Previous residents might still be using address?

[Anonymous]

We purchased our first house in 2014. Previously, a woman living here had a number of tenants in the basement. We get mail for those other residents from time to time, but it’s mostly marketing mail. We write “moved - not at this address” and put it back in the mail.

However, one family still receives official mail here — mail about DC Link, DC benefits, lots of mail that I gather is related to special support services at a DCPS school, even bills for ambulance rides and hospital visits. I’ve marked it for years as “moved - not at this address” and still it comes.

I have another stack of tax documents from the city here for this family.

My questions:
* Are there any implications for us about this festering problem?
* Do folks thing this is accidental, or is the family trying to deceive the city? I don’t see the benefit unless maybe they live in MD. The child doesn’t go to a school zoned for our house. The only thing that gives me pause are the health care bills, but it could be that MedStar is using an old address on file.
* Is there anything else I should be doing to fix this issue? Or just ignore it? Admittedly, it’s a big pain to go through the mail and mark and return it — it’s about 50% of our mail.

I’m not wanting to get anyone in trouble — I just want for the endless mail to stop and to not have to feel guilty over all the seemingly important documents they get at our address.

[Anonymous]

You can’t fill out a change of address for them. Just keep crossing out the bar code and writing “moved” or “not at this address.” I would get a stamp.

Who knows whether it’s intentional or not. It’s none of your business.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can’t fill out a change of address for them. Just keep crossing out the bar code and writing “moved” or “not at this address.” I would get a stamp.

Who knows whether it’s intentional or not. It’s none of your business.

It actually is because it is coming to their house.

[Anonymous]

You are putting way too much thought in this.

[Anonymous]

I don’t know how many times at this point I’ve updated my address with DCPS schools for my kids (3 diff school) only for them to still send report cards and other materials to our old address.

[Anonymous]

Just write "return to sender" and stick it back in the mail.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just write "return to sender" and stick it back in the mail.

Which as I wrote, is what I’ve been doing. After addressing and returning around 3,000 pieces of the mail for the family over 8 years, it’s something I’d rather not have to keep doing.

[Anonymous]

Do you know their new address or have any way to contact them?

[Anonymous]

We had that happen. I sent the mail back. I opened it and called the agencies. Nothing. Now I just throw it away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We had that happen. I sent the mail back. I opened it and called the agencies. Nothing. Now I just throw it away.

Technically it’s a crime to destroy mail intended for someone else, and given that some of it is very official, it’s probably not wise for me to do that.

But that’s why it’s so aggravating — it’s a pointless exercise. The city won’t fix the address, and the mail won’t ever get to the people.

If I knew where they lived or how to get in touch with them, I’d probably just box it all up and deliver it in a huge batch so at least in the end there was some point to this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just write "return to sender" and stick it back in the mail.

That is actually a pain the butt when your mail is a slot in your door.

[Anonymous]

I have sent mail back only to have it redelivered back to me. Sometimes multiple times.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had that happen. I sent the mail back. I opened it and called the agencies. Nothing. Now I just throw it away.

Technically it’s a crime to destroy mail intended for someone else, and given that some of it is very official, it’s probably not wise for me to do that.

But that’s why it’s so aggravating — it’s a pointless exercise. The city won’t fix the address, and the mail won’t ever get to the people.

If I knew where they lived or how to get in touch with them, I’d probably just box it all up and deliver it in a huge batch so at least in the end there was some point to this.

If you box it up and deliver it in a batch later, you are interfering with delivery. Also a crime.

Or you could be less pedantic and pitch it like 99.99% of humans.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have sent mail back only to have it redelivered back to me. Sometimes multiple times.

No one is actually looking at the mail to read your note.

[Anonymous]

After a year, I start chucking the mail.