Throwing away mail

[ll_billym]

I have been in my rented house 6 months. I get a lot of mail sent to the house I live in not addressed to me. As far as I can tell I'm getting mail from at least two if not three generations of tennents.

It is obviously not important, I'm sure their bank statements, insurance, DVLA have all been updated.

I am not going to write "no longer at this address" and putr them back in the post nor all the other urban legend rubbish people tell you. Nor am I going to trace these people.

Can somebody who actually knows tell me:

1) Can I get into trouble legally for thowing them all in the bin as they arrive?

2) Can I get into trouble legally if somebody turns up one day wanting their mail and I'd only last week accidentally thew the whole pile I'd been saving up for them out with the waste paper :-)

And by the way not bothered about being socially responsible, I change my address for everything that's important and I'm sure they do, it's probably junk.

Many thanks.

[Postdog]

Basically, once it pops through your box, you can do with them what you wish. Obviously mistakes happen now and then, and letters go through the wrong one, and any "decent" person will either redeliver correctly or mark not known and post back.

In your case though this is quite common where people have gone, and you are getting tons of stuff for the old occupiers and you KNOW there is very little chance that they will either want it or come back for it.

So basically yes, do what you like, there'll be no comebacks. From a posties POV the worst thing you could do is post them back in one go marked not known, so I would just bin them.

The only exception to that is if any are chasing debts, open and contact to explain, otherwise they will keep coming.

[pink-kittens]

"The only exception to that is if any are chasing debts, open and contact to explain, otherwise they will keep coming"

So, what do you do if you have done that and they don't beleive you? We have had one collection agency arrive on our doorstep despite constantly returning letters, making a phone call and emailing to explain? The previous tenants have letter after letter for them, including ones from the probation office. We have been here since Jan 07 and the letters keep coming; up to 3 a week. I have no idea if they are for the same debt as there is obviously more than one debt, but I even get bank statements for the female ex tenant

Can I just throw them away now? What should I do with them?

[Postdog]

I can't answer that.

As a postie, I tend to see lots of flits with people owing money here or there. New occupiers move in, but the letters keep coming, and eventually maybe debt collectors.

All I know is that it does no good simply returning letters marked not known and hoping for the best - I mean, even if they got back to the original sender, would you accept that on face value? No, you wouldn't.

So the advice I give people - and it seems to work - is open any letters that look likely, or if you know there is a problem, and then contact them direct to explain the person no longer lives there, and provide some proof that you are not them. Also, for when there might be debt collectors, have some proof to hand to show them, and if they get stroppy or are otherwise a nuisance, threaten to or call the police.

I wouldn't chuck any mail away in these circumstances - just file it, making a note of any action taken. When I said chuck away, I was referring to the ordinary junk stuff.

[ll_billym]

Thanks guys, opened some "likely" ones and it turns out they do owe money so I've contacted the companies who were glad to hear from me. The rest went in the bin.

Cheers.

[ChuckFickens]

when it happened to me in my last place and I kept getting letters from debt collection agency's I opened one and contacted the agency to tell them that the person they are chasing no longer lived there. all sorted... or so I thought!!

I then started receiving phone calls from the same debt collectors on my mobile phone asking for the previous tenant, they had obviously assumed I was the previous tenant and that I was trying to pull a fast one to get them off my back! there then followed a rather heated conversation with them and I ended up having to fax a copy of my tenancy agreement to them to prove I was who I said and not in fact the person they were chasing.

So if you call them don't take it at face value that the letters will stop and I would suggest hiding your phone number if you do call them (put 141 in front of the number!)