. 

Maybe the first two numbers were somehow omitted.

[Fly320s]

Zip codes for Pensacola

32501, 32502, 32503, 32504, 32505, 32506, 32507, 32508, 32509, 32511, 32512, 32513, 32514, 32516, 32520, 32521, 32522, 32523, 32524, 32526, 32534, 32559, 32573, 32574, 32575, 32576, 32581, 32582, 32589, 32590, 32591, 32592, 32593, 32594, 32595, 32596, 32597, 32598.

I don't see anything close to what you got.

[Hawkmoon]

Looks suspiciously like a telephone number (sans area code).

[Declaration Day]

I get mail for 4 previous owners of my house.  Most of it is junk.  Occasionally it's an annual shot reminder from a vet for three dogs I've never met, belonging to a person I've never met.  Sometimes it's a college catalog.  I assume that the previous owners have found vets and colleges local to their current residence.

If it's not addressed to me, it goes in the "circular file" unless it seems to be something important, which is rare.

[HeroHog]

I get a lot of mail to a previous resident here as well and have let the postman know that. Still get them. Now when I get one, if it looks "important", I open it, get the sender's contact info and call them and let them know that the person no longer lives here then I destroy the letter & contents (It has been notices, reciepts etc., no checks or any real important stuff to date).

[Scout26]

I lived here since 1991.  I still get mail for the two prior owners/residents of this house.  Both of whom happen to be deceased.

I check for gold before tossing their mail in the trash.  

I also frequently get mail for the house with same number but NORTH **** St. and put it out the next day.  I also wonder how much of mine goes to their address and hopefully they send it back out.

[Fitz]

Screw the USPS. They ignored a submitted change of address form, then when I asked why the package didn't get forwarded, they blamed it on a new carrier

Then said they couldn't go get it because "the customer probably won't give it to us."

The package had a tracking number. When I plug that in, i see the old address in a text field on the site. Why a change of address form doesn't automatically change those destinations, i don't know.