Have you been receiving mail meant for a previous home owner or renter?
We recently wrote about what you can do if you have a steady stream of mail coming into your letterbox that is not yours, and whether you can ever throw it away.
But as we discovered, it is illegal to throw out mail intended for someone else, no matter how long you have been receiving it.
Only Australia Post, or other authorised postal services, have the authority to dispose of mail, and they recommend continuing to return the mail to the sender.
This is what you had to say about how receiving mail for a previous home owner or renter has impacted your life.
'My disability makes it hard to leave the house'
We have lived at our address for over seven years and have made multiple attempts to stop receiving mail from multiple unknown recipients to no avail. I have a disability, and it is difficult to leave the house most days, even for things that are important. Returning someone else's mail after seven years is not a priority. — Rosie
I've marked letters "return to sender" and pinned them to my letterbox, [but] my postman does not pick them up. I feel no obligation to carry them to a red letterbox, I am disabled. — Eliot
'My address was being used fraudulently'
We have been living at our address for over three decades, never rented it out. I had instances where strangers used my family home address to register a telephone service, and I only realised when I accidentally opened a letter that was an unpaid bill notice.
Thankfully, the telco was reasonable about this when I called, and we never had debt collectors showing up on our doorstep. — Vincent
Once, I got a letter from my old high school, but when I opened it, I realised it wasn't for me — it was for the old tenant to enrol her child in the school. I called the school because I didn't want them to miss out on this important letter, and it turned out they had only just registered two months before and had listed my address. They hadn't lived there for two years. The school was worried they had used my address to get the child into the school (out of catchment).
After that, if I could identify the business on the envelope, I would call them, give them my details, and let them know the person didn't live there anymore — and suddenly all the mail stopped. — Laura
'They asked me to pay for it to be returned'
I volunteer at a women's refuge. When a resident moves on and doesn't leave a forwarding address, we continue to receive mail, sometimes for years after they have left. I 'return it to sender', but the ones that don't deal with it are government departments; banks are also bad at this.
A parcel arrived for a resident, and I took it to the post office to return to sender and they told me I would have to pay for it to be returned. I wasn't prepared to do that, so I didn't. — Jennifer
'We're being indirectly harassed'
My husband built our house 32 years ago. He and I are the only people to have ever lived there. We have received mail from two people who have never lived here. We have sent the mail back, we have contacted [the company] by email and phone.
The outstanding toll notices were then placed in the hands of debt collectors who constantly send mail, which we return. No-one seems interested in the fact that we're being indirectly harassed. — Sue
I always return mail that is addressed to a previous occupant. Mostly, it appears to be from banks. And even after returning multiple times, these banks still keep sending the mail to my address. So I take the trouble to return the mail, but these companies don't seem to bother. — Paul
'Mail redirection isn't affordable'
I've lived at my current rental for over two years, and I still get the old tenant's mail. I didn't realise it was illegal, but I'm pretty sure I've definitely thrown a letter or two out.
Most of the time, I try to return to sender, but it's exhausting, especially when it's been so long. I also feel like mail redirection isn't really affordable for low-income earners like me — Jess
