I recently moved to rented accommodation, and it wasn’t long before the first bits of mail arrived that wasn’t intended for me. And like most other people in the same situation, I wasn’t entirely sure what to do. I obviously didn’t have a forwarding address, and I could pass them on to the landlord, or estate agent, but they may not be in a better situation than me in knowing how to proceed. So… what do you do?

Don’t throw it away!

This is really just common decency, as you wouldn’t want the same to happen to you. Sure you may not want to track down the rightful recipient either, but there is a far easier way to handle it.

Firstly there are two reasons you may be getting someone else’s post:

• they used to live at your address
• they have a similar address to you

 

They have a similar address to you

If it is option two – that they have a similar address to you, then it may be as simple as sending it on to the right place. If it everything down to the street is correct, then it is probably a neighbours mail and fairly easy to rectify.

If you send it on to the right place, Royal Mail won’t deliver it to you by accident again. It’s free, and you don’t need a stamp.

 

They used to live at your address

In this scenario, the letter has turned up to the correct address, it is just the person it is for is no longer there. This can be harder to know how to solve, but it in fact quite simple.

 

You know the recipient’s new address

All you need to do is:

• cross out the address – but not the name
• write ‘no longer at this address, please forward’ and their new address on the front of the envelope
• put it in a post box

 

You don’t know the recipient’s new address

All you need to do is:

• cross out the address – but not the name
• write ‘not known at this address, return to sender’ on the front of the envelope – don’t worry if you don’t know who the sender is
• put it in a post box

 

It didn’t have your address on it

If it didn’t have your address on it at all – for example, it was meant for a neighbour with a similar postcode, you should:

• write ‘misdelivered to’, and your address, on the front of the envelope
• put it in a post box

 

We hope that helps you if you find yourself receiving someone else’s mail! For more information check out the citizen’s advice website.