How do I make mail from someone who doesn't live here stop coming?

Question

I keep getting mail from an old tenant that lived here before. I have no idea where this person lives now, I have no contact information of any kind, yet some of their spam mail keeps coming here. I tried the method to just write "return to sender" on it, and also "Not at this Address", but just today one of those letters came back, the same one I wrote on.

How can I make sure these letters stop coming?

Answer 1

Someone used my address at the DMV to register their license and now I get their mail which is probably a different situation but I know there is a form you can fill out at the DMV too

Answer 2

I've had this same issue under numerous circumstances..Some of what I've done is in these YA answers.. One thing that isn't came from my local mail carrier.. He advised putting a note in large enough font to read taped on the inside of the mail box that stated "Mail for Your Name only" 

Answer 3

Just throw them in the trash with the rest of your junk mail and loose the ocd.

Answer 4

If it's obviously "spam" (advertising circulars, for example) just put it in the bin.

Otherwise take it all to your local Post Office and explain the situation. Be sure to have with you some ID of your own plus official proof that you do live at the address in question. 

Answer 5

Talk to someone in your local post office . I believe there is a form that can be filled out for that purpose.

Answer 6

I tried, practically in vane, to prevent junkmail from being mailed to my elderly relatives. I came up with several ways to stop the junkmail:



# 1. If the junk mail contains a postage paid return envelope, I returned the junk mail in the postage paid return envelope with nickles taped to an index card.. I wrote on the index card ... here is 20¢ (4 nickles) to remove my name from your mailing list. Mind you, those prepaid postage envelopes are WEIGHED to determine the postage fee that the junk mail folks owe the post office. By cramming as much of their junkmail back to them with the weight of the nickles, you bet they will remove that address from their mailing list.



#2. Write "addressee moved " or " Not at this address" Clearly marked on the front by the address label. Put back in mailbox w/ red flag up.



# 3. You can also write "deceased" across the envelope. Put back in mailbox w/ red flag up.



#4. This was when I was at the end of my junk mail rope....I ordered a custom red inked stamp that read " REMOVE FROM MAILING LIST " and stamped it about 20 times, all around the address label and returned it (yes, my postage cost) taped to an index card. I even did it more than once to the same company and wrote : 2nd Notice, 3rd Notice,etc ... then, the word: " harassment". The mail stopped. I was diligent. When there was a phone number, I called to have the address removed from their mailing list.



#5. Save the junkmail until you have a good amount of it. Bring it to the post office and state that "You mailed all of this mail to the wrong address", as you leave it on the counter and walk away. Let THEM sort through it and throw it away!



Yes, it is easy to say"just throw it away yourself", but it is ultra annoying and most importantly, it is a gross waste of natural resources and needs to be stopped!



My relatives, without Any exaggeration, received 10 to 15 pieces of junk mail a day. The postal carrier even suggested we geta BIGGER mailbox in order to accommodate all of that excess mail! NO CAN DO!

Answer 7

The US Post office doesn't forward mail that is not first-class mail or packages. So any 'spam' (advertising) mail will not stop coming. You really can't stop it from coming, so just throw it away. It's up to the person who moves out to have their mail forwarded by putting a 'forwarding order' on file with the USPS--it's a small form that tells the PO to forward mail to their new address. These orders typically only last for a month or two. If mail continues to come for a previous tenant, and it's ads or other non-essential stuff, just toss it. The only mail you shouldn't throw out is something that is actually first-class mail or looks essential. 





You can collect it, and give it back in person to the PO, but that won't help either. Writing "return to sender" on any piece of mail doesn't guarantee it will actually be returned to the originator. They will simply attempt to deliver it again. 





Mail is given to the ADDRESS--not the NAME on the envelope. ANY mail that has your address on it will be delivered to your address. The PO doesn't even LOOK at the name.  They only care about the address. 

Answer 8

Go to your nearest Post Office and complain.

Answer 9

How many of these do you get?  If it is a couple a week, just toss them. 

Or talk to your mail person or post office. 

Answer 10

you can't.  nothing stops bulk mail -- the outfits that sell names and addresses remember who used to live there for years and years and keep selling the old, bad addresses to companies trying to sell products.  {I still, occasionally, get bulk mail addressed to someone whom I know died 20 years ago but lived here at the time.}  What I do is discard all the items sent "Prsrt Std" [pre-sorted standard] rate {ie: bulk mail} no matter who they are addressed to -- except that envelopes which are blank or mostly so on the back I reuse -- i write my shopping lists, etc. on these and thus get some small value out of them.  -- grampa

Answer 11

Let me guess. Mexicans used to live there? After 10 years of putting it back in the box with "Hi Mr. & Mrs. Hernandez. You still don't live here" hand written on it I just throw it away anymore.

Answer 12

The owner of the business I work for died a few years ago.  He donated to almost every charity under the sun, who sold his address to every other charity in the world; political, environmental, veterans, diseases, foundations, etc...  The worst part of all that is that very little of the money they collect actually goes to the people who need it the most.  To see which ones are better than others, I recommend Charity Navigator.  



When he was alive, I made a game out of collecting it, weighing it before I recycled it and tallying the total.  One year he got over two tons of junk mail.  I had to set aside time to shred the pages with addresses before recycling that part and that took hours to do.After he died, getting his name off of all the lists was a challenge, especially with last year's election (from both parties).  The junk email was also a big problem but easier to unsubscribe.  The phone calls are the worst, not just scammers but the ones who had to know he was a deaf old dude on the edge of dementia, taking advantage of him to make a few bucks.  I try to make their lives hell for scamming old people.First, I printed two batches of labels, one in big red letters RETURN TO SENDER and the other DECEASED - Delete from Mailing List in black.  The 'return to sender' goes on the top and the 'deceased' over the mailing address or blocking out the window (if there is one).  Be sure to block out any bar code printed on the front and back of the envelope, otherwise the post office scanner is just going to sort it right back to your mailbox.  As another responded, sending this stuff back in their Business Reply Envelope really gets their attention because they have to pay for that and they are more keen to delete bad addresses instead of paying extra postage.Almost three years later, only two pieces came for him today that will be going back in the mail tonight. Some of it is still being generated by his name & address being attached to accounts that are open until his estate is settled.  Sending a copy of their death certificates to the credit reporting agencies notifies them to refuse to open new account in those names and cuts down on mailing lists generated from banks and credit card companies.

Answer 13

You sound like a very responsible person!  My advice would be to just discard any mail that you perceive as 'spam' or junk mail -- like advertising circulars, etc.



If you receive something that you think might be personal or important, then write, "Not at this address" or "Return to sender."



That is all you can do. 

Answer 14

It is SPAM.  Not meant for anyone in PARTICULAR.  You proved you were alive so now the spam is going to you.  It is emergency T.P. or paper for starting a fire.  A non response is the best thing you can do for spam mail, sooner or later the sender will figure out you are not a legit address.  It is looking for LIVE people so it can scam you for money.  That Nigerian prince is still wanting to transfer his Millions of money into your bank account.  He just needs your banking information and your SSN...to pay for shipping.  So many people fall for this scam(only has to be 1 in 10,000 for it to pay off...and junk mail is cheap.

Answer 15

I use to toss it back in the mailbox of out going mail.



I use to mark across address label write return to sender.



I lived in an apartment and i think i got mail from the 6 last tenets. The mail person finally got a clue.

Answer 16

Obtain two cards for change of address from the post office. On one create a fictitious forwarding address. On the other write deceased.



Another option is to collect them all, place in a sealed envelope and write Deceased return to Sender on the envelope and place it in a mail box.

Answer 17

You can't.  All you can do is continue to return to send.  Many junk mail companies find it cheaper to continue to mail to the "resident" rather than to take the time to update their databases. You can simply throw out any junk mail or advertising. Anything that looks like a bill or state you should return.  If a previous tenant didn't file a change of address form, it can take months or years) for mail for that tenant to completely stop.

Answer 18

They rarely come back if you write : "DECEASED" on them.

Answer 19

You can't make anyone stop sending mail to your address. Unless there is a current forwarding for prior tenants, the post office simply doesn't care whose name is on it when they deliver it to YOUR address.



You could write the former tenant a note and mail it to them at your address to see if it comes to you or goes to them.  Ask them to come get their stuff or to give you permission to throw it all away, absent which it would be a crime to do so.

Answer 20

We used to turn the mail vertically in the box to get them to take the mail away.

Answer 21

Just toss the stuff in the trash. It won't stop.  They're still sending stuff to my neighbor ten years after she passed away.

Answer 22

Black out your address and any orange franking marks (these things are machine read) and then put it back in the mail box. That should stop it finding its way back to you. The authorities can then decide to bin it. Interfering with post not addressed to you is illegal.