My girlfriend is 21 and she lives with her parents. They keep opening her mail and reading it, and sometimes they'll shred her credit cards that come in the mail and so she has do order a new one. Do her parents have a right to do this? Can she take any kind of legal action against them?
2006-09-02 10:39:08 · 24 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
They won't let her live on her own, cause she's still in school and only works part time and doesn't really make enough to get her own place. And she can't move in with me until we're married. I'm going to propose to her in a couple of weeks, but it'll probably still be another year before we can get married and move in together. So we're just trying to figure out what to do in the meantime, because this mail thing is becoming a huge problem. Sometimes they'll throw away her bills and so she'll never recieve them, so she'll get late notices and stuff. The problem is that they're Chinese and they don't speak English very well, so it's hard to reason with them.
2006-09-02 10:47:25 · update #1
it is illegal for her parents to open, read or destroy mail addressed to her without her permission. However, if she takes legal action, she may need to find a new place to live. It might be better for her to get a p.o. box and have all of her mail forwarded there.
2006-09-02 10:42:15 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Parents have no right to intervene into the personal affairs of the children such as opening mails and with regards to credit cards. However, a daughter living with parents could not legally file a case against them because she is under the custody of the parents and cases against parents are usually frowned upon. The remedy is to have a talk with the parents regarding this matter for a quick resolution of the problem.
2006-09-02 10:47:47 · answer #2 · answered by FRAGINAL, JTM 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I am pretty sure that is illegal. But there is a solution. She can get a job and move out on her own. Then she won't have to worry about her parents reading her mail.
But maybe she has a spending problem and that's why they are cutting up her credit cards, not that it's really their problem, unless they make it their problem.
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She's 21 and lives in the US, right? They can't force her to stay at home. But she can get a PO box and that will stop all of those problems. That was a great suggestion to all those who thought of it. Just as I clicked submit, it came to my mind and then I saw so many people recommend it.
2006-09-02 10:47:37 · answer #3 · answered by FaerieWhings 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
As long as she's 18 or older and hasn't been deemed incompetent by the court, it would be a felony for anyone else to open her mail - even her parents, despite the fact that she's living with them. But I wouldn't file a complaint against my parents. Tell her to go to the post office and fill out a forwarding address card. Have her put your address on the card. Problem solved! Her mail will come to your address, you can give it to her, and her parents don't even have to know.
She can also do it online. https://moversguide.usps.com/?referral=USPS
2006-09-02 11:50:34 · answer #4 · answered by TrippingJudy 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Regardles of their culture,if the woman is older than 18,no one has the right to open your mail except YOU! Report this to the Postal Inspector's Office,and make sure to mention the parents speak Chinese only.
2006-09-02 10:51:10 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
NO if she is over 18 she is considered and adult . And tampering with athe mail is a felony. But since she probbly doesn't want to press charges against her parents she will have to deal with it. Tell her to move out. or get a post office box.
2006-09-02 10:44:10 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Shes an adult, federal mail is the only form of communication in the Constitution, and tampering with the mail is a federal crime. They have no right, ever.
2006-09-02 10:45:28 · answer #7 · answered by kazak 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
She is of adult age and for them to open her mail is likely a federal felony. However, the best direction to take is for her to find her own home.
The suggestion to get a P.O. Box is a good one.
2006-09-02 10:44:00 · answer #8 · answered by Randy 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
NO!. SHE IS A 21 YEAR OLD ADULT. If anything it's illegal for another adult to do that another. How about if it was a stranger who did that - you'd be telling the cops. She needs to take legal action and teach them a lesson!!!
2006-09-02 10:43:38 · answer #9 · answered by Broken-Hearted 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
she probably could.....opening someones mail is a crime...but, then she'd have to move out ...and it would cause all kinds of family problems.....
the easiest solution is for her to go get her own Post Office Box, and put in a change of address to have all her mail sent there......
and hide the key !!!!!
2006-09-02 10:42:27 · answer #10 · answered by Campbell Gramma 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋