(with apologies to Wells Fargo)
When I moved in to this house it had been empty for a month.
I’d been in the house less than 24 hours when there was a knock on the door.
“Hi,” said the bloke. “I used to live here. We’ve just moved around the corner to number X. Is there any post for us?”
There was indeed; a fair-sized dollop of spam-looking post, a couple of anonymous-looking white envelopes and a few other bits and bobs.
I handed them over (it’s alright, I did recognise him, from when I came to view the house).
“If anything else arrives for us, would you mind dropping it around to number X?”
Without considering his question, I said I would.
That was September 2013.
Three months later (four months after they had moved out), just before Christmas, I decided enough was enough.
I started marking the five/six items of post I was getting for the previous occupiers each week as ‘not at this address – return to sender’.
The trigger was a letter from DVLA (looked like a tax disc renewal notice), and a white window envelope addressed to both of them from a credit card company.
These two things arrived on the same day.
The white envelope from the credit card company could have been anything.
But the letter from DVLA meant that they had not informed that agency of a change of address for their vehicle.
And, logically, also probably not informed that agency of a change of address for their driving licences.
Who knows who else they hadn’t told?
And let’s face it, four months is adequate time to get your addressing shit together and tell everyone you’ve moved, right?
Or am I wrong?
What, in your view, is a reasonable length of time to accept mail and stuff it through their letterbox five doors up?
It should tail off naturally if they give a shit. We still get the occasional letter for the people we bought our house off 11 years ago, but mostly they stopped after a few months.
Thing is Allister, they don’t give a shit, else they’d have told the vehicle licensing agency.
Yep, it may be slacking companies but I think you’ve done your bit. They’re supposed to get a post office change of address filed so that this all gets sorted. Of course if you have their new address it might be handy in case someone comes knocking asking for them and flashing repo notices for disputed TVs and wheelclamps for unpaid fines.
I hope you changed the locks on your doors too – if they are criminally minded, and of course I’m sure they’re not, a good trick would be to keep a set of keys to the ‘old house’ (either intentionally or unintentionally, I have loads of old keys I can’t identify). Just saying. 😉
Very wise words, as ever, Sir Ian. Yes, all the locks have been changed. I was concerned about possible financial problems, which is why the credit card letter made me change tack and push it all back to the sender(s). The Royal Mail redirection is something like £25 for six months. A bargain at any price.
I sooooo sympathise! I am continually passing on post for the previous owners of this house, which is very cheeky considering the wreck it is & how much I paid them. I have annual redirections from both my other houses, and it’s a very small price to pay for knowing I get all my mail. One of these days I’ll get a round to informing people other than my bank that I’ve moved.
So, you started doing the “Not at this address” after 4 months? For me it’s been 9 months. Might have to get tough.
As I have just intimated to Ian, if it was just junk mail I’d be quite relaxed about this, but official documents (DVLA, credit card companies) made me push back. Anyway. Are you settled in now? Is it all going swimmingly down there?
Swimmingly is the word. Waiting for the builders to start on making the Georgian wreck habitable. At the moment, camping out with no heating or hot water. I spend a lot of time at the gym …
Well, I knew you were fit but… (good luck with the house)