Can I throw away other people's mail?

Kyakko · 01-13-2010, 09:36 PM

I've been living at my house for over a year and a half and still get the previous owner's mail. Some of them are marked urgent, forward etc... I think they may be from collections.

Anyways, I wrote on the letters "please forward, longer lives here" on about a dozen of them, but they still keep on coming (I throw away junk mail sent to them). I'm getting kind of irritated by this. Can I legally start throwing the letters away?

bobrek · 01-13-2010, 09:37 PM

Have you contacted the post office? I'd et them know that mail to folks that no longer live at that address is still being delivered.

**Dr of Dunk** · 01-13-2010, 09:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobrek

Have you contacted the post office? I'd et them know that mail to folks that no longer live at that address is still being delivered.

This is what I'd do if you haven't already.

Kyakko · 01-13-2010, 09:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobrek

Have you contacted the post office? I'd et them know that mail to folks that no longer live at that address is still being delivered.

I'll do that. I don't think the previous owners forwarded their mailing address and somehow, I don't think the post office will just start returning their mail automatically. I've already written enough "return to sender" notes but neither the sender or the post office seems to get the message. If they keep on coming after I do that, then can I start shredding their mail?

SirCharlesFan · 01-13-2010, 09:59 PM

I've been throwing away the old renters mail at my place for months. The mail man said if you put your name somewhere on the inside of the mailbox, they can't/won't deliver mail addressed to anyone else. Don't know if that's true or not.

Fiah · 01-14-2010, 12:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SirCharlesFan

I've been throwing away the old renters mail at my place for months. The mail man said if you put your name somewhere on the inside of the mailbox, they can't/won't deliver mail addressed to anyone else. Don't know if that's true or not.

I did this too and the mailman still puts mail in the box when its clearly marked with my name.

Space Ghost · 01-14-2010, 12:46 AM

Having a PO Box for years, I always keep getting different peoples mail. I used to put it back in the mail, now I just throw it away if it has my number/address on it.

Blake · 01-14-2010, 12:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kyakko

I've been living at my house for over a year and a half and still get the previous owner's mail. Some of them are marked urgent, forward etc... I think they may be from collections.

Anyways, I wrote on the letters "please forward, longer lives here" on about a dozen of them, but they still keep on coming (I throw away junk mail sent to them). I'm getting kind of irritated by this. Can I legally start throwing the letters away?

mark "no longer at address, return to sender" on them and leave them in your mailbox. better than continuing to receive them

B-Bob · 01-14-2010, 01:21 AM

Dude, we have KEPT getting the one person's crap going on three years in our new house. For Xmas, she got what was clearly a gift package. TWICE I ran down the UPS guy when he left it on the porch and said "Hey, she doesn't live here." And he would say "okay, thanks," take the package... and then redeliver when we weren't home.

We gave up and opened the package and now have a nice set of copper kitchen containers.

Invisible Fan · 01-14-2010, 01:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blake

mark "no longer at address, return to sender" on them and leave them in your mailbox. better than continuing to receive them

^This

StaticC4 · 01-14-2010, 01:24 AM

What I do is that I just write RTS(Return To Sender) then put it back in the mail box if it ever happens.

IROC it · 01-14-2010, 03:27 AM

Depends on what it is.

If it looks important, i.e. bills, letters, etc. I return to sender...

If it's like a mass publication newsletter or obvious junk mail, it's 86'd.

5 years at our house, btw... and we still get stuff. Only one previous owner though, and it was the realtor.

BetterThanEver · 01-14-2010, 07:25 AM

If you forward the mail, the sender will never know to stop sending you mail.
On most mail, you can just cross out the address and write "RTS-MLNA-UTF". It's the postal service's abbreviation for "Return to Sender-Moved Left No Address-Unable to Forward".

Unfortunately, 3rd class or pre-sorted bulk rate mail will not be returned to the sender. It will be tossed by the post office and you will still get it.

I believe it's a federal crime, if you throw away another person's mail though.

leroy · 01-14-2010, 08:22 AM

We're still getting mail for the people that lived in our house before the people we bought it from...and we've been there 2 years. It goes in the trash at this point. I don't even look to see if it's important or not.

DaDakota · 01-14-2010, 08:26 AM

We have lived in our current house for 7 years, and we still get christmas cards for the people that owned the house before us....now we just toss em.

DD

Smokey · 01-14-2010, 09:25 AM

That's funny. I've done the same thing. I got so tired of writing return to sender, I just dropped it back in the outgoing mail slot right there at the community mailboxes.

juicystream · 01-14-2010, 09:51 AM

I just trash them.

SwoLy-D · 01-14-2010, 10:06 AM

No, you cannot. Next!

moestavern19 · 01-14-2010, 10:21 AM

Sure you can, nobody cares.

Surfguy · 01-14-2010, 10:28 AM

for a while, i got annual packages of steaks when i moved in to my house. it was some kind of annual gift from a client as the former homeowner worked from home. hey...i come home and find that on my doorstep with it marked as perishable...it's mine. it's the previous homeowner's fault for not updating his address with his client. but, those stopped after a few years. it was good while it lasted.