Guys,
Have moved to current address for over a year and still get mail from previous tenant, of all sorts, banks, tele, etc.
Returned to sender numerous times but the mail still won't stop.
What's the best way to handle this? Seems that fine is hard to implement, then what?
Cheers,
Deep lurker
Stick a message on your mailbox with something like " [Name(s)] no longer resides here - return to sender "
Just keep "return to sender" !! For us, after about 5-6 years it eventually stopped
I have a soft spot for AusPost, reading this, I just feel sorry for them for doing this free delivery called RTS…..
We still have our previous Owners of 10 years coming in, including postcards, even overseas mail (not that I can do RTS).
I emailed them and there's no reply… Bbbrrgh
Or course you can do RTS for overseas mail. Auspost takes care of that too. Wouldn't bother for postcards though. There's usually no return address on those anyway.
They will stop if you put "RTS: Not known at this address" and remail them. Especially the bank/elec/telephone ones. They cannot stop sending them until you do that for each and every company sending letters.
Didn't work for me… or maybe that's how commbank operates.
Edit: not quite true, it stopped after a year but I'm guessing the previous owners were interested in their statements or whatever after all.
Anyone find a deal on a "Return to Sender. No longer at this address" stamp?
Wow, this sounds a good idea, except that you still have to put the mail in auspost's boxes which in my case, is beyond walking distance.
If you just let the collect and take them when you go to the shopping center whenever I guess…
I still don't see why the legal onus is on us to return mail when Aus post can lose it and you have no recourse.
I bought one ages ago from an ozbargain vistaprint deal.
Large Rubber Stamp, 57 x 21 mm
Paid $7.57 all up at the time.
have a look on ebay for an equivalent.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/RETURN-TO-SENDER-or-Personalised-…
alternatively, labels may be better, as you can't stamp magazines in protective plastic or glossy envelopes.
Thanks. I was only partly serious. I'm too cheap when writing it by hand costs me next to nothing.
You know what they say; you've gotta be in it to bin it!
Never heard that before
I used to work in the data entry office of a large retailer that had a rewards program. Their database was horrific - we'd get RTS catalogues back and deactivate accounts, but then occasionally IT would restore an old database, or include deactivated accounts in their mail merge extract (for both hard copy and emailed catalogues). They were lucky not to get done for spam i reckon.
but yeah it's just down to some kid who doesn't care to bother finding your entry in a database and deactivating.
It's a simple SQL query with a condition 'deactivated_before=true'. Put that in the job requirement!
I wonder why OP joined OzBargain to ask such a question? Perhaps a connection with this vendor:-
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/284522
What, you work for AFP or something? How did you dig up that dirt?
Give all the letters to bikies.
Fastest way to stop these letters coming in is for them to setup various accounts under their name and make claims / withdrawals since you have all sorts of personal information.
If there's anything which gets people into action, it's money hitting their bottom line.
And if you do that you'll eventually get free accommodation elsewhere where every item of mail is checked thoroughly. Problem solved!
Free food, free gym facilities too. Free showers. Everything free except for one thing.
Open it. Read it. Chuck it if it's not a bargain.
or if it is bank statements and teleco bills and such you could steal their identity and change the addresses yourself.
For bank statements perhaps return them to the closest branch to you, Maybe someone will action the change of address.
It's probably more than likely it was a overseas student who doesn't have a new address or someone who has moved overseas or is trying to avoid paying for their phone bill or bank loan.
Its a shame when people don't do anything about it especially when it may not be the previous tenants fault.
'My mate move out and changed all to his new address but the ATO messed it up and kept delivering to his old address.
Fast forward 6 months or something and it turns out he owed them money, heaps of money that had some interest too.
1 year? Try 17 years haha!
write on front of letter "not of this address" and stick it in a post box once a month… or bin it (after you get out any good ones)
I bought a house last year and was receiving a lot of mail for about 5 different names when I moved in.
I bought a red RETURN TO SENDER stamp: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/RETURN-TO-SENDER-or-Personalised-…
This was quite satisfying to use, but letters stamped with this were still re-delivered to me sometimes
I then learnt at the post office that you have to very obviously cross out your address and draw a big arrow pointing to the return address, and also write RTS in big letters on the envelope.
Since I've started doing this none of the letters have been re-delivered and they've decreased to almost nothing within a few months.
"No longer at this address.
REMOVE FROM RECORDS IMMEDIATELY"
Helped me when the scatty mare that lived in the house before us was getting final demands for loans. Adelaide - so of course I knew someone who knew her…confirmed - the lowest form of human being, not just someone who fell on hard times.
With other stuff, it just goes straight to recycling. If they can't be bothered to change their address, I can't be bothered to securely dispose of their details.
Find them on Facebook and ask them to purchase the post redirect pack from post office.
Typical thing you're supposed to do I believe is write "not at this address" across the front of the letter and put it in a post box, then they'll stop coming
I always write "no longer at this address" on the envelope, seems to work better than return to sender
Return to Sender - not at this address - please amend
What to Do if Previous Tenants Don't Change Address after Moving: Endless Mail from Previous Tenants
If you're being a bastard, you can mark it "Deceased". All sorts of problems for the person, but it won't be a problem for you!
The real estate agent should have a forwarding address and/or contact details. Get them to contact the tenant with a list of offending companies so the previous tenant may rectify.
If they don't then bin them. I keep the recycling bin next to the mailbox. Junk mail may never enter my house.
After constantly receiving mail from the same companies for the previous home owner and with RTS not working for a few places, I emailed RACV and Flight Centre on their behalf taking the initiative to unsubscribe them. Worked a treat!
I'd give them 3 months max then just throw in the bin.
It's not your responsibility.
OK, I agree. But the law should be a little clearer on this topic in terms of responsibility.
Throw away. I buy ex rental houses gone wrong. I fix them over a year or so and get huge amounts of mail for old deadbeat tenants. I had a RTS stamp made up when after a while I was still spending up to an hour dealing with this mail. Then, my wife said forget it. The house we are doing now we only just reinstated the letterbox. It was purposefully removed 8 months ago.
Bikies.
How do you mean?
When seeing a biki on the road, wave the bunch of letters and say what? "G'day mate, interested in being a vigilante?
Bikies is the standard way of solving problems on OzB.
Either they can track down the person and get them to sort this issue out, or the bikies can take to delivering the letters themselves.
Call up the people sending and let them know.