UNK but not forgotten
June 9, 2015 9:51 AM   Subscribe

We moved into our house five years ago. The previous owners had some bad money stuff going on.

We know that they had not paid there state or federal income tax in over three years. For awhile we were getting a LOT of mail, creditors, bills, etc.

I filed a number of forwarding address kits with the USPS and most of the mail stopped.

Recently it has started coming again, even from places like the DMV and hospital bills that are current?

It seems clear that the previous owners are still using my home as there address to delay or avoid paying bills.

It is a bit annoying and I would love to do what I can to put a stop to it.

Any suggestions?
posted by silsurf to Home & Garden (8 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
Can you write "return to sender, recipient not known at this address" on the envelopes?
posted by catspajammies at 9:53 AM on June 9, 2015 [2 favorites]


"Addressee Unknown" written (or print labels, I find it easier to just keep a sheet by the front door) and put back on the mailbox.

You'll notice that many pieces of mail have "return service requested" or a similar ancillary service request on it, returning the mail will help stop the letters.
posted by Lyn Never at 9:57 AM on June 9, 2015 [1 favorite]


We were having this problem, too, and sending any mail we got back with messages like the above written on the envelope seems to have helped a lot.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 10:01 AM on June 9, 2015


Here's a sweet trick I learned a few years ago: You can just take a permanent marker and mark a big X over the mailing address and then put that mail back out for the mail delivery person to pick up.

You can also tape a paper to your mailbox that states that you're only accepting mail for the following residents: [full names go here].
posted by aniola at 10:12 AM on June 9, 2015 [2 favorites]


Using a permanent marker, cross out the address (just a big X) and write "Not at this address." Get a stamp for that, it's easier. To make sure it doesn't come back again, black out the printed marks (looks like a series of short lines) below or around the address-- the post office uses these for routing/sorting, and sometimes the piece will get sent back to you when sorted by machine.

If the postmark says "Presorted Standard" or a variation, throw the piece directly in the trash. If the piece says "Presorted First Class" or has a first-class or forever stamp on it, return to sender as above.

Consider putting a sign on your mailbox that says "Former Owner's Name Does Not Live Here." I have had limited success with this, but it can help.
posted by blnkfrnk at 10:13 AM on June 9, 2015 [3 favorites]


Nthing everyone above. I have had better luck using a permanent marker to also black out the bar code looking thing at the bottom of the envelope - the sorting is done by machines, and if you don't mark it out, sometimes you'll get the mail back even if you've written "return to sender" on it. You need to get it out of the machine and into the hands of a human to get it rerouted.
posted by peanut_mcgillicuty at 10:19 AM on June 9, 2015 [3 favorites]


It seems clear that the previous owners are still using my home as there address to delay or avoid paying bills.
The other possibility is they are homeless, living out of their car, and have no current address. Thus, nothing is being updated and the address is still in use. There is very often no option to say 'I don't have an address. I am homeless.' The computer system can just stubbornly refuse to accept that you have no address or no phone number. Something has to be put in there, so the old address gets used as the only thing they can figure out to do to get the computer system to take whatever form is being fed into it.

Homeless people often have very serious medical conditions and very often are living out of their car, which could explain the DMV and current medical bills coming to you.

'Return to sender' with messages about "not at this address" (etc) may be your only real option here.
posted by Michele in California at 2:22 PM on June 9, 2015 [4 favorites]


Also expect cheesy FBI-looking guys and whatnot at your front door using transparent ruses to get you to tell them who lives there (Bill collectors and process servers.) Same here. The calls and mail have fallen off to hardly ever now. It took 3 years.
posted by ctmf at 8:03 PM on June 9, 2015 [1 favorite]


« Older How big a problem is a (relatively) high home...   |   Good USB headphone adapter - or other solution? Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.