EnMasse

[Legless_Marine]

We get tons of mail from previous tenants. We've tried writing "return to sender, not at this address" and leaving the envelopes hanving out the mailbox, but the postman just puts them back in the mailbox with the other mail.

We've put distinct signs on the mailbox stating who does and does not live at our address, but the postman ignores them.

We've tried talking to him, but he wears an ipod, and pretends not to see/hear us, dashing out of our gate - A gate which half the time he leaves ajar, and I have to go out and close before letting the dog out.

It's been suggested that I save up the mail and place it in the neighborhood outgoing-mailbox, but this is just a workaround which causes me work and doesn't solve the original problem.

Is it not part of the mailman's duty to accept this returned mail, and return it for reprocessing? Is he not obligated to deliver the correct mail if it's clearly indicated who lives there? Is there no mailman code of ethics requiring him to close our gate?

It seems to me that our mailman is obtuse and lazy... but I must confess that I have no clear idea of what his obligations actually are.

Can anyone help me understand?

Thanks in advance,
Legless.
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Enjoying a high standard of living thanks to cheap energy and slave labor - Just like you!

[Tehanu]

Have you tried contacting Canada Post? Maybe through your own post office? Because part of the problem would be that they're sorting the mail to go to the postie (who probably doesn't want to carry it back), and it seems to me they should be stopping it at the source.

Here is an online form to contact them which includes "Misdelivery of Mail" as a category, so that might be worth a shot.

[Legless_Marine]

[bshmr]

In the States, only special 'classes' of postage are forwarded, returned as undeliverable, or refused. Here one can contact the postal station for a remedy but they don't like disposing of the waste any more than citizens do.

Another alternative which let's one assert is to notify the senders and insist that the address or addressee be removed from their lists.

And, when the mail is debt-, medical-related, or offensive, the Federals <g> can be very punitive though more likely merely a motivating threat. So, one piece of porn, one atheist rag, one medical bill, or one collection notice can be exploited (to cover about everything).

[Legless_Marine]

Outcome: Called Canada post. I confirmed/learned the following:

- Picking up of return mail is discretional

- Mailman is *obligated* to deliver mail to marked address, even if he knows recipient is no longer there.

- Mailman *should* be closing my gate. I was able to make a semi-anonymous complaint, specific only to my street. Hopefully this will head off any retaliatory mail-stealing.
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Enjoying a high standard of living thanks to cheap energy and slave labor - Just like you!