Previous tenants antics

[Steve1960]

I recently had to remove all the mail I save for the landlord from the post box as she has not collected for a long time and it was getting pretty full. Advised her of this and she told me to bin anything that was not in her name as 90% of the mail she collects is for the previous tennant.

Having had someone knock at our door recently asking for the previous tennants I decided to take a look at a few of the letters. It seems this person built up quite a number of debts but most interestingly still seems to be using our address to continue to apply for loans and credit.

Should I be informing some authority about this or just ignore it? I get a strong feeling the knocking at our door is going to become more frequent as time goes by.

[the lynx]

It seems this person built up quite a number of debts but most interestingly still seems to be using our address to continue to apply for loans and credit.

Even now? Damn...

My landlady instructed me to put such e-mails at 'undelivered' mailbox at our block, so that Singpost will be able to deliver these back to the senders. Just cross out the address and write a note that the intended recipient is no longer residing at your address. Or if the envelop already has a section for that (usually it on the back of the envelop), just tick the appropriate boxes.

[Steve1960]

Yes we have been here for 13 months and still there are letters dated in the last couple of weeks regarding applications for loans etc.

I will try your suggestion although I have in the region of 60 letters and that is only in the last month!

[the lynx]

Yes we have been here for 13 months and still there are letters dated in the last couple of weeks regarding applications for loans etc.

I will try your suggestion although I have in the region of 60 letters and that is only in the last month!

I know. I was in that position too. Until I decided to sit down, spent 1 hour and did that for every damned letter. I can imagine the postman's face when he looked at the undelivered mailbox the next day!

And a little bit after that, when a trickle of them still came. I just promptly grab a pen from my bag, crossed the address and tick the boxes, before I would chuck it right into the undelivered mailbox - on the spot!

And I never have that problem since. I guess those banks already updated their database on that by then.

Think of it as family activity. You, your wife and your kids can bond over this. It is a brainless work, really.

[Steve1960]

Very funny! Oh well tomorrow is a holiday so here comes the bonding activity

[ScoobyDoes]

It is common and certainly when we are all forced to move as often as we do.... both at home and sometimes at work.

We regularly get people coming around our office looking for the last tenant, looking for money etc. so they are sent off with a buzzing ear. The postie delivered about 300 statements from OCBC one day for all the labourers the contractor had hired. I promptly put them in a plastic bag and dumped on the counter at my nearest branch and today we get much, much less.

Other than that, we cross out the address and 'Not At This Address' for sending back to where it came from. Success on this is about 50:50.

[PNGMK]

From what I can tell it's not an offense to throw out mail. I gave my previous owner one written SMS warning and now I just throw it. I know that it includes dividend cheques but freak em.

[Steve1960]

I just hadn't been paying much attention to the names on the letters. If it wasn't my name I just left it in the post box for the landlord to collect themselves.

Now the landlord tells me only 10% of the post is actually for her it started to tie in with the visits we have had recently asking after the previous tenant.

Having opened a few of the letters there seems to be a hell of a lot of recent activity still using our address. I could just bin it all but I am not sure it would ever reduce let alone stop.

I think I will try returning all the letters and see if it begins to reduce the mail. Alternatively I could open each letter and write to, call or email the companies concerned but that may be a little over the top and I ahve better things to do with my time.

[the lynx]

Alternatively I could open each letter and write to, call or email the companies concerned but that may be a little over the top and I ahve better things to do with my time.

Your time deserves of your attention better than that.

[bgd]

I gave up on this stuff long ago. If it's not addressed to me I bin it.

[sundaymorningstaple]

I bought my flat 14 years ago. Till now, I'm still getting mail for the previous owners. I just bin it as they've never bothered to come by asking for any mail so after a year I just said the hell with it.

[Steve1960]

I agree, I have experienced the same when moving house many times in the past. However more than a year after moving in here I am just stunned at the sheer volume of mail that is still arriving and that the previous tenant is clearly still trying to use his previous address.

[zzm9980]

From what I can tell it's not an offense to throw out mail. I gave my previous owner one written SMS warning and now I just throw it. I know that it includes dividend cheques but freak em.

I keep the landlord's mail for her, but toss previous tenant's mail. I tried to give it to them one time, but they made a huge production out of meeting up to collect it. Rescheduled, made me come to them, and then acted like they were doing me a favor. So freak them.

[Wd40]

My letter box gets so much of promotional material, mostly agents handouts, restaurant promotion brochures etc. So much so that if I dont check mail for a week it will become full. I wonder how come you are able to leave any letters back in the mail box.

I wonder if there is a way to prevent people from putting these promotional crap into the letter box. It never happened much when we were in AMK, but here in Tampines its a lot.

[PNGMK]

I just hadn't been paying much attention to the names on the letters. If it wasn't my name I just left it in the post box for the landlord to collect themselves.

Now the landlord tells me only 10% of the post is actually for her it started to tie in with the visits we have had recently asking after the previous tenant.

Having opened a few of the letters there seems to be a hell of a lot of recent activity still using our address. I could just bin it all but I am not sure it would ever reduce let alone stop.

I think I will try returning all the letters and see if it begins to reduce the mail. Alternatively I could open each letter and write to, call or email the companies concerned but that may be a little over the top and I ahve better things to do with my time.

I did this for awhile. I contemplated taking the dividend cheques directly across the road to the Buddhist temple and dropping them in their mail box.