Opening post to get return address

[Pipe & Slippers]

I’d been living in a house for 9 years and got some post for the last but one owners, the previous owner having been there 12 years. I opened it and it turned out to be from some ‘official’ body trying to trace relatives of a deceased person. My then mother in law knew where these folks had gone. They’d moved away some significant distance, so I gave then a ring, got their new address, and forwarded it on. Turned out they got a share in an estate that included a house. If I’d have binned it or returned it to sender they’d have missed out. All I got was a bunch of flowers the next Christmas. Cool story etc

 

[LeeUK]

It's actually a criminal offence to open mail not intended for you.

Only if you are opening it for dodgy reasons and to deprive the recipient.

If I was to keep getting someone else's mail, or like posted above, start receiving mail addressed to someone else after living at the same address for 15 years, then hell yes I'll be opening it to see what scam is brewing.

 

[dcsarge]

I am pretty sure only stamped mail gets handled in Belfast in the old way these days. Certain contract/franked with a return address will get RTS'ed but anything else is destroyed. At least that was how the system had gone when I left many moons ago .