Someone is using my address, and defaulting on school loans, etc. (1 Viewer)

[Rachel P]

My neighbor is using my address. I tried writing "Does NOT live here" on them, and was told that was illegal and was tampering with mail! Wow! So, I now just walk in and dump them on the counter!!!! I contacted the Fraud department and nothing happened except I pissed off the local post master by reporting them. They KEEP delivering mail to these people with my address on there! My husband is Ex military and now receives Veteran benefits. Half the time we dont receive notices or utility bills! Today I reported them to the sheriff's dept and to the 911 administrator. Still keeping my fingers crossed. I also noticed that your credit report and the Soc. security admin show who all lives at your address!! I was also told the welfare system can also tell who all is at the address. Im tired of looking for bills and military records and info AND hoping to catch the UPS or fedex man for our packages. IT IS ILLEGAL!!!!!!!!!! Good luck! I'll take any advice on all of this, too!!!

 

[Cees Alons]

Do you know why your neighbour is doing that Rachel?

And welcome to the forum, BTW!

You were right filing a complaint: while it could be excusable (more or less) for the postman to deliver a letter addressed to your neighbour to a mailbox bearing his name, even if the address (as on the letter) is incorrect strictly speaking, it is totally inexcusable to deliver a mail correctly addressed to you or your husband to the wrong mailbox.
Period.

And, about the other angle: are you "on speaking terms" with your neighbour? What do they have to say about this?



Cees

 

[Rachel P]

Unfortunately I dont speak Spanish. I have waited 3 months for them to change it. I have contacted the Landlord, the post Master, the mail delivery man, the city hall, the electric co, the water co, the chief of police, the Sheriff's office, the 911 Administrator (i'm waiting for return call still), and have even called the Fraud dept for the USPS. I flagged down the gas man today and he is unfamiliar with this area because he is new, he said, "I cant read their meter because technically I cannot bill 2 meters to one address!" He says it is identity theft and mail theft and mail fraud. Question is, I can't get JACK done about it! I bet an attorney can get something done, but I'll have to pay them!

 

[Cees Alons]

I'm not a US citizen, so my thoughts may not be representative of the exact workings of UPS or Fedex post services and/or rules.
But according to this web-page, it is NOT illegal to write "does not live here" on it when returning a post to sender.
In fact, it is even part of the recommended procedure!

Costs will be for the sender, not you.
You could even add the proper address for the sender, so they can update their databases.

Of course, the disadvantage of adding the proper version of your neighbour's address on the envelope might be, that the post service will now try to post it to the proper mailbox directly - and thus the sender will not get notified. It may even get to your own mailbox again, by a repetition of the same mistake.


Cees

 

[DaveF]

My neighbor is using my address. I tried writing "Does NOT live here" on them, and was told that was illegal and was tampering with mail! Wow! So, I now just walk in and dump them on the counter!!!! I contacted the Fraud department and nothing happened except I pissed off the local post master by reporting them. They KEEP delivering mail to these people with my address on there! My husband is Ex military and now receives Veteran benefits. Half the time we dont receive notices or utility bills! Today I reported them to the sheriff's dept and to the 911 administrator. Still keeping my fingers crossed. I also noticed that your credit report and the Soc. security admin show who all lives at your address!! I was also told the welfare system can also tell who all is at the address. Im tired of looking for bills and military records and info AND hoping to catch the UPS or fedex man for our packages. IT IS ILLEGAL!!!!!!!!!! Good luck! I'll take any advice on all of this, too!!!

You're receiving your neighbor's mail. Are they also getting yours? Are you in a duplex with a single mailbox? I'm not quite following the details.
What benefit is there for their mail to go to you? Ate you receiving their legal notices they're afraid to deal with?
It's common practice to return mail with "Return to Sender" when receiving mail meant for a previous occupant. Or to just throw away junk for someone else.

 

[DaveF]

My neighbor is using my address. I tried writing "Does NOT live here" on them, and was told that was illegal and was tampering with mail!!

it's not, according to the USPS.
http://faq.usps.com/eCustomer/iq/usps/request.do?session={1582f9f0-aebe-11e1-c75e-000000000000}&event=1&view()=c%7B4779e600-a3b6-11de-f432-000000000000%7D&objectId=&eksObjectId=&objectType=Case&isJumpEnabled=false&isContentJumpEnabled=false&vendorKey=&objTitle=&versionId=8763&searchProperties=undefined&naturalAdvance=false&allStr=&phraseStr=&anyStr=&noneStr=&keywordStr=&tTitle=&topicFromSub=&topicsORSubUrl=&report(0000)=p{e521dc60-6973-11dd-e6c4-000000000000}&bcobjectId={2adbb220-28a9-11e0-5c1d-000000000000}&search=Return%20to%20sender&topicAndSubtopic=Receiving%20Mail$ALL#problems
Reporting/Returning misdelivered mail
Despite our best efforts, occasionally mail is mis-delivered, or is delivered to an old location for an individual. If you are receiving mail for the previous resident and do not know their address, simply return the mail piece back to the mailstream (by leaving in a Collection Box® or other mail receptacle) with the notation "Not at this address" marked on the envelope.
Important: If the misdelivered item meets any of the following criteria
The Express Mail service item,
An unknown applicant submits proper ID.
The applicant provides a verifiable point of contact (e.g., place of employment, shelter, charitable institution, or social services office).
Please contact the Delivery Supervisor at your local Post Office facility:

 

[Carl Johnson]

Years ago I was getting collection letters at my house for some person that I was not familiar with. I marked them 'Return to sender, not at this address' and put them back in the mailbox. Long story short the USPS translated return to sender as this address is abandoned, please cancel all mail. After I went a week and a half without getting any mail I called their 800 number and the post office explained that all of my mail was being returned.

I still get an occasional bill or collection notice that doesn't belong to me but now I just throw them away.

The situation with Patrick sounds more like a typographical error on the part of the collection agency than fraud. Unless the bill has either your name or social security number on it there is virtually no chance that it could be tied to you with just an address.

 

[Adam Gregorich]

You're receiving your neighbor's mail. Are they also getting yours? Are you in a duplex with a single mailbox? I'm not quite following the details.
What benefit is there for their mail to go to you? Ate you receiving their legal notices they're afraid to deal with?
It's common practice to return mail with "Return to Sender" when receiving mail meant for a previous occupant. Or to just throw away junk for someone else.

I second these questions.

 

[Patrick Sun]

All I know is that eventually those letters from the collection agency stopped showing up about 1-2 years ago. (Can't believe this topic got revived). Heh.

 

[Rachel P]

I second these questions. 

She lives across the street from me. Totally different house and mailboxes are all gathered at the end. SHE decided to put a box in her yard and put stickers with MY address on it! Also, she put the address above her carport in big red letters! Geeze! I finally got in touch with the sheriff and he drove out and took pictures. He never called back but the next day she nailed a green 911 sign with the proper house # on it. The mailman doesnt put her mail in our box, but we often dont receive bills, letters, notices, etc. I've contacted bills n utilities to take care of bills online. I only know to protect our identity to the fullest extent possible. We've reviewed our credit reports and found there are 3 credit cards in my husbands name that we DONT have or own or use. I also marched in the post office and demanded all mail to that address be held for a week and their eyes got big and said "we cant stop her mail." I said "if it has my address on it, it's mine, right?" He walked away and made a call. He said they will get to bottom of this. I am tired of waiting at the door for days to watch for ups or deliveries so I can flag them down. I'm really... MAD...when I wait for a past due package, go online to track it, only to find it's been delivered, AND to walk over there and find OUR stuff in her front yard, rain, weather, what have ya! It's not neighborly first of all. Second, it's not legal according to a worker in the fraud dept for the usps main office!

 

[DaveF]

Apparently you've got an incompetent Post Office branch, if they can't deliver mail to the right address, despite confusing numbers.

Have you talked with your neighbor and asked them why they've numbered their house incorrectly? This is very weird, but it's possible there's a simple misunderstanding rather than a malicious neighbor.

I hope you can sort this out. Sounds like you need to start canceling credit cards and sign up for those "credit lock" services in the short term. (ugh) And keep on top of the post office. You may need to hound them, call them daily, until they sort it out.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

I have now contacted a couple of different collection agencies regarding a couple of different people I've never heard of whom they were trying to reach at my address (and one they were trying to reach at my wife's mobile phone number). In each case, the agencies were happy that I contacted them and stopped sending mail to my address (and calling my wife's phone). So my experience has been that it's worth contacting them.
Rachel, good luck with your issue. That is a weird one!