Sick of getting my inlaw's mail, if they do a change of address will the post office forward it to them?

Question

We bought our house from my in-laws who have now lived in various parts of Louisiana for around 7 years now, (we are in Mississippi) and have not bothered to change their address. So, that means we get all his dad's credit card offers (and settlement offers, ugh) and his moms crazy stuff, and a lot of stuff they actually need in addition to the junk mail, and they expect us to mail it all down to them every few weeks. Its expensive and a real pain...

So, if I am able to convince them to FINALLY go register their new address with the post office, will they take care of getting the mail to them, or am I cursed with their junk mail forever (or until we move!)? Thanks!

Do they REALLY have to do it at our post office? Its about a 6 hour trip up here, and they NEVER come, they came for our wedding in March, that had been the first time his mom had visited the house in about 2 years...so you get how that would go over...lol!

Answer 1

Yes, the post office will forward.
Pick up form at post office. Fill out the form yourself & mail it to in-laws for signature.
List their names on the form so your mail does not also get forwarded.

Meanwhile, stuff they need to get, cross off address and write in new one, "Please Forward" above name.
No need to pay additional postage!

Answer 2

The mail system in the USA has been around for a long time. Think back to the days where there where no cars, no planes and no computers, and your mail came by horse and buggy. The mail system is complex ed and has developed over the years using computers, automobiles and planes to send mail. Mail is sent to large distribution centers in a general area( CITY) than broken down into smaller hubs CALLED POST OFFICES. Than broken down again and distributed to the people. It's a basic system starting with a large quaint and broken down over and over again! That's why zip codes where developed for towns and cities. Look up the history of the United States Post Office! I copied this from the web sight: The United States Postal Service® is an independent establishment of the Executive Branch of the United States Government. It operates in a businesslike way. In the more than two centuries since USPS® began, it has grown and changed with America. Discovering the history of the Postal Service is a journey into the history of transportation, economics, industrialization, communications, and government. Today, the Postal Service™ delivers hundreds of millions of messages each day to more than 141 million homes and businesses. This is the story of the evolution of the Postal Service and the important role it has played in the development of the United States.

Answer 3

Your in-laws must do the change of address themselves. They may do it online at usps.com (a credit card is required to verify that they are indeed the person they claim to be)
They may also go to their local post office and fill out a change of address card. They should put Sept 1, 2007 as the effective date of the change. If they put the actual date that they moved (6 years ago) it would never take effect.

Another way is to put the names of everybody at your current address on or in the mailbox in a spot plainly visible to the letter carrier followed by the word ONLY. The letter carrier SHOULD then send all other mail back to the sender.

The junk mail addressed to the in-laws should gradually slow down and probably vanish in about 2 years.

VERY IMPORTANT - If your in-laws have the same last name as your husband and yourself, which is likely, they must fill out change of address orders checking the individual box on the form, one with his first name, and one with hers. If they fill out a family change your mail will be forwarded, which you do not want.

So if your husband's name is Joe Martin and your name is Sue Martin and your in-laws name are Pete Martin and June Martin, make sure they fill out individual changes for Pete AND June Martin, using two change of address forms.

Answer 4

Yep, that will stop just about all of that junk :) Tell them(which will probably tick them off) that they need to send in a change of address form, or you're going to start doing a return to sender on all mail that comes in for them. If they don't do it, just hold all their mail and don't send it to them. They'll get the hint pretty quick, especially if there's important stuff in there. I don't blame you, it is expensive to mail stuff now a days, especially a big envelope full of mail....

They're supposed to sign the change of address form, otherwise I'd suggest you just go ahead and do it. Also, check with the post office and see if they have any suggestions other then having to do a return to sender for everything.

Answer 5

Get their permission and go to the post office and fill out the card yourself. Just make sure to mark "individual" instead of "family" or your mail will be moved too. If they don't actually want the credit or settlement offers there is a number to call and be removed from the list for 5 years. Especially if its just going in the trash anyway.

Answer 6

No, you can ask them to do a change of address form. If they won't do it, call the post office or go online and see if you can legally do it for them. I am not sure about that part. You can also print forwarding stickers and put them on the mail yourself. Good luck!

Answer 7

it is free to do a change of address at the post office. Tell them nicely that they need to do this or you can do it and have them sign it. If they don't go for it send them the mail COD a few times and let them pay for it. I bet they will put in a change fast.

Answer 8

You can fill out the form for them and be done with it. Or (if you live in a smaller town) go talk to whomever is running your post office & explain the people haven't lived there in 7 years.

I wouldn't forward their mail to them - that's their responsibility. If they don't want to be found, they should get a post office box.

Answer 9

They will forward it for a few months. I would get a rubber stamp of their new address and the words forward to, and keep it in the mail box then just stamp their mail and put it back. On the junk mail stamp with return to sender, moved no forwarding address or give them the address.

Answer 10

You can do this yourself by going to your post office and ask for mail addressed only to You and your husband. eg: Mr G Mrs.G Or yes if they change the address it will be forwarded. It will cost them to do it. Or you can write on the envelope, either return to sender, or their new address and stick it back in the mail box.