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185143

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Just recieved a phone call from a family member asking if I was expecting a letter from a FirstGroup TOC.

I'm not expecting anything delay repay wise that I can think of, though I have got a job application ongoing, and have been told it's a completely different name on the letter. It's a female name, that none of us recognise. I'm the only member of my family to use public transport with any frequency, hence why I was asked.

As far as I know, though I'll have to wait until I get home to be certain, there is no return address on the envelope. What do I do? All I can really think of is to open the letter, see which FirstGroup TOC is it (or even FirstBus?) and contact them to inform them of the issue and resolve the matter.

Any advice will be more than welcome!
 
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najaB

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What do I do? All I can really think of is to open the letter, see which FirstGroup TOC is it (or even FirstBus?) and contact them to inform them of the issue and resolve the matter.
There's no return address so it's unlikely to be anything serious. I say put it in the bin.
 

hexagon789

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Just recieved a phone call from a family member asking if I was expecting a letter from a FirstGroup TOC.

I'm not expecting anything delay repay wise that I can think of, though I have got a job application ongoing, and have been told it's a completely different name on the letter. It's a female name, that none of us recognise. I'm the only member of my family to use public transport with any frequency, hence why I was asked.

As far as I know, though I'll have to wait until I get home to be certain, there is no return address on the envelope. What do I do? All I can really think of is to open the letter, see which FirstGroup TOC is it (or even FirstBus?) and contact them to inform them of the issue and resolve the matter.

Any advice will be more than welcome!

I would suggest opening it first then I've it's a load of rubbish, sticking it in the bin.

Better to be sure what it is first before binning it ;)
 

sheff1

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I never open a letter addressed to anyone other than a member of the household. Obvious junk mail is binned, anything else I put in a post box endorsed "Not known at this address"
 

gray1404

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If you were to unopen it, mark it as "not known at this address" (I would also put a couple of lines through the name and address it is currently addressed to on the envelope) and put it back into a postbox, give it to a postman or hand it in at a Post Office or Royal Mail Delivery Office, the Royal Mail would attempt to return the latter either by them officially opening the letter to find a return address inside or if it has been paid for by postage account they can trace the return address that way.

Personally, I would open the letter and if it is nothing serious, marketing or something dispose of it.
 
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Darandio

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What do I do? All I can really think of is to open the letter, see which FirstGroup TOC is it (or even FirstBus?) and contact them to inform them of the issue and resolve the matter.

I'd go along with the other advice about not to open, mark the envelope and chuck it in the nearest postbox.

In terms of opening it, the blanket advice is generally never to open anything not addressed to you. There is main exception, mainly if you believe you have a reasonable excuse to do so based on what you perceive as a threat to your property, something glaringly obvious such as a letter from a bailiff addressed to a previous tenant. In that case it's classed as reasonable to open the letter and make contact to resolve the situation.

I don't think that could be used in this case though.
 

SussexMan

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Open it. You can always mark it as "Opened in Error - Not known at this address" - And it least you can then put the address to return it to on the envelope.
 

ForTheLoveOf

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I'd go along with the other advice about not to open, mark the envelope and chuck it in the nearest postbox.

In terms of opening it, the blanket advice is generally never to open anything not addressed to you. There is main exception, mainly if you believe you have a reasonable excuse to do so based on what you perceive as a threat to your property, something glaringly obvious such as a letter from a bailiff addressed to a previous tenant. In that case it's classed as reasonable to open the letter and make contact to resolve the situation.

I don't think that could be used in this case though.

It's a common misconception that opening others' mail is, in itself, somehow illegal. Opening mail before it has been delivered is indeed illegal if you don't have a 'reasonable excuse'. But opening mail that has been delivered to your property is only a crime if you do it without reasonable excuse and with intent to cause harm to the intended recipient - for example, if you committed fraud with the contents of the letter.
 

swj99

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As above.

The Postal Services Act 2000, s.84, says that a person commits an offence if, intending to act to a person’s detriment and without reasonable excuse, he opens a postal packet which he knows or reasonably suspects has been incorrectly delivered to him.

Simply opening a letter to find out where to return it would be justified. Also, if the person to whom it is addressed does not reside at the property, then opening the letter in an attemp to return it to the sender would not be to the detriment of the addressee, so it's unlikely the householder who opens it would be guilty of an offence.

An example of where it would quite likely to be an offence would be if the recipient of a birthday card incorrectly delivered to him opened the envelope, then removed and kept money inside the card.
 

185143

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Opened it.

It's a cheque from TPE. Phoned them up, the advisor was rather surprised and mentioned he'd never, ever heard of this happening! Been told to rip up the cheque and send a picture to customer services so they know it's no longer in circulation and they can then get in touch with the customer it was intended for and send another cheque to them.

How odd!
 

AlterEgo

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Opened it.

It's a cheque from TPE. Phoned them up, the advisor was rather surprised and mentioned he'd never, ever heard of this happening! Been told to rip up the cheque and send a picture to customer services so they know it's no longer in circulation and they can then get in touch with the customer it was intended for and send another cheque to them.

How odd!

Tell them to just put a stop on the cheque. No need to get you to send photos in.
 
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