How to tell previous homeowners we are tired of holding their mail

November 10, 2015 8:35 PM

My wife and I moved into our first home in March of this year. The previous homeowners asked if we could hold onto any mail addressed to them and put it in the mailbox around Friday of each week and they would come by and get it. Fast forward to today and we are still doing this for them. It's a bit tedious and frustrating to still have to do this and I'd like to find a way to politely find a way to get out of doing this - otherwise it feels like we may be doing this indefinitely.

My wife feels like it would be rude to tell them that we want to find another solution (like marking their mail as return to sender or something) and that if we do that, there may be sometime down the road when we need to ask them a question about the home and they won't be willing to help. I think mostly though, she thinks there isn't a way to convey what we want in a way that the previous homeowners won't take offence. So, my questions are: a) am I completely out of line for wanting to get out of having to do this weekly chore 8 months after moving in and b) what's the best way to word this to the previous homeowners.

posted by Proginoskes to Human Relations (57 answers total)

Is this in the US? If they have a credit or debit card, they can apply online for a change of address and mail forwarding. Costs $1.05 for address verification. If they don't like the online form, it takes all of 5 minutes at the counter of the local post office. I've done this twice in the last few years and it's worked perfectly. It even magically notified many companies that I'm a customer of my new address.

Maybe just let them know about that and ask them to sign up to save everyone time and effort?
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug at 8:42 PM on November 10, 2015 [13 favorites]

Best answer: Their continued imposition is rude, not your desire to stop handling their mail. That's what the USPS is for.

Write a note and put it in with the next batch of mail. "Hi, former owners. It won't be possible for us to continue to hold your mail. Please file a change-of-address with the post office within the next [short time - week? two weeks?]. After that, we'll mark the envelopes return to sender. Take care."

Don't apologize, don't offer reasons for why you can't: it just won't be possible anymore. Say what you will do, and by when, and follow through.
posted by rtha at 8:42 PM on November 10, 2015 [90 favorites]

Are they not aware of mail forwarding? I might play dumb and be like hey I just found out the post office has this great thing where they will forward your mail for you. This will save us both the hassle of having to deal with your mail. Any mail that the slips through the cracks I'll just write forward on and drop on the mail for you.
posted by whoaali at 8:42 PM on November 10, 2015 [12 favorites]

Is there some reason they haven't put in a forwarding request with the Post Office? That way it never gets delivered to you, it goes directly to their new address.
posted by MexicanYenta at 8:43 PM on November 10, 2015 [3 favorites]

Now is the time for bluntness. You're doing for free what Canada Post charges for. With their next mail put a letter stating it will no longer be possible for you to set aside their mail and you hope they understand you've done so willingly up to this point, but it must come to an end. They should contact the post office and arrange for forwarding beginning immediately.

By eight months I'm shocked they haven't corrected the addresses for those who send them mail. That's nuts.
posted by cecic at 8:44 PM on November 10, 2015 [4 favorites]

If the OP's profile location is correct, this is not the US.

Is mail forwarding available where you live? I'm in the US and would find their request totally unreasonable, but if it's not available, it changes the equation.
posted by insectosaurus at 8:45 PM on November 10, 2015

Response by poster: We're in Canada, not the US, but there's still mail forwarding here. I assume they haven't put in a mail forwarding request because it was easier to ask us and because they weren't moving far away, so they were still in the general area (so it wasn't too inconvenient for them to come by and pick up the mail).
posted by Proginoskes at 8:45 PM on November 10, 2015

This is not a permanent relationship that needs to be maintained.

If you are feeling nice, include a note with the next parcel of mail letting them know that you're no longer going to be able to do this for them following the end of the year (I'd say 30 days, but sure, let them retrieve their errant holiday cards and the like), please change your address with all important utilities, etc. Then hold to that.

If you are not feeling nice, just stop doing it. You've already gone way above and beyond. When I get mail for previous tenants, I just shred it and move on.
posted by Sara C. at 8:47 PM on November 10, 2015 [5 favorites]

I think telling them this arrangement won't work any more is the best way.

But if you feel like you can't do that, just make it less convenient for them. "Forget" a few times. Be "suddenly very busy". Maybe once they realize you're not the reliable, free mail handler they've come to rely upon, they'll want to change to something else.
posted by Brian Puccio at 8:48 PM on November 10, 2015 [14 favorites]

It was rude of them to ask you to keep getting their mail and acting as their secretary. You don't really need a reason, just say you can't continue to handle their mail for them. If you'd feel better with an excuse, lie and say you're going away on a time share for several months and you can't hold onto their mail so they should get it forwarded permanently to their "new" address.
posted by AppleTurnover at 8:53 PM on November 10, 2015 [4 favorites]

It makes no sense to me that they would rather pick up their mail at your house once a week over having it delivered promptly to their new home. So I'm guessing there is some other reason they don't want to tell people they have moved or don't want other to know their new address.

So, they probably have an incentive to keep thing the way they are which means that you will need to be clear and firm that they need to find a new solution.

I would probably ask them to start changing their address now but offer to you will collect any missed mail for a while longer (maybe even the end of the year to include holiday cards). After that you will let the post office know that they are no longer at this address.

If they are reasonable and you are polite, this should not jepardize your ability to ask them an occasional question about the house but after eight months there shouldn't be too many of those either.
posted by metahawk at 8:55 PM on November 10, 2015 [15 favorites]

You've been sorting someone else's mail for 7 months - that's ridiculous. Next time leave a note that says you're stopping.

Seven months? They are being totally unreasonable.
posted by 26.2 at 8:55 PM on November 10, 2015 [7 favorites]

At this point I'd probably fill out a friggin' mail forwarding slip for them myself without telling them and keep to the same routine for the rare pieces that still get through. That way you get both the satisfaction of doing them a favor and also not having to do the post office's job.
posted by tchemgrrl at 8:57 PM on November 10, 2015 [12 favorites]

My guess is your were the cheaper option (the Canadian postal service charges for forwarding unlike the US). But enough is enough.
posted by cecic at 8:57 PM on November 10, 2015 [3 favorites]

"hey, could you guys please fill out a form to have Canada post forward your mail? if any more comes here after December first, then we'll forward it to you. hope the new house is treating you well. proginoskes famiky"
posted by hungrytiger at 9:00 PM on November 10, 2015 [2 favorites]

Get a rubber stamp that says "not at this address". Stamp their mail and put it back in the box every day for the carrier to pick up. It's not your problem.

You can also just write "not at this address" on their mail, a stamp just does it a bit quicker.
posted by bendy at 9:04 PM on November 10, 2015 [6 favorites]

Yeah, hell no. I was in almost this exact situation a few years ago -- previous residents asked us to forward any mail that came for them to their new address. I was happy to do it for a little while, but once four months passed and we were still receiving their credit card bills, I wrote a short, succinct note telling them this would be the last item I forwarded to them. We never got another piece of their mail after that.
posted by darkchocolatepyramid at 9:08 PM on November 10, 2015 [10 favorites]

Why are you assuming it's easier for them? They probably just haven't gotten around to it for whatever reason. Make it super-easy for them, and leave them a change-of-address card in the mailbox with their mail. Include a sticky note saying "hey, would you mind filling this out and dropping it in the mail? It's a change-of-address card, so you can have the mail redirected to your new house! Figured you might not have known about it so here you go!"

And if they get upset at this, honestly these people wouldn't be helping you out with future questions. It's not like you're telling them "hey, go F*** yourselves, we are burning your mail from now on so you'd better redirect or else."

Don't let "possible future needs" hold you hostage. Get their new address and hold onto it if you may need something from them in the future... like serving them legal papers... jk. There is a lot of ways to find out information on the house without asking the former owners. Any renos/remodelling would have had to get plumbing/electrical permits and certificates, etc. And you can get those through the City. Do you know your next-door neighbours at all? They can often provide a lot of information about the house if they've been there a while.
posted by lizbunny at 9:09 PM on November 10, 2015 [5 favorites]

If you get no traction with the previous owners, here's how you (legally, eventually) stop getting their mail.

You can notify Canada Post of misdelivery using the form on this page or you can strike out the delivery address, write "moved" on the front and drop it in a post box. After a while this generally stops getting the mail delivered to your box.

At this point, it becomes the recipient's problem and you've fulfilled all legal obligations. It may not be the best answer, but at least you're not on the hook for withholding their mail, as you might be if you just chucked it out and they made a fuss.
posted by bonehead at 9:21 PM on November 10, 2015 [7 favorites]

I know from experience that sometimes trying to do the "change of address" thing through the post office fails (like when they decide your apartment is actually zoned for business and are just "yeah, nothing we can do" despite several phone calls). I assume that's not what is going on here.

What mail are you saving? All of it? I could see saving things that seem like a wedding invitation or a card from a long-lost aunt or something, but catalogs and bills? Yeah, maybe not your responsibility -- they can change their addresses for those.

If it seems personal/important, maybe pass it on. Otherwise, return to sender or well, yeah, trash it. I think a slow fade combined with "we are finding this too tedious -- what else can we do?" will work. If they want their mail, they'll figure it out.
posted by darksong at 9:25 PM on November 10, 2015

Forwarding mail costs money, btw, and CP won't let one do it forever either. At this point you've saved them around $80. You don't owe them anything.
posted by bonehead at 9:27 PM on November 10, 2015 [5 favorites]

Wow, do not trash it as some people have suggested. That is illegal in both the US and Canada, and a jerk move. Give it back to the post office and let them deal with it, that's their job.
posted by mysterious_stranger at 9:32 PM on November 10, 2015 [5 favorites]

What to do about misdelivered mail in Canada
posted by mysterious_stranger at 9:33 PM on November 10, 2015

To be blunt...This is nuts. It's not your job to save them money for something they should do because they moved. That's literally none of your responsibility. (Past maybe a month or so after someone moves because sometimes things don't get sorted properly. But even then it's your job to return to sender.) It's not your job to let them off on not making phone calls or logging in online to change their address for their accounts. That's their responsibility for moving out. It's moving 101. And I've had to do a ton of that (in the US) when I would switch dorms and housing every year at college. It's a pain but easy.

I'm glad that you want to maintain a relationship with them due to the fact that you bought their house, so I guess make your request firmly but kindly. Let them know you can no longer do it after X date (so they can change accounts and set up forwarding) and after that point any mail will be returned to sender. Many people have zero contact with previous owners and get along just fine. The above is the nice version, though many people would just start returning to sender.
posted by Crystalinne at 9:35 PM on November 10, 2015 [3 favorites]

This is completely ridiculous. The only way it wouldn't be completely ridiculous is if you were renting temporarily and they planned to return to the property within the year. But no. As it is, completely ridiculous. Tell them you will no longer be able to do this for them and rest easy at night with zero guilt.
posted by phunniemee at 9:45 PM on November 10, 2015 [1 favorite]

Yeah, you have gone so far above and beyond that pretty much even if you ritually burned their mail in a festive yuletide bonfire you would still be all good. Tell them you're not going to play mailman for them anymore and to deal with it themselves in the normal change of address way.
posted by poffin boffin at 10:06 PM on November 10, 2015 [4 favorites]

You are absolutely right. Even in nicey nice Canada, no way you should do this for most of a year. Tell them this has grown very inconvenient for you and you are going to stop retaining mail addressed to them as of ---- date, which I for one would set for no more than 2 weeks away.
posted by bearwife at 10:45 PM on November 10, 2015 [2 favorites]

In the US, there's an actual physical form for mail forwarding that you can pick up at the Post Office, in addition to the online option. If there's an equivalent in Canada, maybe you could pick one up and include it with the next packet of mail with a note saying something along the lines of "here's the form for mail forwarding! It usually takes X weeks to take effect, so after November X, we won't plan to collect your mail any longer. Happy holidays! Best wishes, the X family."
posted by charmcityblues at 10:50 PM on November 10, 2015

Are they just getting junk/commercial mail or, like, bills and correspondence? If it's the latter, this is sketch. Either way, give them a heads up and then just start writing "not at this address" on the envelopes and put them back in outgoing mail.
posted by prize bull octorok at 11:31 PM on November 10, 2015

If you want to be nice, inform them that you will require that they update their address before some date (e.g. 1 month from now) and that after that, you'll start returning the mail to sender. Or maybe you could get a new mailbox with a lock or something and use "mail thieves" as the excuse for the change in the arrangement.

I'd probably just start returning it to sender (by crossing out the address and writing "Moved" on the mail), but then I live in an apartment and am absolutely sick of dealing with mail from previous tenants.
posted by Aleyn at 12:38 AM on November 11, 2015 [1 favorite]

They are taking advantage of you big time. Sure, it's nice to do this for the odd bit of mail that slips through but using you in place of a paid service? For the best part of a year? No freakin way. If they've let it go this long you'll be doing it for the next 5 years. This is why there are mail forwarding services.

I would just tell them politely that after X date you'll no longer be able to do this and that the post office can help the redirection. They are grown up enough to sell a house, they can fill in a redirection form!

When I was 19 and moved four times in a year I had multiple redirections in place, to the extent that the post office staff asked if I was in witness protection. But even dead broke and fricking 19 years old I knew that you didn't impose on people like this.
posted by kitten magic at 12:43 AM on November 11, 2015 [5 favorites]

Oh and if you still get mail after the date you give them, anything after that gets marked return to sender/not known at this address. That's perfectly reasonable. Throwing it out isn't reasonable.
posted by kitten magic at 12:45 AM on November 11, 2015 [2 favorites]

In addition to all the previous answers, I wouldn't be okay with someone rifling through my mailbox each week, for their mail.
posted by SillyShepherd at 1:18 AM on November 11, 2015 [9 favorites]

passive aggressive route: start opening their stuff and then say, "oh. yeah, sorry, forgot to check the address". it might deter them.

(also, be careful you don't do that by accident and not realise - i once opened a neighbour's bank statement and spent a panicked 15 minutes on the phone arguing with the bank and trying to work out where my money had gone before i read the address).
posted by andrewcooke at 2:24 AM on November 11, 2015

Eight months? You've basically been giving them free use of YOUR mailbox and labor for mail-sorting services for EIGHT MONTHS?!? Enough: leave a blank change of address card, and tell them that they have two weeks until you start marking all their future mail "moved" or "not at this address". I wouldn't bother with longer than that, because they've ALREADY had plenty of time.

The only caveat is that I'd suggest making sure your own mail is secure first: maybe I'm paranoid & suspicious, but I wouldn't put it past people to start destroying YOUR mail as petty revenge.

(And I see other folks mention Canada charges for forwarding mail, but at this point --- when they've had 2/3 of a year to individually notify their credit card companies and everyone else that they've moved --- it sorta sounds more like they're using you to hide their real location, rather than they're too cheap to fill out official change-of-address cards. It's probably safe to assume you don't want to get caught in the middle if/when somebody comes looking for them.)
posted by easily confused at 2:25 AM on November 11, 2015 [4 favorites]

You've changed the locks on the house since moving in, right? If not, do that and then employ any of the methods listed above to put an end to this madness. When people move, they should move on. I would not have a good feeling about anyone who kept returning to the house they sold (for any other reason than if I bought my house from a friend.)
posted by vitabellosi at 2:32 AM on November 11, 2015 [3 favorites]

Let them know that as of $date, you're not going to be sorting their mail any more. Make $date a time in the not too distant future, such as a week from now. If you leave it any longer, they'll "get around to it someday", as evidenced by the length of time it's taken them already.

Then when their mail appears, mark it "not known at this address" and put it back into the box for the mail person to collect. I've done this in the past, but unless I completely covered the delivery address with a sticker or something, it just got redelivered.

Incentivise them to get their mail delivered to their house. Their mail not appearing at all will help them do that.
posted by Solomon at 3:45 AM on November 11, 2015

If they haven't changed their address on bills and credit cards, it's fraud, not laziness. The previous owners of this house tried to register a business here three years after they moved out, and got into credit agreements up to about five years after moving. I think we're finally clear of collection notices and threatening phone calls 13½ years after moving in.
posted by scruss at 4:55 AM on November 11, 2015 [2 favorites]

Go to your local post office and pick up several change of address forms. Include one of these forms in the mail batch every week until they figure it out. If they don't get the hint, fill it out for them and ask them to sign it.

What they are doing is ridiculous. That is not how mail is supposed to work. I would worry that they are scammers. What happens when they don't pay a bill or they anger someone, and it's your door that is getting knocked on instead of theirs?

Another option is to print of address labels with their new address on it, and a 'please forward to new address.' Stick those on every piece of mail. The post office will figure it out.
posted by myselfasme at 5:21 AM on November 11, 2015 [1 favorite]

FYI for outraged Americans responding to this ask: changing your address with Canada Post is surprisingly expensive and complicated. Last time I checked, it was something like $60 for 6 months and you physically have to go into a corporate post office to fill out forms that mostly get ignored by the mail carriers anyways.
posted by bluebelle at 6:17 AM on November 11, 2015 [1 favorite]

(Oops I posted before I was done.) anyways, combine the inefficiency of Canada Post with the desire of some Canadians to be helpful and polite and you get a situation like this. It's happened to me too.
posted by bluebelle at 6:20 AM on November 11, 2015

There's no need for them to use a postal redirect. The point is for them to notify all the senders of their new address. Add your own letter to their batch that says you will no longer accept their this method after 2 months. That should be plenty of time for them to follow up with all correspondence that needs to be notified of their new address.
posted by like_neon at 6:25 AM on November 11, 2015 [1 favorite]

Also it's not rude to stop doing this for them. You've done plenty already and are almost in danger of becoming doormats because as others have pointed out, they have access to your own personal mail this way and that's just not right.
posted by like_neon at 6:26 AM on November 11, 2015 [1 favorite]

US person here: We moved and had to do this for a period until we could manually get all addresses changed (as did the people we bought the house from) because the house was somehow designated as as commercial address with the USPS. In the US, getting the house changed back to residential--and thus eligible for mail forwarding--was extremely, extremely tedious. (Like, tedious as in we are all attorneys and it was still hard. It ended up taking over a year.)

YMMV but understand there could be some weird reason they haven't gotten forwarding done.....
posted by resurrexit at 7:05 AM on November 11, 2015

Since they chose to not use the forwarding service, I would expect them to notify everyone individually of their address change. Eight months is more than enough time for them to have done that. Are they still receiving real mail (not junk mail) at your house? It's time to stop doing this for them, but if your wife thinks it's rude, you could give them a few week's notice so they can decide if they need to get busy notifying people.
posted by daikon at 7:19 AM on November 11, 2015 [1 favorite]

The situation also opens up the potential for fraud/abuse. Here in the US, a utility bill or bank statement can be used as "proof of residence", I assume the same is true in Canada. So, they could potentially use that to claim that they still reside at that address, which would also be reflected on their driver's license/national ID.

A few implications of that in the US: (1) choice of school a kid would qualify to go to; (2) which local elections you would vote in; (3) what local taxes they pay; and (4) proof of assets (if they moved to a cheaper house, this would cause them to claim higher assets, for a loan for example; if they moved to a more expensive house, it would cause them to claim lower assets, to qualify for a scholarship for example).

There could be more cases. But you could potentially be aiding fraudulent activity by continuing to support their request in this case.
posted by tuxster at 7:59 AM on November 11, 2015 [5 favorites]

I'm surprised that after 8 months, you are getting enough mail to bundle together. First, what kind of mail are you still receiving for the previous owners? Is it credit card statements, bills, etc. or is it just junk mail? Without opening them, it is pretty easy to tell. If it is credit card statements and bills etc, I would nicely put a note in with the next batch telling this is the last batch you are holding. From now on, everything will be returned to sender. If you don't stop, you are aiding lazy people at the least. At the worst, you are helping someone commit fraud which could make you an accomplice if it ever gets investigated. If it is junk mail, I would just start returning it. Either way, you need to rid yourself of the situation.
posted by BostonCannuck at 8:16 AM on November 11, 2015

Fundamentally, redirection or not, they should have told all organisations and people they want to stay in touch with about the move by now. You should have noticed a marked decrease of post over time if they have done that. If they haven't that's their problem, not yours. Don't bother with forwarding forms and what not. Just add a polite note that you won't be able to keep their post for them. After the end of the month you will return all post addressed to them to sender by handing it back to the post office.

If this was a genuine oversight, cluelessness, whatever this will get them to notify people, get a redirection going asap.

If not it will make them realise that whatever is going on will have to be achieved by other means.
posted by koahiatamadl at 8:19 AM on November 11, 2015

I think the Canadian way to do this would be a card with a friendly note saying you hope all is well and you're so sorry but you can no longer confidently offer them accurate mail sorting/forwarding and felt obliged to let them know as soon as possible so that they can make other arrangements to make sure that they don't miss any important mail. You'll do your best to drop off the last batch of mall at their place within the next two or three weeks, and after that, would they prefer that you write 'return to sender' or 'no longer at this address' or 'forward' on any important looking mall that slips through the cracks? And you hope that everything is going well for them on their new place and of course they should let you know in case of any particularly urgent or emergency mail that might come to your house and you'll definitely do your best to try to make sure it gets to them as soon as you can.

The important points are the apology, the multiple alternate offers, the lack of explanation, and the friendly tone.
posted by Salamandrous at 9:14 AM on November 11, 2015 [10 favorites]

I was getting tons of mail for the previous owners of my house for a couple of years. I ended up making it my mail carrier's problem by writing on every piece of mail, every day for a week, "not at this address." My mail carrier got tired of having to bring the pieces back to the PO and confirmed with me the correct names of our household. No wrong mail since. So in your place I'd tell the people that you can only process their mail for another week or so, and then I'd make it the PO's problem.
posted by stowaway at 9:34 AM on November 11, 2015 [1 favorite]

I think something sketchy is going on if they are unwilling to notify people of their new address. I advise against continuing to help them with this deception.
posted by Jacqueline at 9:47 AM on November 11, 2015 [1 favorite]

They're cheap and pretty inconsiderate. If forwarding is $60/6 months (Canada's system is different that the one in the US), they've saved $80 by making this your weekly chore. It sounds like they haven't done much to thank you (a nice note and a $20 coffee shop gift card would have been a nice gesture on their part).

So, just leave them a note saying that the last batch of mail that you'll be gathering will be left in your mailbox on a specific date and then, after that, you'll be returning their mail to the postal carrier. It would be kind to give them a margin of time to go get the forwarding set-up (maybe it takes a week or 2 to get activated?). There is nothing wrong with putting a stop to this endless and absurd favor. And, the fact that you did this for them for 8 whole months should give you complete freedom to contact them in the future about any house questions. At the minimum, they owe you that given how they've taken advantage of your kindness for so long.
posted by quince at 10:29 AM on November 11, 2015 [1 favorite]

I don't mean to pile on, but I would like to add that I think if there were a reason they couldn't complete the mail forwarding form, they'd have told you. Because a reasonable person who felt like they had no option other than to ask the new homeowner to sort and keep their mail would want to explain why they were making this unreasonable request.

Here's what a reasonable person might say: "I know this sounds crazy, but our new house's zoning is all screwed up with the postal service. Can you please hang onto our mail while we get this sorted with the post office and change our address with all relevant companies/organizations that might send us mail. I know this is an imposition on you, and I'll do my best to get this sorted out as quickly as possible."
posted by Meg_Murry at 10:39 AM on November 11, 2015 [2 favorites]

I know I'm late to the party (as usual!) but just want to tell OP that we were in a very similar situation, also in Canada. What started out as a courtesy to the previous tenants became a months-long imposition, and it came to a confrontation when one day some dude who we didn't even know showed up at our door one day all "wassup, I'm a friend of (former tenant) and he said you have my mail".

Sure enough, the name he gave had been on quite a few of the very official-looking envelopes we had been getting for the past 6 months or so. However, my Latin-America-honed spidey sense was going off like crazy so I told him, sorry guy but I don't know you, what I'll do is I'll give this last pile of mail only to (former tenant), and this stops now. He got upset and pushy, but fuck me if I was going to be a party to whatever fraudulent thing they had going on.

What I now think is that they were involved in some sort of benefits/disability fraud, judging from the provenance of some envelopes that clearly had cheques in them, but since I never opened any of their mail as I didn't want to do anything illegal myself I have no proof and therefore couldn't report them. (I wasn't sure if it would be unlawful to open mail sent to my residence but with someone else's name on it, chances are it is so I wanted to err on the side of caution.) Like you, I just wanted to do someone a simple favor, but the second I had an inkling something untoward was going on I put an immediate halt to it.

This is all to say, OP, that there are no good reasons for you to continue doing this for your former tenants, and there are several good reasons why it's in your best interest to stop immediately.
posted by papafrita at 11:20 AM on November 11, 2015 [4 favorites]

changing your address with Canada Post is surprisingly expensive and complicated.

Yeah, but here's the thing about that - even if there was no such thing as having the Post office do it, I would not expect to get old-address mail from the same sender twice. The old residents should have a process in place where if something shows up in your mailbox, they immediately notify the sender of the address change. The most common stuff should have been taken care of just by remembering whom to notify off the top of their head (cell phone bills, credit cards, family members, etc.) Then the volume should have dwindled away to almost nothing as the ones they forgot arrive, they get reminded and change those.

But that's not the weirdest thing here. They're physically coming to your house and going into your mailbox? Yeah, no. Have them give you a number of pre-addressed, pre-paid mailing envelopes to put their stuff in and re-mail. A small number. When they run out, start marking their mail return to sender.

That won't kill them anyway. They're not going to miss anything important without the sender having other ways to contact them when mail is returned (phone, email...)
posted by ctmf at 12:16 PM on November 11, 2015 [4 favorites]

Canada Post's mail forwarding service is fairly expensive, but in my experience, it is not complicated, and can be done online, even. I've used it twice in the last ten years and it was great. I got the full year each time because I figured there were some pieces of correspondence that only come at certain times of the year (holidays, eg.).

I would use Salamandrous's script but include information about the Canada Post service as an option for them. If you are really wanting to go full kind Canadian, I'm sure a larger post office will have a pamphlet advertising and explaining the service that you can include with your note, or just print out info from the website.
posted by girlpublisher at 6:08 AM on November 12, 2015

This is such an odd thing to ask of you that I'd be suspicious that there is some sort of fraud or illegal activity going on with this mail.

Make sure you've changed the locks on the house since you've moved in. If you are allowed locking mailboxes there I'd get one of those too.

And tell them you can't do this anymore.
posted by yohko at 1:26 PM on November 12, 2015 [1 favorite]