Annoying Mail Delivery Issue

[Katsmeow]

So this is so strange.

Almost 2 years ago we moved into our current house. The last owner's mail forwarding has, of course, expired. From time to time we also get mail for even earlier owners. I have a stamp that says "Not at this address. Return to sender." I stamp the mail and put it back in the box.

The USPS website says:

Despite our best efforts, occasionally mail is misdelivered, or is delivered to an old location for an individual. If you are receiving mail for the previous resident and do not know their address, simply return the mail piece back to the mailstream (by leaving in a Collection Box® or other mail receptacle) with the notation "Not at this address" marked on the envelope.

It also says on that page that if the mail has a return address (this did) it will return to sender.

So I did exactly what I am supposed to do. And, the postman picked up this piece of mails (weeks ago).

Today? It was put back in my mailbox with my stamp marked out. I mean, what?

I have done exactly what the post office says to do. I have returned the mail that is to the prior resident. The post office has now brought it back. What am I now supposed to do with it? I can't throw it out. I know what I will have to do but it annoys me. I will have to go to my local post office, stand in line half an hour so I can give this to them. Then likely have this happen again.....


This is not my first rodeo with this post office. We moved here soon after my mother died. I had her mail forwarded to our address. I turned in the Change of Address at the post office close to her home.

Well, I ultimately had a check that was supposed to sent to her (that I would handle as executor) that wasn't received. I found the envelope showing up in the Informed Delivery list but it never appeared in my box. I went to the post office and they said it had been pulled before delivery and returned because my mother's last name was not the same as mine so the postman figured it was misdelivered. I pointed out that it had the marking on it showing it had been sent to my address under a change of address. They told me it was my fault because I should have turned in the change of address to that office and not other post office... They contended that they routinely return mail that has a different last name than the current residents of the house.

Of course, that is insane. First, I might have someone visiting or living with me of a different last name. Also, they weren't returning mail of several prior residents as they routinely delivered mail to them. But, they wouldn't deliver the mail with my mother's last name. Eventually, they condescended to add her name to deliveries to my house.

 

[Midpack]

That’s odd. We just moved in to a new home 7 months ago. Fortunately we don’t get much of the old owners mail, but we get some. Just last week we got a tax form - I’d have thought the previous owners would have taken steps to make sure they got important stuff. We write “not at this address” on anything important or unknown to us and drop it in a mailbox. Right or wrong, we just throw away anything we’d call junk mail (if they didn’t care enough to notify the sender, why should I?), So far, nothing has reappeared in our mail.

So I’d just stamp it again, or go ask at your local PO. What other options are there?

It’s above and beyond, but if you know the previous owners new address (and USPS has lost track), you could put a 55 cent stamp on it and the new address. Would be a cheap, kind resolution - you’d appreciate it if you were on the other end?

We know our former owners new address, and we could probably send word through their realtor here if we had to. Good luck.

 

[braumeister]

We have lousy mail service on our street (cluster boxes). Constantly having mail put in the wrong box, so we're all very used to taking things next door or across the street to the rightful recipient. Complaints to the post office are useless.

I'm always reminded of the old SNL bit with Lily Tomlin.

We don't care; we don't have to. We're the phone company!

 

[njhowie]

They contended that they routinely return mail that has a different last name than the current residents of the house.

We still receive mail for the previous owners (with different name than ours) - we've lived in our home for 19 years and the previous owners have both passed away since.

 

[W2R]

I moved into this house five years ago.

At the time, I gave the post office a forwarding address.... but being somewhat goofy at times, I accidentally gave them F's address (next door) instead of mine.

He is very reliable and trustworthy, and we see one another every day, so he brings me any mail that comes to his house but is addressed to me.

In all five years, I have received NOTHING except junk mail that way. If I ever move again, I'm not going to give a forwarding address.

As for the mail intended to the prior owner of my present house, it's all junk mail too. Half of it is addressed to her husband, who died around 1995. I have no idea where to contact her, so at this point I just toss out her junk mail. If I ever saw anything that looked important, I'd probably put some effort into locating her.

 

[statsman]

We moved from an area where we had near-perfect mail service for 32 years (two different addresses in Silicon Valley) to an area in central Texas 15 months ago where the mail service, to be blunt, sucks. A lot of mis-delivered mail or mail that never arrives. We had a package from an eBay seller that had the correct tracking information and an Informed Delivery message, only to never be found and never compensated by the US post office

I've been fighting with FedEx for over a week regarding a Dell laptop delivery (which finally showed up this past SUNDAY), and a separate Dell hard drive purchase that FedEx lost in their system for one day, then created an exception the next day because the driver couldn't find our address, despite 11 previous FexEx deliveries to the Texas address the prior 7 months.

Heck, we had something forwarded from California from Vanguard well after a year since moving from there.

I've wasted more time the past month waiting for deliveries that required a signature that ended up being delayed or skipped than we ever did in 32 years back in California. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of things about California I don't miss (born, raised, and lived for 59+ years), but reliable mail service wasn't one of them.

/rant off

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Mail service is pretty terrible just about everywhere. We rarely get anything that's worthy of our time. Thankfully, Informed Delivery will show what *might* be important.

Nonetheless, we have a mailbox w/ a "drop floor" that dumps into a locked bin below the box. So, unless it's something important, we only empty the bin on Fridays (which coincides with the day our trash/recycle cart goes to the curb).

 

[kaneohe]

Have you tried talking w/ a supervisor at the P.O.? Somehow I got the phone number of the local P.O. .......they don't always answer but when they do, it seems to be a supe who seems interested in the problem........what happened, when.......so they can pinpoint the carrier, I guess.

For yrs we had the same old carrier ........and no problems. Then he retired and we got a bunch of subs and lots of mis-delivered mail. Took some time and a few calls but things seem to have settled down for now.......perhaps a combination of supe feedback and the new carriers getting more experienced.

 

[cathy63]

... I can't throw it out ...

Yes, you can! Walk right over to the recycling can and drop it in.

Seriously, the previous resident has had almost 2 years to notify the sender of his new address. You were very kind and made a reasonable attempt to get this mail to him and now it is no longer your problem. You have no obligation to spend a half-hour waiting in line at the post office attempting to help a stranger just because he used to live in your house. Throw it away and enjoy your free time!

 

[Midpack]

Mail service is pretty terrible just about everywhere. We rarely get anything that's worthy of our time. Thankfully, Informed Delivery will show what *might* be important.

Since they've been operating at a loss every year since 2007 (even without pension funding), we probably shouldn't be all that surprised. And they're supposed to be independent, but they're not allowed to manage the business themselves, only Congress can - so no surprise at all. We get what we deserve?

 

[braumeister]

I have done exactly what the post office says to do. I have returned the mail that is to the prior resident. The post office has now brought it back. What am I now supposed to do with it? I can't throw it out. I know what I will have to do but it annoys me. I will have to go to my local post office, stand in line half an hour so I can give this to them. Then likely have this happen again.....

We had this issue a few years ago, and there is no reason for you to go to the post office. Just mark it "Not at this address" and put it in your outgoing mailbox. I've had to do that as many as three times but eventually they will take care of it.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Don't sweat the small stuff "Toss Them", you tried your best. File 13 is the best solution.

 

[Sunset]

....... They contended that they routinely return mail that has a different last name than the current residents of the house.

Of course, that is insane. First, I might have someone visiting or living with me of a different last name. Also, they weren't returning mail of several prior residents as they routinely delivered mail to them. But, they wouldn't deliver the mail with my mother's last name. Eventually, they condescended to add her name to deliveries to my house.

[ RANT WARNING ]
That bugs me so much, and I never knew it, but the Post Office TRACKS YOU AND EVERY PERSON IN YOUR HOUSE.
Think about it for a second, if the mail is addressed to your house, (IMHO) it should be delivered there. What if Aunt Sally sends you mail by your middle name, or initials or "favorite nephew", chances are it fails to make it.

The only way you can ensure your mail gets delivered to your house all the time is change your name to: OCCUPANT

 

[Sunset]

We had this issue a few years ago, and there is no reason for you to go to the post office. Just mark it "Not at this address" and put it in your outgoing mailbox. I've had to do that as many as three times but eventually they will take care of it.

They probably throw it out

 

[braumeister]

That bugs me so much, and I never knew it, but the Post Office TRACKS YOU AND EVERY PERSON IN YOUR HOUSE.
Think about it for a second, if the mail is addressed to your house, (IMHO) it should be delivered there.

I think in general that is the case.
Whenever I put a hold on my mail due to travel, I always get a confirmation saying that mail for all occupants of the address will be held, not just the pieces addressed to me.

 

[Winemaker]

In one of my rentals, I had a doctor and his college professor wife rent from me for about five years, until they had their loans paid off and could afford a house of their own. They bought a house about 4 blocks up on same street; my present day tenants still get the doc and professor's mail, and it's been 15 years! And I've talked to the mail person(s).

 

[Teacher Terry]

I went through the same thing for a few years. Now I throw it away.

 

[jimandthom]

[ RANT WARNING ]
That bugs me so much, and I never knew it, but the Post Office TRACKS YOU AND EVERY PERSON IN YOUR HOUSE.
Think about it for a second, if the mail is addressed to your house, (IMHO) it should be delivered there. What if Aunt Sally sends you mail by your middle name, or initials or "favorite nephew", chances are it fails to make it.

The only way you can ensure your mail gets delivered to your house all the time is change your name to: OCCUPANT

"If the mail is addressed to your house, it should be delivered there". And that is precisely what they are doing and and that is part of what people are complaining about in getting other peoples mail. They are getting others mail, because that's how it is addressed. The carriers deliver the mail based on the address not the name.

The mail that has been stamped "not at this address" that's plainly a screwup somewhere along the line and there is no excuse for that.

More than likely, this item was part of the machine sorted mail that comes in, that they are not allowed to alter the order of it. Meaning the carrier does not touch it- its part of a bundle assembled in a processing center.

The only thing a carrier adds to you "slot" in the cases they put stuff into are items that did not come in machine sorted. Even those things, if the sender has not corrected the address, the carrier is required to deliver as addressed. We still get religious magazines, addressed to a family who lived here 10 years ago. This is not a carrier problem, it is a problem caused by the magazine.

The carrier used to touch and sort every little piece of mail --- every little piece--- while putting it into these little slots. Didn't start to change until probably the mid 90s.

The carrier used to be the same carrier for years upon years and would know it something was addressed wrong, particulatly if the person had moved. They would make the changes.

I am no way trying to make excuses for stupidity or laziness, but they can be disciplined or fired for not delivering the mail exactly as it comes from the processing center.

For all people who think technology is the solution--this is one example where hands on can be better.

 

[jimandthom]

Mail service is pretty terrible just about everywhere. We rarely get anything that's worthy of our time. Thankfully, Informed Delivery will show what *might* be important.

Nonetheless, we have a mailbox w/ a "drop floor" that dumps into a locked bin below the box. So, unless it's something important, we only empty the bin on Fridays (which coincides with the day our trash/recycle cart goes to the curb).

Is this unworthy mail addressed correctly? Obviously someone thinks you are worthy of the mail. Or are you unworthy? Do you want the PO to decide what mail you should be receiving that is addressed to you at that address.

Are you referring to the "adpack" type things? The PO has a contract with the adpack company, requiring them to deliver the items. Maybe the PO should just break the contract. Even if addressed to occupant--the PO still has to deliver.

Or do you get catalogs from online purchases that you made but you don't want the catalog. Is that the POs fault? Contact the catalog company, or should the PO do that for you?

 

[jimandthom]

I think in general that is the case.
Whenever I put a hold on my mail due to travel, I always get a confirmation saying that mail for all occupants of the address will be held, not just the pieces addressed to me.

That emphazies that the PO delivers to the address, not to the person.

Can you imagine how many pieces of mail, good or bad, that rental houses in a college town receive that are addressed correctly, but the students are no longer there?

 

[Katsmeow]

Have you tried talking w/ a supervisor at the P.O.? Somehow I got the phone number of the local P.O. .......they don't always answer but when they do, it seems to be a supe who seems interested in the problem........what happened, when.......so they can pinpoint the carrier, I guess.

So, when they didn't deliver the check addressed to my mother I went to the Post Office. I talked to a clerk and to the supervisor. He defended the postman not delivering the mail because it was addressed to my mother's who has a different last name than I do and he said that my change of address for her was done wrong because I turned it in at the post office near her house not at my closest post office. When I wasn't happy he said the postmaster would call me and had me fill out a form that she was supposed to review and call me. Never heard a word....

We had this issue a few years ago, and there is no reason for you to go to the post office. Just mark it "Not at this address" and put it in your outgoing mailbox. I've had to do that as many as three times but eventually they will take care of it.

Yes, I did this. They took the envelope -- weeks ago -- and then redelivered to me today.....

[ RANT WARNING ]

Think about it for a second, if the mail is addressed to your house, (IMHO) it should be delivered there. What if Aunt Sally sends you mail by your middle name, or initials or "favorite nephew", chances are it fails to make it.

I agree with you 100%. In fact, that is what I argued with the supervisor at the post office about. That was my position. So, I don't mind them delivering the mail to the previous resident. I just want them to take away and keep it when I say not at this address.....

"If the mail is addressed to your house, it should be delivered there". And that is precisely what they are doing and and that is part of what people are complaining about in getting other peoples mail. They are getting others mail, because that's how it is addressed. The carriers deliver the mail based on the address not the name.

The mail that has been stamped "not at this address" that's plainly a screwup somewhere along the line and there is no excuse for that.

More than likely, this item was part of the machine sorted mail that comes in, that they are not allowed to alter the order of it. Meaning the carrier does not touch it- its part of a bundle assembled in a processing center.

The only thing a carrier adds to you "slot" in the cases they put stuff into are items that did not come in machine sorted. Even those things, if the sender has not corrected the address, the carrier is required to deliver as addressed. We still get religious magazines, addressed to a family who lived here 10 years ago. This is not a carrier problem, it is a problem caused by the magazine.

That may be the way it is some places but not in the suburb we live in. First, I don't mind them delivering the mail to me that is addressed to the prior owner. I stamped it Not At This Address Return to Sender and it was taken away. Then it came back over a week later!

And, I was expressly told that the regular postman on this route has a box for each person at the Post Office and puts the names of the occupants above the box on a label. Any mail that comes to someone with a different last name, he returns. So mail to a previous owner would be on the label (new owners would be added) so would come to us. But mail to, say, my mother
(different last name) would be worried but to a prior owner would be delivered to me (once the forwarding order expired). I am OK with the delivery of the mail to the prior owner. I just want them to keep it when I put it back with the box marked Not At This Address (which is exactly what the Post Office says to do)....

 

[Midpack]

Are you referring to the "adpack" type things? The PO has a contract with the adpack company, requiring them to deliver the items. Maybe the PO should just break the contract. Even if addressed to occupant--the PO still has to deliver.

Or do you get catalogs from online purchases that you made but you don't want the catalog. Is that the POs fault? Contact the catalog company, or should the PO do that for you?

USPS has been losing money for more than 10 years, so they’re not going to turn down any revenue. If anything, they solicit junk mail providers - IOW, you can thank USPS for some/much of the junk mail you get...

We contact catalog companies all the time to get off mailing lists, but it’s a never ending battle. I don’t expect USPS to discourage them, I just wish they didn’t encourage it!

I’d guess about 80% of our “mail” is junk. We do everything possible online to avoid all mail, which leaves nothing but junk mail.

 

[blueskyk]

Are you referring to the "adpack" type things? The PO has a contract with the adpack company, requiring them to deliver the items. Maybe the PO should just break the contract. Even if addressed to occupant--the PO still has to deliver.



Or do you get catalogs from online purchases that you made but you don't want the catalog. Is that the POs fault? Contact the catalog company, or should the PO do that for you?

It seems a little tricky sometimes to get what you want or not get what you don’t want in the mailbox (sort of like cell phone calls I suppose).

I find contacting the catalogue companies and requesting a cease and desist is effective (IANAL but am very fond of key phrases like “cease and desist”, “let the record reflect”, and “Objection!”).

Is there anyplace I can “unsubscribe” from “adpack” material delivers to my mailbox? If not, Objection!

 

[jimandthom]

USPS has been losing money for more than 10 years, so they’re not going to turn down any revenue. If anything, they solicit junk mail providers - IOW, you can thank USPS for some/much of the junk mail you get...

We contact catalog companies all the time to get off mailing lists, but it’s a never ending battle. I don’t expect USPS to discourage them, I just wish they didn’t encourage it!

I’d guess about 80% of our “mail” is junk. We do everything possible online to avoid all mail, which leaves nothing but junk mail.

Much of the junk mail we get is from local businesses. I kinda like supporting the mom and pop hardware stores, semi locally owned grocery store and the others don't you? Much of it used to come in the newspaper, but we know what is happening with them.

The couple small businesses I worked for had a company that designed the ad and took care of all delivery. Or the Hardware coop they belonged to, took care of the design and how it was delivered. If you don't like receiving Ace Hardware ads, you probably need to deal with the Ace Hardware corporate office. From experience, the local hardware buys or not an advertising program that they have only a modest bit of control over.

I don't know the company you or your significant other worked for, but if you will let me know the company, I will suggest that they really don't need to encourage more business to try to help pay the bills, employees, retiree healthcare etc.

 

[jimandthom]

Since they've been operating at a loss every year since 2007 (even without pension funding), we probably shouldn't be all that surprised. And they're supposed to be independent, but they're not allowed to manage the business themselves, only Congress can - so no surprise at all. We get what we deserve?

I think all entities should be required by law to prefund all pension/healthcare expensives even for employees they may never hire.

I recall back in the 80s, the PO wanted to put copy machines in the lobby and have the audacity to compete with the private sector. But of course it was going to hurt the little guy if they did so.

The powers that be, congress and corporate interests didn't consider that the little guy was probably going to be on contract to own, maintain, service etc the machine and pay the PO a rental for the space. Much the same as is done with machines that are/were found in groceries, libraries, and even the hardware I worked at.