Receiving someone else mail --- Identity theft ? (Austin, Post: rentals, credit card)

[brushck]

I have been receiving mail addressed to another person I've never heard of at my address. It's all been junk mail/ advertisements/ offers till now. I have had this problem before, when staying at rentals and assumed it must have been a previous renter. However I currently live in a house we built from scratch so there's no chance of previous occupiers.
Since it's all junk mail, I could just ignore it...but I am a little concerned if this points to Identity theft. Any suggestions on what I should do about this?

I guess its not actually a local / Austin issue. Wanted to post it here to see if anyone else here have had a similar problem.

[Paulmmm]

Originally Posted by brushck

I have been receiving mail addressed to another person I've never heard of at my address. It's all been junk mail/ advertisements/ offers till now. I have had this problem before, when staying at rentals and assumed it must have been a previous renter. However I currently live in a house we built from scratch so there's no chance of previous occupiers.
Since it's all junk mail, I could just ignore it...but I am a little concerned if this points to Identity theft. Any suggestions on what I should do about this?

I guess its not actually a local / Austin issue. Wanted to post it here to see if anyone else here have had a similar problem.

I guy I once worked with used to use the same - incorrect and made-up - phone number, address, and email address any time he signed up for something free where he had to give personal info. Maybe the same thing is happening to you. I don't think it's any kind of identity theft or anything to worry about. I'd probably tell the Post Office that that person doesn't live there and to stop delivering their mail to you, but that may only help a little bit.

[JTinTx]

I've had similar problems with mail and phone calls from bill collectors looking for someone who never lived at my address. I think people will often give phony addresses when trying to avoid bill collectors. I don't think you are dealing with identity theft.

[pbnj07]

We went through this when we moved here.

I just kept writing "No Such Addressee -- Return To Sender" all over everything and dropped it all back in the mail.

After a while, they get the point.

[AustinSpartan]

Originally Posted by pbnj07

We went through this when we moved here.

I just kept writing "No Such Addressee -- Return To Sender" all over everything and dropped it all back in the mail.

After a while, they get the point.

We received a "threatening" letter from our mail carrier indicating that if we do not put our names on a piece of paper inside of the mailbox, they will not deliver the mail. So, we filled out our names and all was fine, but they still delivered mail for recipients at the address that were not on the card. I have no idea what the point of the card was, but the USPS operates in weird ways. :\

[Synergy1]

Originally Posted by AustinSpartan

We received a "threatening" letter from our mail carrier indicating that if we do not put our names on a piece of paper inside of the mailbox, they will not deliver the mail. So, we filled out our names and all was fine, but they still delivered mail for recipients at the address that were not on the card. I have no idea what the point of the card was, but the USPS operates in weird ways. :\

No reason for the USPS to cause you grief but the mailperson is "misdelivering" mail to you.

You can inform him/her or call the post office and tell the carrier or the Supv or Postmaster/Manager. In turn the carrier's superiors should tell the carrier and have him/her deliver mail with the name on the box...

[llkltk]

The same thing has happened to us. It is all junk mail. They aren't using our name so it couldn't be identity theft.

[Synergy1]

Originally Posted by AustinSpartan

We received a "threatening" letter from our mail carrier indicating that if we do not put our names on a piece of paper inside of the mailbox, they will not deliver the mail. So, we filled out our names and all was fine, but they still delivered mail for recipients at the address that were not on the card. I have no idea what the point of the card was, but the USPS operates in weird ways. :\

Delivering the right mail to the right people addressed on the mail is "up to the carrier". Any former resident or unknown name that comes to your home is clearly "Misdelivered" by the mail carrier.

The Domestic Mail Manual does not indicate the customer needs to put a customer's name inside the home owner's mail box...If the carrier tells you once again to put your name inside the box then reply "Please show me in the rules that I need to do what you are saying".

Our carrier tapes a piece of lined paper inside the street side mail boxes that have no tennants...This is not right either. So I contacted the local manager and he tried to tell me it has to be done....No it doesn't because when the box becomes suddenly opened then anyone can see that the home is vacant..That is a security risk.. ...Also the post office has the exclusive right to be the only one to put mail in your mailbox and the mail must be stamped or labled as postage has to be first applied then timely delivered.. Thanks and as an analyst I do know the rules and regs of the USPS.

The USPS is now going through some tough times but I use to have sympathy for those that work but I no longer feel the same. There is a clear marking of mismanagement associated to most levels of management. The upper management on the District level is in charge of the offices so just tell them to do their job according to the 2 inch thick DMM. *(DOmestic Mail Manual)...USPS employees receive a very good salary and management can work just 4 hours a day and not be charged as leave time for the remaining 4 hours. . ($48k to over $125k)

[PittsburghAustin]

Before I moved to TX, I used to get phone calls for people that had used my number. It seemed to be passed around and reused for employment apps. Also I had a neighbor that moved into a model home and some one had been using that address for credit cards and other loan apps. He had people at his door and collection companies calling because they were looking for the guy. He finally had to get the police and the post office involved to stop the problem.

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by pbnj07

We went through this when we moved here.

I just kept writing "No Such Addressee -- Return To Sender" all over everything and dropped it all back in the mail.

After a while, they get the point.

NO - WRONG THING TO DO.

Just draw a line through the address, and write "Not here."

I cannot tell you, over the years, how many times I have suffered grief because someone wrote "Return to sender" on a piece of mail that actually should have been forwarded to me.

There are many, many reasons a piece of mail can be misdelivered. I had mail delivered to my PO Box in Hawai'i for a woman with the same name who lived in Ohio, because of a typographical error in the Zip code. And I've seen house numbers flipped, all kinds of things.

And one of the most common reasons something is misdelivered is that the Postal Carrier has forgotten about the Forwarding Order the previous occupant filed. When you write Not Here, they actually have to take a look at what happened. In some cases "Return to Sender" is the right thing to do, but in many cases it is the wrong thing. Don't make that decision for your carrier.