I have been getting mail from my back for someone I assume used to live at my place since I moved in. I kept ignoring it, thinking she would change her address eventually. It’s been about a year and they are still sending me bank mail for a person I’ve never met.
This seems like a serious security issue so I called the bank and alerted them to the problem. I was told I would have to find her and get her new address for them so they could change it. This seems…wrong. I’m alerting you to a security issue with one of your accounts and you need ME to fix it? The agent on the phone said there was nothing they could do without a new address.
I pressed harder and asked them to flag that account so she would have a warning she needs to talk to a banker next time she tries to use her account. Eventually he relented and put a flag on her account.
This seems really sloppy. Do banks just, not care about the mail they send out going to the right place? I’m honestly considering switching to a credit union over this.
Not sure if all banks work that way, but I do have a way for you to solve the problem with anybody who is doing that.
In the United States, you can go down to the local post office and fill out a small form. That form lists exactly who lives there. The Post Office puts that form into an optical reader software and all mail that goes through the distribution plant gets read by an optical reader.
So for example let’s say that you lived at
872 3rd St. S.
And I tried to mail a letter to
John Stevens
872 3rd St. S.
If you don’t have John Stevens wrote on that form that you gave to the post office, the optical reader will immediately reject that letter and send it to whoever sent it. You will never see any mail other than what is addressed to you.
Make sure that everybody who lives at that address is wrote on that form. I would also write down anybody who realistically might be getting mail there. So for example, let’s say your mom intends to have a letter sent to your house for her even though she doesn’t live with you you’d wanna make sure her name is on that form.
Now the bank tries to send stuff out for this other person and the bank gets it right back.
Wait a second. I get junk mail all the time and when I used to call to opt out, the sender would just change the name to “current resident” and send it anyway. Are you telling me this would solve that?
Sadly. No.
They will deliver “current resident” mail.
I tried arguing with them that my name wasn’t “Current Resident” it went about as well as expected… lol
In Canada you can opt out of spam, with the exception of political spam.
I don’t live in a first world country. I live in the US. They are trying to sell the post office to Amazon right now.