View Full Version : Stopping Mail Service
rusty075
02-06-2009, 18:04
In roughly a month, I'm going to be homeless. And I couldn't be happier. :D The lease on my apartment will be done, my stuff will be in storage, and I'll be off thru-hiking. In preparation for this I went down to the Post Office today to fill out whatever form was necessary to have my mail service to my current address permanently stopped.
But I was told by my local postmaster that I can't do that. The forms require a forwarding address. The USPS won't accept or process them without one. He says that there is no mechanism by which I can just have all mail addressed to me at that address returned to sender. (He says that the USPS is legally required to deliver all mail). I basically have two options: 1) Do nothing, and let whoever moves into my apartment after me deal with marking anything the comes for me with, "No longer at this address. Return to Sender" or 2) Doing a change of address with someone's address, be it friend or relative, and stick them with collecting my junk mail. Both options seem like jerkish things to do, to me at least.
Has anyone else dealt with a similar situation? How did you handle it?
I don't think having a friend or relative collect your mail is a jerk move. If they just put everything in a box and let you come get it at the end its no big deal. If you wan't them to open it and pay your bills and throw out credit card offers that is a bit too much.
How about a renting a PO box?
or 2) Doing a change of address with someone's address, be it friend or relative, and stick them with collecting my junk mail. Both options seem like jerkish things to do, to me at least.
I really don't that its jerkish to ask a GOOD friend or CLOSE relative to help by receiving your junk mail and important mail. They probably want to help. If they care about you its not really asking too much. Just ask them nicely. Tell them to just throw it into a box and hold until you get back. It will probably take them 2 minutes a day.
Panzer
rusty075
02-06-2009, 19:10
That is probably what I will end up doing. It just strikes me as odd that there's no way to just tell the USPS, "No thanks, I can't receive any mail", but that it's ok to have an unrelated third party collect your mail at an address where you never have, and never will, live. Oh well, that's the government for ya.
Do they allow you to fill out a change of address form and put General Delivery as the new address?
rusty075
02-06-2009, 19:21
Do they allow you to fill out a change of address form and put General Delivery as the new address?
You know, if you were in a situation where you knew you were going to get really important mail during your hike that would be an excellent idea to try. You could use Change of Address forms to "bounce" your address up the trail as you went so you'd never miss anything.
My situation is just the opposite though: I shouldn't be getting any important mail. Every business that I have a relationship with - student loans, credit card, bank, etc, are all set up to not ever mail me anything. Anything that does land in my mailbox is generally junk mail. And I'd really like it all to just to back to where it came from.
FritztheCat
02-06-2009, 19:30
When I had an apartment, I would get all kinds of mail from the previous tenant. I asked the postman how to stop that and he said just to put my name on the inside of the mailbox and anything that wasn't addressed to me would be taken back to the post office, then it would be marked "return to sender/no forwarding address" and away it would go. After I put my name in the mailbox, I never received anything addressed to the prior tenant.
garlic08
02-06-2009, 19:34
For $12 a month I rented a private PO box. The PO delivers my mail there. The business will forward mail for postage plus $1 fee anywhere I ask them to, whenever I want. Works fine and I get personal attention and I don't use up any favors or bug a friend.
The Post Office will not normally forward "junk mail". Some mass mailers may get your new address and send you stuff.
You know, if you were in a situation where you knew you were going to get really important mail during your hike that would be an excellent idea to try. You could use Change of Address forms to "bounce" your address up the trail as you went so you'd never miss anything.
My situation is just the opposite though: I shouldn't be getting any important mail. Every business that I have a relationship with - student loans, credit card, bank, etc, are all set up to not ever mail me anything. Anything that does land in my mailbox is generally junk mail. And I'd really like it all to just to back to where it came from.
I was thinking just changing your address to General Delivery at your local town. You don't have to keep bumping it up the trail. All the PO's along the trail hold GD for a while, but everywhere else probably just holds it for the 30 days or whatever the regulations say and then returns to sender. If you don't pick it up it would essentially be like stopping your mail.
YoungMoose
02-06-2009, 19:47
have a family member do it
Blissful
02-06-2009, 20:52
Getting famly and friends involved with mail collecting and, thus, your hike, is a good thing. It makes them a part of the experience too.
Desert Reprobate
02-06-2009, 21:23
Rent a box for a month at one of the private mail box places. Don't pay for the second month. Enjoy your hike. Let someone else take out the trash.
Rusty 075, I'm trying to understand what U R trying to accomplish. I'm getting the hint that U just want to drop out for a little while and not receive mail anywhere. Is that right?
rusty075
02-07-2009, 01:12
Rusty 075, I'm trying to understand what U R trying to accomplish. I'm getting the hint that U just want to drop out for a little while and not receive mail anywhere. Is that right?
I don't know if I would read that much into it - I'm not on the run from the law, nor am I attempting some sort Thoreauian or Kerouacian metaphysical escape from society. It just seemed like a logical thing to have on the to-do list. I'm leaving one place and I don't know what my next address will be, so rather than transferring my Cable, Telephone, Electric, and Water services I simply canceled them. Seems like you would cancel your mail delivery too, right?
I'm actually surprised that so far no one else has tried to do something similar. I know a lot of unmarried people give up apartments to thru-hike...I guess they all just have their mail sent to their parents' house?
fiddlehead
02-07-2009, 01:42
I guess in the (newer) world of paying bills via online banking and not needing the Post Office as much is part of the reason. It is why their business has dropped off and now, this has created this somewhat new problem you are experiencing.
I have a PO box and that works for me. However, I know where i am going to come back to. You possibly will relocate after the hike and look at as money wasted.
I too pay things online (credit card) but sometimes there still is fairly important stuff that i couldn't forsee. (example: last year i got a letter saying i am a benefactor for a class action lawsuit against credit card companies as i used my card overseas a lot, if i would've thrown all my mail away, i would've lost out on this. Also, things like IRS forms and state income tax forms come to me still. Maybe i don't need them, if i find another way, but i still use some of these. (my brother checks my box and tells me what's important)
I could give you more examples: VA programs change, they work through snail mail only as far as i can tell. My drivers license and car registration also comes this way.
Maybe you have set your life up to not need to receive any mail but I find it hard to believe (for me anyway) I think you should rent a PO box or have someone get your mail.
IT is a real shame that they MUST deliver crap we don't want (junk mail)
You know, if you were in a situation where you knew you were going to get really important mail during your hike that would be an excellent idea to try. You could use Change of Address forms to "bounce" your address up the trail as you went so you'd never miss anything.
My situation is just the opposite though: I shouldn't be getting any important mail. Every business that I have a relationship with - student loans, credit card, bank, etc, are all set up to not ever mail me anything. Anything that does land in my mailbox is generally junk mail. And I'd really like it all to just to back to where it came from.
You'd still get some but the PO doesn't forward junk mail circulars. You may also miss out of bulk mailing like the ALDHA newsletter which you can get in pdf now (if you're a member). You could get a bunch of change address/forward mail forms and send one to your existing PO to trail towns. I think you'd have to send one home for each new trail town and leave one at the last trail town to the next, care of general delivery. If you spread it out every 500 miles or so that may work.
Interesting question and responses.
FWIW, youmight also want to consider having your junk mail stopped. We did and now often don't get anything (what a change).
Here is some info on that:
Stop junk mail
Junk Mail/ Paper Facts
Every person gets junk mail that adds up to one and a half trees each year.
The average person gets 1.5 personal letters for each 10.8 pieces of junk mail.
Remove your name from national mailing lists for FREE
www.CatalogChoice.org to stop catalogs
www.dmachoice.org to stop most junk mail, and
www.optoutprescreen.com or call (888) 567-8688
www.dmaconsumers.org/index.html
If you a get a po box, there usually pretty small. It will fill up in about a month or so.
Panzer
traildust
02-07-2009, 11:40
forward to family.
Funkmeister
02-07-2009, 12:03
On your change of address form, why don't you use an address that doesn't exist?
I get U rusty 075. Hmm, interesting that U have to have a mailing address when U really don't want one right now. And, U don't want a PO Box or suite mailing address(just a way to get around having a PO Box without labeling it as a PO box)? And, U R doing it with good intentions of not wanting to burden anyone else.
Ok I know this is a straight forward forum but I have to say this. Kramer tried to do this very same thing on "Seinfeld". The post office was pretty upset about it:D
Seriously though...have it forwarded to family or a friend (ask them if they don't mind) or just let the person who moves in to your place deal with it and forget about it.
theinfamousj
02-07-2009, 17:10
And if you cannot find a friend or family who is willing to toss mail addressed to you into a box (I've done this for five or so folks when they did their "study abroad" semesters in college ... was really no sweat at all), then I'm sure that someone on WB would be willing to box your mail for you.
And if it is true what you say, that you should not be getting much mail at all, then it will be very, very little inconvenience.
Junk mail, no matter who it is addressed to, doesn't make it past the apartment mailbox center. They have a recycling bin right there. No need to hump it back to the apartment.
Spirit Walker
02-07-2009, 21:09
On our last few hikes we had mail forwarded to a relative and did a change of address where necessary so that the following wouldn't get lost: insurance bills and certificates, car registrations, jury notices, tax information (twice we got amended 1099's after we had moved), letters from the bank (they won't forward credit/debit cards - they have to have a new and valid address), belated bills (we got a phone bill three months after we had moved - turns out we had accepted a collect call from someone using a phone that was on a different system and it took months to process.) , rent deposits, medical bills/notices (We've had medical bills turn up a year after the office visit) . . .
If you are keeping your car, you need an in-state address for your registration to be legal. It's important for your car insurance as well. If you forward mail to somebody out of state, your insurance may not be valid. Again, if you keep your car, you may not be able to renew the insurance early or the registration or do the state inspection before you go.
It really helps to have somebody paying attention to what comes in the mail, just in case.
max patch
02-07-2009, 21:57
It really helps to have somebody paying attention to what comes in the mail, just in case.
This was a really good post, Spirit Walker.
buckwheat
02-09-2009, 05:18
On your change of address form, why don't you use an address that doesn't exist?
There's a better way to opt out of the system, Kramer:
Change your address to:
475 L'Enfant Plaza, SW
Washington, DC 20260-0010
Your junk mail will be delivered on time, every time to the Postmaster General of the United States. And, he'll be forced to receive it (unless he changes his address to some other hapless sap.)