Here are some signs you should look out for that may suggest someone is diverting your mail.
- You receive a move validation letter.
- You stop receiving mail.
- The billing address for your credit card changes.
- You get notified that an account has been opened in your name.
- Go paperless with the important stuff.
If someone is using your address without your permission, you can return unwanted mail to the sender, file complaints with the USPS and USPIS, or contact the police to stop the person from using your address.
You can write “return to sender” or “no longer at this address.” If you cross off the barcode, automated systems alert someone to look at the mail and, hopefully, see it's being delivered to the wrong address. Of course, when you place the mail back in your box, your carrier should see your note.
If you're receiving post addressed to someone else (either a previous occupant or otherwise), it can't affect your credit score. But understandably, you'll want to stop them using your address. Simply write 'not at this address' or 'moved away' on the envelopes, and post them back to the senders.
If you are having trouble with the online address change system, then it's possible to have USPS change your address over the phone. You can call the postal service at 1-800-275-8777, and a USPS customer service representative will input the change of address information that you give them.
Make sure you changed your address with the USPS. If you don't file a change-of-address request, your mail will continue to arrive at your old address – so you won't be getting it after the move. If you changed your address with the USPS, but your mail is still missing, you need to verify that the request went through.
Can I Put My Neighbor's Mail in Their Mailbox? It's perfectly legal and acceptable to put your neighbor's mail in their mailbox if it's been misdelivered. Opening your neighbor's mail or removing mail from their mailbox however is considered a federal crime in which you can be fined and face jail time.
Contact the nearest post office to your old address and explain the situation. They usually sort the mail for that address and will forward it to your new address if it is on file and within a certain timeframe. If it can't be forwarded, it will be returned to the sender.
If the mailpiece is delivered to the correct location but the recipient on the mailpiece does not reside at the address:
- Write "Not at this address" on mailpiece.
- Don't erase or mark over the address.
- Provide the mailpiece to your mailperson or drop into a Collection Box receptacle.
Can you keep packages wrongly delivered to your house? The answer is yes and no, according to Citizens Advice. Items that firms send to you, but you didn't actually order are called "unsolicited goods". You have no obligation to send them back to the company or to pay for them.
The Postal Service charges $1.05 to verify identification of customers who change an address online. Websites with domain names that appear to be associated with the Postal Service, but are not, charge customers up to $40 to change an address and, in some cases, the change never gets made.
Every time you move house, your postal address changes so you're going to have to change your address with the United States Postal Service (USPS) to keep receiving your mail. You can change your address before the move takes place (at least 2 weeks before you move out) or right after you move into the new home.
