Observation about the US Mail

Discussion in 'Coin Chat' started by kanga, Aug 18, 2020.

  1. Jim Dale

    Jim Dale Well-Known Member

    I have been receiving a new neighbor's electric bills that are mailed to my address. I've tried to get my neighbor to have the electric company change the address the bill is being sent to. They are never home, so I can't talk to them. I contacted the Post Office and they told me to just walk the bill over to his house. I was told that I could not change the mailing address, that my neighbor had to do it. So.... I decided to keep the bills until someone squawked. They can't bill me because my name is not on the bill, nor can they cut off my electricity because it is not my service address. It's been 4 months and I haven't heard anything and I am still getting his bill. Any suggestions?
     
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  3. Beardigger

    Beardigger Well-Known Member

    Just put them back in your mailbox with NOT AT THIS ADDRESS written on them. The PO will send them back to the electric co.
     
    LA_Geezer and CREATIVECRHUNTER like this.
  4. Conder101

    Conder101 Numismatist

    I ordered an item from Nashville TN last Thursday afternoon, it arrived in my mailbox by Noon Friday. This is the second package I have purchased from TN recently that has arrive in less than 18 hours. A distance of about 400 miles.
     
  5. baseball21

    baseball21 Well-Known Member

    Put the bills in his mailbox with a note explaining whats going on
     
    atcarroll likes this.
  6. UncleScroge

    UncleScroge Well-Known Member

    Yesterday, just after noon, my doorbell rang, and it was my next door neighbor. When I answered the door, he immediately handed over a big handful of my mail and stated, "I think the mailman was hittin' the sauce a little early today!"
     
    Virginian and Mainebill like this.
  7. Sealgair

    Sealgair Member

    [NB: I sent this a week ago but it seems to have gotten lost. Pardon my resend, in case I overlooked the earlier one.] A new and—for obvious reasons, not advertized—”feature” of the Prime Two-Day Ship is the the two days now ONLY starts when Amazon starts their part of the scheme. If an item in OS—not already in their warehouse or immediately available for drop-shipping—then the clock is stopped. I have over the past year or so had dozens of items delayed for 2-3 months because the order originated from rural China and endured container travel by the infamous
    “slow boat from China” to the busiest port in California. So, when you place a Prime order, READ THE FINE PRINT CAREFULLY! If it says something like “shipped from our factory in Wonhonglo, China”, be prepared for old age. Often, the details are not to be found in the ad itself, but may be in the order confirmation that follows. Sometimes I u don’t care—if I’m simply restocking an item I use infrequently, I let it ride. But if I really do need it in 2 days or so, I then find it elsewhere and cancel the original. Az does let you state that the reason for the cancellation is a delayed delivery date, and maybe in time they will be more transparent. But in the meantime, do sweat the small stuff. For me the Prime premium is still worth it—bingeing old TV shows and movies as I’m heading for sleep alone is a real plus and as one firmly in a COVID19 threatened group (coming hard onto 78), I tend to buy more on line (unless it’s available from a local store which I want to support). But I am careful to see if “Two-Day Ship” is really going to be honored.
     
  8. Virginian

    Virginian Well-Known Member

    Technically . . . I believe that is illegal.
     
  9. baseball21

    baseball21 Well-Known Member

    But it's not to knowingly keep someone elses mail? :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:
     
  10. atcarroll

    atcarroll Well-Known Member

    whenever I get mail that's either misdelivered or addressed to the former owner of my house, i just stick it back in the mailbox with a Post-It stuck on it.
     
    Kentucky and baseball21 like this.
  11. Virginian

    Virginian Well-Known Member

    Not aware of any law that says that you have a legal obligation to do anything with mail whuich was lawfully delivered to you at your address and that you did not request. Pretty sure you can just toss it in the trash. Maybe you can find a federal statute on that and let us know.

    But I AM sure I did not recommend that, either. So roll your eyes all you want.

    Here is the statute . . . decide for yourself:

    18 U.S.C. 1725 states:

    "Whoever knowingly and willfully deposits any mailable matter such as
    statements of accounts, circulars, sale bills, or other like matter,
    on which no postage has been paid, in any letter box established,
    approved, or accepted by the Postal Service for the receipt or
    delivery of mail matter on any mail route with intent to avoid payment
    of lawful postage thereon, shall for each such offense be fined under
    this title
    "

    Postage has been paid . . . but also canceled by the postage stamp.

    Pretty sure no one would prosecute anyone for this anyway.

    There is this: https://www.wikihow.com/Return-to-Sender

    I marked Beardigger's post as "Best Answer." And I stand by that. I'm not tampering with the inside of anyone else's mailbox without their explicit authorization. YMMV.
     
  12. Kentucky

    Kentucky Supporter! Supporter

    I don't think so
     
  13. Kentucky

    Kentucky Supporter! Supporter

    So, if the electric company shuts their power off, you're not to blame.
     
  14. Beardigger

    Beardigger Well-Known Member

    The main purpose of the above law is to keep people from putting advertising (yard services, realtors etc....)in your mailbox thus securing the sanctity of the mail. In our PO when we find stuff in boxes, we bring they flyers back and call the people and tell them it is illegal to put stuff in mailboxes. If it happens again, we collect all we can and send them to the district which sends them a bill for the postage, along with a visit from the Postal Inspection service. That usually stops it cold.
     
    UncleScroge and -jeffB like this.
  15. Beardigger

    Beardigger Well-Known Member

    By law, the only 2 entities allowed to access your mailbox are you and the USPS. So yes, TECHNICALLY putting mail belonging to a neighbor in their mailbox is Illegal.
    When Amazon started delivering their own stuff, they were putting smaller packages in mailboxes, that was illegal, the Post Office started bringing those packages back, and figuring the postage on them and leaving the customers a notice that they had a postage due package to pick up. When the customers came to pick up, we referred them back to Amazon (who knew it was wrong) and they took steps to correct it, but it still happens, now we just return the packages to amazon stamped Delivered in Mailbox.
     
  16. Razz

    Razz Critical Thinker

    The law states ...with intent to avoid lawful payment of postage thereon...so putting your neighbors mail that was delivered to your mailbox by the postal worker with the correct postage into the correct mailbox is NOT illegal. Now I wouldn't travel across town with someone else's mail in my possession but I would walk across the street in the middle of the day and put the letter or package in their mailbox.
     
  17. Beardigger

    Beardigger Well-Known Member

    Existing residential mailbox laws state that only authorized letter carriers may insert mail into a residential mailbox. A penalty will be imposed for anyone who is not a letter carrier and is inserting mail in the residential mailbox.

    I really don't think that this was meant to discourage anybody from sticking misdelivered mail in your neighbors box, but it is TECHNICALLY against the law.
     
    Last edited: Sep 2, 2020
  18. Dobbin

    Dobbin Active Member

    They probably pay online or use an auto pay and the paper bill arriving is irrelevant to them.
     
  19. Neosynephrine

    Neosynephrine Member

    YES! this is the way to do it. Or just put it in your mailbox with the flag raised. The mail carrier will know what to do with it. If the real recipient has a bad address listed with the sender, walk it over or drop it in THEIR box with a note attached.
     
  20. baseball21

    baseball21 Well-Known Member

    While there is 0 chance anyone would be arrested or prosecuted for it if we really want to be that technical then yes leave it at their door or slide it into the garage if you can etc
     
  21. -jeffB

    -jeffB Greshams LEO Supporter

    Of course, then you may be trespassing... :rolleyes:
     
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