I have been getting mail from my back for someone I assume used to live at my place since I moved in. I kept ignoring it, thinking she would change her address eventually. It’s been about a year and they are still sending me bank mail for a person I’ve never met.

This seems like a serious security issue so I called the bank and alerted them to the problem. I was told I would have to find her and get her new address for them so they could change it. This seems…wrong. I’m alerting you to a security issue with one of your accounts and you need ME to fix it? The agent on the phone said there was nothing they could do without a new address.

I pressed harder and asked them to flag that account so she would have a warning she needs to talk to a banker next time she tries to use her account. Eventually he relented and put a flag on her account.

This seems really sloppy. Do banks just, not care about the mail they send out going to the right place? I’m honestly considering switching to a credit union over this.

  • BertramDitore@lemm.eeEnglish
    91·
    2 months ago

    You should definitely switch to a credit union regardless. There are no downsides.

    But fault for this kind of issue is shared between the previous resident and the bank. When someone moves, it’s their responsibility to change their address in all the various systems in which they exist and set up mail forwarding, which lasts for a year by default, and is free.

    It is your responsibility to forward any misdirected mail you receive. The alternative is throwing it out, which is illegal. Just put a sticky note on the envelope that says something like “wrong address, return to sender” and drop it in any outgoing mailbox.

    This is a pretty standard issue though. I lived at my previous apartment for more than 7 years, and I was still getting mail from the previous tenant when I moved out. People are so lazy.

      • BertramDitore@lemm.eeEnglish
        3·
        2 months ago

        I just replied to a similar comment, but here it is again since you replied while I was typing :)

        Yeah, I have the same issue. I just keep the misdirected mail for a week or two until it stacks up and then drop it all in the nearest blue USPS mailbox, which is in the center of town. It’s annoying, but not a huge deal. Also I’ve read you shouldn’t write directly on the envelope, the post office prefers sticky notes so the original envelope isn’t defaced.

      • JohnnyCanuck@lemmy.ca
        2·
        2 months ago

        If you don’t want to take it to a mailbox, you can put it back in your own mailbox with the “return to sender - no longer at this address” on it. The mail carrier can pick it up when they deliver your mail next. If they seem to miss it, you can try putting a bright post-it note on it to make it stand out.

        • Nurse_Robot@lemmy.world
          2·
          2 months ago

          I’ve tried this at multiple apartments with a 0% success rate. It seems the “return to sender” thing hasn’t worked for decades, at least in apartment complexes.

          • DirigibleProtein@aussie.zone
            1·
            2 months ago

            “Not at this address - return to sender” doesn’t do much, but “Deceased - return to sender” always works for me. Hopefully someone at the bank/sender flags the account and makes it the account holder’s problem.

            (Don’t use sticky notes, they’ll fall off in the mail. Use a black permanent marker and write as big as possible so that they can’t “accidentally” miss your note. Cross out any barcodes or other markings that the post office adds so that it won’t automatically be re-sent to you, the machines will reject it and it will be manually routed back to the sender)