Opening Mail

[gness]

If you live alone do you, like me, just open all the mail without looking at the envelope?
I did when MrG was alive but why bother now.

I have just opened a large envelope containing a nice letter from Addenbrooke's hospital thanking me for taking part in the research into the Genetic Causes of Primary Biliary Cirrhosis and giving me a long follow up questionnaire to fill in.

Now, I did have to think for a minute......too many hospital appointments in the last year......☺

It was addressed to the lady who lived here three years ago.....so now I feel guilty.....for opening her mail...though why it came here lord knows...and I suppose I'd better find her to pass it on.....

[boxtops]

Yes, I do, OH and I wouldn't dream of opening each other's post.

However - this letter you've just received - I think if it were me, I'd write "gone away, return to sender" and put it back in the postbox.

[elliemay1]

No harm in opening it as it was a genuine mistake. If you can't find the owner just seal it and write, "Not known at this address" and re-post.

[elliemay1]

^ Also, wouldn't open each other's mail.

[gness]

Boxy.....it's living alone.....when MrG was alive we looked to see who the letter was addressed to. We would never open each other's mail
Now I just assume mail coming here is for me...so I open it without thinking.

[boxtops]

Don't feel bad, gness - if the lady had wanted this mail forwarded, she'd have notified Addenbrookes of her new address.

[woofgang]

Yes I open mail without looking now. Mail still arrives for tenants of the house from 20 years ago from banks and building societies. returning to sender didn't help so I now open the mail and phone the organisation concerned. Yes I know its illegal but it has put a stop to most of it.

[Baldric]

If I'm sat in the K/Diner when post arrives I usually hear it, so nip downstairs to pick it up, back upstairs, sort into two piles, open the lot, just draw the paper knife across them and take OH's through to Lounge, even if she's not in. It would not occur to me to read her post, if I need to know she'll tell me.

[gness]

I'm guessing she took part in this research recently...but they may still have her at this address....

But there's this silly guilt at reading other folk's mail, isn't there?

Mind you.....I'd read it all before remembering I don't have liver problems..☺

[boxtops]

..pehaps she or a relative did, though - a bit of a patient confidentiality risk, perhaps? I'd just send it back....

[nelliebee]

I also live alone, And like yourself, when my Husband was alive mail was opened by each of us. I now tend to open everything perhaps not even looking to see who it addressed to and sort out the relevant post and the circulars, my funniest experience was mail coming to me for the occupant of another house three doors away,this happened lots of times despite me re-posting it through my neighbours door and mentioning it to them, it still kept coming. One I did open by mistake, rang the company and told them that I was No. 1 my neighbour No.6 and could they adjust their records accordingly, and they told me that they have 100% proof that the person lives at my address, needless to say at that point I gave up.!! Just keep putting them back in post marked "not at this address".( could be he's keeping something from his missus !!)

[gness]

Hi, Nellie.....I once had my fuel allowance halved because the man they knew definitely lived here got the other half.......

Oh the excitement....searched but I couldn't find him....☺

[Daffy6543]

I have to carefully check all mail before opening it as we get post for the people round the corner sometimes, we live on ******* Street, round the corner is ******* Court, there is also a street in the nearest city that is identical to ours just different postcode by one digit. We still get mail for the woman who lived here 11 years ago too.

[gness]

Hi, Daffy...had similar when I lived in Bloggs Way in Kettering....got to know the people in Bloggs Court in Burton Latimer quite well exchanging out post....☺

[Peter Pedant]

I do this all the time.

my wrong letter rate is less than 1% - probably 0.1% - one in a thousand.

I tell all my tenants they cant open their predecessor's letters,
and a more mature one said : everyone does, you have to know when the bailiffs are coming.....
too true... too true.

my most interesting was around twenty years ago where an unknown solicitor was discussing with an unknown client the consequences of er well you know ... not telling the truth in court.
The secretary who had misdirected the letter rang up in a bit of a panic.....

[ummmm]

I never open mail. I live in ignorant bliss...

[boxtops]

The most interesting letter I opened addressed to someone else (many years back) was to a couple who'd come to look at the house we were selling, and had applied for a mortgage on it on the basis that they lived there. Er. no....

[Hopkirk]

Your postman still delivers letters?

Mine just brings junk mail.

[gness]

Evening, Hoppy....mostly junk...and the odd one from the Desperate Dolly Dating Agency........ ;-)

[marval]

I always look at the post, I live at number thirteen and I know most of the number thirteens on my estate.

[roopower]

We used to get a lot of mail for the previous inhabitants of our house and, as they'd left a forwarding address, I posted it on. On one occasion I was in a hurry and opened the mail without really thinking and one was a letter from a company threatening the bailiffs over unpaid debts! It was for the previous occupants but I was really worried the bailiffs would come for our stuff.