How to stop receiving previous homeowner's mail (Post: car registration, credit card)

[Texascrude]

Originally Posted by Whyrallnamestaken

Every day I remove a stack of mail from my box that is addressed to the previous homeowner. This includes what looks like a bank statement, insurance information and numerous catalogs that I have no interest in. Is there anything I can do to stop this? I thought about bundling it all together and taking it to the post office with a note saying the "Jones" no longer live here. I have been in the house for almost 6 weeks. I personally get very little mail because I pay and receive my bills online.

A few years ago my wife and I moved into an apartment in Dallas where this happened. Apparently he was really into adult magazines, which was cool until my wife started checking the mail

[amber13ny]

I know this thread is old, but wanted to share what I just learned. We have lived in our home for several years and still receive mail of all kinds for the prior homeowner. The post office has told me to cover the coding on the mail at the bottom with a pen or marker. I have told them numerous times who lives in this house as well. Nothing works -- mail keeps coming.

I just learned today from Consumer Services for the Post Office that mail forwarding is only in effect for 18 months. After that, it is the prior homeowner's responsibility to advise senders where to send mail. The mail carriers are not allowed to redirect mail as it is against Federal law. They have to deliver the mail as addressed. This is ridiculous to me as it means I end up doing their work for them. I have to blacken out the envelope, I have to put it back in the mailbox, etc. Wouldn't it save time and money and my frustration to only deliver mail to the people listed at the address? Crazy.

[jenfarm_]

Originally Posted by jtothemak

Put your last name on a sticker in your mailbox, but at the end of day it depends on your local friendly mail carrier and whether they care about doing a good job or not.

Our apartment did this for us. It helped a lot. I still get a very occasional piece of junk mail for previous tenants but it's much, much less frequent than before. Maybe once a month. As opposed to the handful a week previously.

[d2mini]

Originally Posted by trbstang

On anything that looks important, just mark it "Return to sender, not at this address" in bold marker and drop it back in the outgoing mailbox.

This is the correct way to do it. ^^^

How Can I Stop Getting Mail Addressed to Someone Else?

[crone]

First class mail is all that can be forwarded. The rest is deliver to the address on the mail.That is why pre sorted is so cheap to mail.

Just throw it away. The carrier has to deliver it as addressed. If he threw it away, we'd all be bitching about that.

Now, what do we do about LEO's coming to arrest or sue me? We have had this house 2 years and three times cops have come to the door. The former owner has a trucking company. He gets sued a lot. The guys who deliver the legal documents can't be bothered to verify the address. I have to prove who I am. Usually need to show them the HCAD info.

[RMESMH]

Originally Posted by amber13ny

I know this thread is old, but wanted to share what I just learned. We have lived in our home for several years and still receive mail of all kinds for the prior homeowner. The post office has told me to cover the coding on the mail at the bottom with a pen or marker. I have told them numerous times who lives in this house as well. Nothing works -- mail keeps coming.

I just learned today from Consumer Services for the Post Office that mail forwarding is only in effect for 18 months. After that, it is the prior homeowner's responsibility to advise senders where to send mail. The mail carriers are not allowed to redirect mail as it is against Federal law. They have to deliver the mail as addressed. This is ridiculous to me as it means I end up doing their work for them. I have to blacken out the envelope, I have to put it back in the mailbox, etc. Wouldn't it save time and money and my frustration to only deliver mail to the people listed at the address? Crazy.

Too long a story for this venue as to why, but in the early 2000s, even though I owned a home that I lived in, I changed my official mailing address to a box in a private postal store. This worked out very well.


When I built my house in Texas and moved here in 2008, I did the same thing. I'm glad I did. The United States Postal Service carriers have time and time again displayed incompetence re service within my subdivision. I have, in error, received first class mail for almost thirty different households within my subdivision. The only first class mail I get at my home address addressed to me is my property tax bill/mail from government agencies whose customer service people won't let me change to my private postal store box.


I get tons of third class? (anyway...it's not first class ) mail. If I'm out of town for a long period, the box fills up and the USPS postal carrier stuffs in a message that I have to stop by the post office by blah blah blah date or else that mail will be discarded. I go past that date every time, and the mail has never been discarded. The last time this happened, when I went to the post office to pick up that mail (knew property tax bill was in there), I asked the clerk if there was anything I could do to stop that mail (junk, 3rd class, whatever the proper term is). She said yes, but that she wouldn't tell me how to do it because the USPS would lose the revenue it gets from those companies .

[Whyrallnamestaken]

Since I first posted, twice I have gotten mail from the IRS addressed to previous homeowners. Why they don't know where these people are is a mystery to me.

A postman placed a notice in my box 3 years ago saying "Forward Jones". This did no good because they themselves ignored it.

By the way, I don't have a mailbox at my house. There is a group of mailboxes at the end of the street for the subdivision and I don't actually see who is delivering the mail.

I looked at DMA and they don't have information for some of the junk catalogs that I get. The previous homeowners had poor taste so I don't even want to look at these catalogs.

Actually I bet the junk mailers would still send it even if they knew the previous homeowners moved.

[Texas Ag 93]

Originally Posted by Whyrallnamestaken

Since I first posted, twice I have gotten mail from the IRS addressed to previous homeowners. Why they don't know where these people are is a mystery to me.

We moved from out of state mid year and the IRS has been sending our correspondence to our old address, despite conversations I had with them on the phone, and on their website, where I provided the new address. Eventually, they changed mine, but not my husband's.

Meanwhile, any number of organizations, wholly unsolicited by us, always seem to have our current and correct address. The University of Texas has been sending letters to my husband hitting us up for money for 15 years all over the country, despite the fact we have never made donations. Yet, they always have our current address within weeks of us moving. Go figure.

And, in defense of the USPS, several years ago, we lived in Wichita Falls, and moved from one house to another a few blocks away. We had the same mail carrier, who delivered the old school way, walking from house to house. He would always bring us our mail, regardless of which house address it happened to have on it. He was a good guy and knew everyone on his route. Now, his colleagues at the post offices....not so much.

[H'ton]

What are the legal rights; in Texas, for a current homeowner that continues to receive maul for a previous owner?

The junk mail is one thing but I still receive packages.

I believe I read somewhere that the law states....you have a legal right to mail/packages sent to your address regardless of who they are addressed to.

Does anyone remember that in Texas law?

[escanlan]

Originally Posted by H'ton

What are the legal rights; in Texas, for a current homeowner that continues to receive maul for a previous owner?

The junk mail is one thing but I still receive packages.

I believe I read somewhere that the law states....you have a legal right to mail/packages sent to your address regardless of who they are addressed to.

Does anyone remember that in Texas law?

US Mail is controlled by Federal law. Obstructing the delivery of mail to the intended recipient, not address, would be a Federal offense.


If a piece of mail is addressed to your name and your physical address, or another who you allow to receive mail at that address, then the USPS has performed their duties of handling/delivery and any issue the sender has is a civil matter between them and you.



If a piece of mail is addressed to the name of a person not living at the delivery address and not known/approved by you for delivery to your address, then you would be required by Federal/postal law to use reasonable efforts to redirect the mail to the persons proper address. That is as simple as returning it to the local PO for proper processing.