My Neighbour's Mail

[-SharonA-]

Since I have retired and am at home for most of the days, my neighbour who lives across the road has been sending her bulky mail/parcels to my address.

It is now getting infuriating and has been going on since summer and she orders a lot from amazon.

My question is, her name is on the parcels but my address, am I legally entitled to give her mail to her. We have a couple of parcels here at the moment and my husband is determined to give them to her after xmas.

There is no mistake regarding house numbers as our houses have names.

What would you do???

[Retrochic]

I think that when her parcels don't get hand delivered to her by you, she will be over in a flash to collect them. It is at this point you can tell her to stop addressing mail in her name to your home and point out if it carries on they will be returned to sender.

[-SharonA-]

Thanks for all your replies. Woofgang your advice taken on board and will give her the parcels on xmas eve.

I am surprised she has not come over to enquire........ but I am waiting.

[Peter Pedant]

no one has answered the question as it should be rephrased

am I under a legal duty to keep the parcels and then give them to her ?

resounding no - but I would anyway

There is only one I refuse at the door at the time the postie calls and that is Vicky Pollard who rang the police once and told them I was in her garden at midnight. Luckily train tickets and hotel stubs showed I was at a conference in London at the very time she called !

I am always taking stuff in for my neighbours
anything good I say - oh can I see that after you ? and they say yes
I even signed for a court summons once - that took a bit of explaining .....

[gingejbee]

I can't understand how this situation was allowed to develop....at the first such delivery (her name, my address), I would have been over to her like a shot.

[Peter Pedant]

divebuddy she isnt holding up delivery
as far as the post office is concerned they have been delivered to the address on the thingey

b) is also in the course of transmission....

and how do I know all this ? I tried to interest the police into getting off their bamz and investigating non delivery and quite honestly I neednt have bothered ....they didnt give a tass

[SirOracle]

Sharon......You do realise that your address has been given to goodness knows how many suppliers,and if your neighbour defaults on payments and the supplier sues,then your address could be blacklisted to credit companies.

This could cause you nasty problems in the future,effecting your credit etc.,which can be a real pain to resolve.

[SirOracle]

^ ^ ^^^
Affecting

[Baldric]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post_Office_Act

Refers to the Post Office and it's employees not the public

[Peter Pedant]

I goggled

can I destroy someone else's mail ?

and got this - from Citizen's Advice which as usual is quite good

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/post/post/problems-with-post/problems-with-post-delivery/you-re-receiving-someone-else-s-mail/

[-SharonA-]

Siroracle, that is frightening. In fact I am now taking steps and writing a letter which for my neighbour which she will get when she gets in from work.
Along with the parcels. I am getting sick of it.
We have been getting on average one a month and in the run up to xmas, I had 3 last week. And I accidentally (yes really) opened one thinking it was mine without checking the name.

[Peter Pedant]

Yeah I am always doing that ...
opening mail that arrives on the mat w/o looking at the addressee

when it gets to the right person they just have to cope with it ,,,,,

Sir Orac's point isnt that important
I have had a lot of tenants leave and get CCJs at the address
and to be honest the current tenant doesnt have trouble with credit ....

but it makes a good story and concentrates minds .....

[Baldric]

Still the PO Act, most sections contain the phrase "in course of transmission by post" as in, still under PO control/undelivered.

[SirOracle]

I disagree PP. I certainly wouldn't like to be receiving CCJs at my address,whoever they were intended for.

I think that the address is used as a reference point by credit agencies when "scoring" ones credit rating.

[Baldric]

Pressed Submit too soon,

Also the PO Act 1908 would have been superseded by the PO Act 1953 that you first quoted

[hc4361]

Parcels from Amazon don't usually arrive via the Post Office/Royal Mail. You can't just write 'return to sender' and put it in the post box.

[-SharonA-]

That's true HC4361! I will not be accepting any more from Amazon or whoever.