Opening Someone elses post

[Mark_Solesbury]

Hiya

Is it illegal to open someone elses post?

Reason i ask is that with my ongoing house move, Sky have wrongly sent a letter to the new address, but addressed to me.

The people that currently live there have opened it and made a flippent comment to the estate agent about my mail.

Can they actually open it and read it?

They have now decided that the day before we exchange with a view to complete next week that they now want to stay in their current house for another month and i was wondering about coming to an agreement about them reading my mail!

[kizz81]

 :shock: i dunno how they dare, you could be a phsyco killer :-#  :lol:

its surly illegal

[sleeplessparadise]

It is illegal for a member of the Post office to open someone's mail while it is in their possesion, not sure about once it is delivered to an address. I think it could be an offence but wouldn't know what sort of thing you could do about it.

[stuvy]

Hi mark iv been told its illegal to open some one elses post,

send some adult material to liven things up lol

if you need a hand with moving let me know!!

[strapping young lad]

aye i read somewhere it is against the law to obstruct her majesty's mail

which, by opening something that doesnt belong to you, is.

liz will be well peeved with your sky letter being opened now !

[waveydavey]

Not sure either way but you would have to prove intent. Basically 'I didn't notice the name, I thought it was for me' I am sure would prove a good enough defence.

Remind them though that it will probably be reversed soon; once in you will invariably get their post.

[lee celtic]

Have all the post for that address redirected to a Po box then pic it up yourself ;)

[SteveGoodz]

Mark, this might help:

Postal Services Act 2000. Part V; Section 84 ~

~~ Quote ~~

84. Interfering with the mail: general.

(1) A person commits an offence if, without reasonable excuse, he :-

      (a) intentionally delays or opens a postal packet in the course of its transmission by post, or

      (b) intentionally opens a mail-bag.

(2) Subsections (2) to (5) of section 83 apply to subsection (1) above as they apply to subsection (1) of that section.

(3) A person commits an offence if, intending to act to a person’s detriment and without reasonable excuse, he opens a postal packet which he knows or reasonably suspects has been incorrectly delivered to him.

(4) Subsections (2) and (3) of section 83 (so far as they relate to the opening of postal packets) apply to subsection (3) above as they apply to subsection (1) of that section.

(5) A person who commits an offence under subsection (1) or (3) shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding [six months] [51 weeks][Criminal Justice Act 2003 Sec 281(5)] or to both.

~~ End Quote ~~

Section 83 (referred to above) applies to postal workers. Para 1 (a) would appear to be pertinent to your case if you can show that the person that opened the letter knew it wasn't addressed to them. "Transmission by post" refers to the whole journey from the sender to the named recipient, not the address.

I would think the thought of 6 months inside would persuade the current occupiers to move on whatever date you choose  :lol:

HTH

[carbore]

Well done Steve for posting the detail on that. I was going to post something about RIPA but steves is much more appropriate.  ID ignore it as you dont want to get stuck in a feud, however once you have moved in and they get letters from long lost relatives at Christmas then its shredder time (after you check for £20 notes that is!)

[beast5680]

we still get post addressed to a woman who left the house i own a year before i bought it and i,ve owned it 8 years now :roll: usually from the same debt collectors that have been trying to find her for over 8 years i open them now and send them back or fax them or ring them to tell them to change their records still get them though :lol:

[andrew2986]

How about printing out SteveGoodz item, and send it to your new house. (addressed to yourself)

Andy

[Lyndsey731]

To be honest mate I'd just let it go. The chances are that you won't be able to prove anything even if it is an offence, which I'm not sure in the circumstances that it is.
It seems your issue is with Sky for not sending the letter to your correct address, I would be having a stern word with them incase any personal information was sent or before any is.
As for them staying in the house for another month, as you have no contract you have three choices that I see:-

1. threaten to pull out of the deal (very risky if you want the house).
2. ask for compensation for the delay (additional rent payments etc).
3. give them the month.

One thing to watch is the duration of your mortgage offer, make sure is doesn't run out before any revised completion date as it won't be valid.

Best of luck

Gav

[Disco Matt]

we still get post addressed to a woman who left the house i own a year before i bought it and i,ve owned it 8 years now :roll: usually from the same debt collectors that have been trying to find her for over 8 years i open them now and send them back or fax them or ring them to tell them to change their records still get them though :lol:

Problem is, debt collectors will hear "they don't live here any more" all the time and won't believe it even when it's genuine!  :lol: Possibly have a quiet word with Citizens Advice, see if you can bring them to account under some sort of harrassment legislation? There must be some way to force them to accept that the person they're after no longer lives there, as polite/helpful replies have been ignored.

We used to get all sorts for the last owners of this house, even ten years after moving in. Mostly begging letters and junk mail oddly enough, a real waste of paper.

[Silvery Thing]

I would not bother right now and would suggest you wait until you get in your new house. If the current owners get mail delivered to you I suggest you open it, read it and then forward it onto their new address.... it will wind them up something awful :dance:

[hobbit]

Dunno about the house move, good luck on whatever happens there

But with the mail, if anything is recieved addressed to another name at my address, I would write on it not known at this address and either give it back to the postie or drop it in the mail box/post office

But if I get repeated mail for said person, it has been known where I have opened one and contacted the people in the letter that there is no one here by that name, followed by why they are now sending this to us as we have been here 15 years and are still in touch with the previous occupants as they are friends (they dont mind if I open any for them though), but this person on the letter is not know to either us or the previous occupants of the house

Luckily it dont happen very often though, just my suspicious nature

[crazymac]

seven and a half years after buying the house I'm in, we still get bank statements from Barclays for the previous owner every month. Thing is, the previous owner was the MANAGER of the local Barclays Bank who Barclays re located to Llanelli!! How thick is that?? we've continually sent them back, etc etc etc to no avail! I just shred them now!

[Mark_Solesbury]

Not mentioned the post, but weve now exchanged and complete ont the 21st!

  :dance: :dance: :dance: