Here’s What To Do With Mail That Is Not Yours

There’s nothing more exciting than receiving a letter in the mail—unless it’s addressed to someone else. Wait a second; almost all of your mail is addressed to Mr. Jebediah Farnsworth. You don’t know this Mr. Farnsworth, let alone where he lives now. So at first you ignored it, but now it’s impossible to look past the piles and piles of misaddressed mail. Here’s what to do with mail that is not yours. 

It’s super tempting to toss every damn letter not addressed to you—but save it, because you can use it to solve your problem. Instead of tossing, write “Not at This Address: Return to Sender” on each and every letter and put it back in your mailbox.

With so many things automated these days, sometimes your “Return to Sender” won’t actually be seen by human eyes. But, if you cross out the bar code (marked on every piece of mail by the USPS), the system will recognize it as “undeliverable.”

Either tell your mail carrier in person, or leave a note that “Jeb Farnsworth doesn’t live here.”

Still getting someone else’s mail? Head to your post office to talk to the station manager. And while you’re there, fill out a Change of Address card for Jebediah. Since you don’t know where this guy lives now, instead of a forwarding address write: "Moved, Left No Forwarding Address." When you sign it, make sure to write "form filled in by current resident, [Your Name], agent for the above." 

Still getting Jebediah’s mail? (If only he ordered Beyoncé tickets.) It’s time to file a complaint with the postmaster at your post office. You can either write a letter or schedule an appointment to meet in person. Godspeed.