Among Friends

[Marp]

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@Mom2Dogs wrote:

@lolakimono thank you.  I have been writing that message on the mail for years.....this is the first time I was told not to by the carrier....I feel 'better' when I do it, hoping that she will be more carefull.

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@Mom2Dogs,  continue to write on the envelope as cited in the provided link and if your carrier gets snippy about it print out the following and attach it to an envelope on which you have written "Not at this address".  Be sure to include the web address to reinforce the USPS official stance.

https://faq.usps.com/s/article/How-is-Undeliverable-and-Misdelivered-Mail-Handled#report_return_misdelivered

Reporting / returning misdelivered mail

Despite our best efforts, occasionally mail is misdelivered, 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. 

[chrystaltree]

I think he just doesn't want the neighbor to know that messes up like that.

[Icegoddess]

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@chrystaltree wrote:

I think he just doesn't want the neighbor to know that messes up like that.

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@chrystaltree, I would expect that if he/she is misdelivering mail to the OP, he/she is also misdelivering mail to the other neighbors unless the mail is actually just mis-addressed to OP in which case the carrier is actually delivering to the correct address.

I did have a mail carrier question once by putting a question mark next to the name.  We already had 2 last names here since my daughter's last name was from a previous marriage, and then there was a 3rd added when my father died and I had his mail forwarded to me. 

Also, when we first moved into this house we were continually getting mail for a previous owner, and it wasn't the people we bought the house from.  We even got mail for him at this address from his employer.

[Havarti]

Clearly he does not want the neighbor to know - but that neighbor is probably getting someone else's mail, too.  Next time I would right on it “If you delivered this to the correct address there would be no need for me to write on it – it is in your control” 

We live in a major metropolitan area and many parts of the city have had this ongoing problem for years.  Everyone has called and followed all the USPS procedures and nothing improves.  In fact, the most recent response from the post office has been “what do you want us to do about it”.  The problem just spreads to more areas.  There are some wonderful mail carriers but there are many that are not so wonderful.  We often do not get our mail delivered until after dinner – they say may deliver up to 8:00 PM.  One area found that the mail carrier was actually taking the undelivered mail home at night. 

[newjerseygirl]

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@Icegoddess wrote:

You could do what he/she did with you, put it on a sticky note.That way the postal carrier can get the message without shaming them to the neighbors.   I used to get a lot of my neighbors' mail with a previous carrier, but I just went and put it in their mailbox. Of course you can't do that if it's locked boxes like at an apartment complex I guess.

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I also put a sticky note on the envelope and write "Delivered to wrong address, please redeliver" and put it back in my mailbox to get picked up.

[GCR18]

It used to happen to me alot.  I put it back in the box and put the flag up.  One time it looked and sounded like pills, so I took it to the correct house and rang their doorbell.  Another time it was a package from QVC.  I didn't read the name and opened it.  It was a gili top in a size/color that was total opposite of me.  Hand delivered that one t oo, so I could explain that I opened it.

[x Hedge]

I had a mail carrier that frequently misdelivered mail. After going thru most of a year of polite steps, which included making the delivery myself, I started writing on the mail. That didn't reduce the multi-times weekly wrong deliveries.

So I began to open & retape only as a last resort. I started opening and sloppily re-taping all those envelopes, and writing

       DELIVERED TO WRONG ADDRESS

in caps & neon colors on everything, even the junk mail, and dropping it into a USPS mailbox next time I was out. (I would have handfuls to re-mail)

So, yes, that means delays in correct delivery, sometimes by several weeks. (I'm sometimes housebound.)

I wanted the recipients to know how much of their mail went into someone else's hands, which is why I also opened & retaped.

I needed the correct recipients to complain loudly about their misdirected/delayed mail, since I received other people's paychecks, bank statements, utility bills, credit card bills, family letters, etc.

 "Do not write on the mail" ... I am laughing!!

[Nightowlz]

Our previous mailman used to do that all the time. The one we have now does not do it very often but it does happen.

If the mail belongs to a neighbor I walk down & put it in their mailbox. If it's not in walking distance I write not at this address on the envelope & put back in the mailbox.

Once we received a check for a neighbor on the next street over. I was leaving the house to run errands so I drove over the next street & gave it to them. I'm sure they needed it. Looked like it had already been mailed to the wrong address several times.

[x Hedge]

Just wanted to add, during this carrier's time on our route, I talked to several neighbors about the volume and frequency of 'wrong mail'.

That's when I learned several neighbors simply threw away any mail that wasn't theirs.

They'd complained to the carrier, to the post office, and as it continued for months they simply decided to trash the misdelivered mail!

[Montana]

In my area, the mail is presorted for the post person. It is in a bundle that is delivered without the individual pieces being checked. If I get a neighbor’s mail, I don’t blame it on the carrier. I blame it on the people who did the sorting.