patrick.net

Depends.

If you are in a condo or apartment complex, and it just got the wrong suite, put a sticky note on it explaining you accidentally received it, and shove it under the door. If you prefer, you can knock on the door when you do this, and possibly talk to the neighbor explaining the mistake.

If you are in a single family home - go meet your neighbor and hand it off to them if they are nearby. It's your opportunity to show them you're a good guy. If you already knew your neighbor, this is what you would do anyhow. This is your opportunity to meet.

If the address is WAY off bring it into the post office explain the situation and let them handle it. You can also just write "delivered to the wrong address" on the envelope and dump it in the outgoing mail.

You can just write "Delivered to wrong address" on the envelope and put it back in your mailbox for the mailman to deal with when he comes back.

richwicks says

You can also just write "delivered to the wrong address" on the envelope and dump it in the outgoing mail.

Thats the solution I was offering.....the other guy writes NOT AT THIS ADDRESS....I told him he was screwing the guy

I throw it away, the guy that used to live here moved to another country. And most of it is promotional junkmail from companies that probably had him on file.

We got a package for someone on my street but a block down. I just took it to them and dropped it off.
Around the Corona lock down March 16th. The day I went home, there was a strange package to some weird name at our address.
Inside a padded envelope, there as rice crispy marshmallow bar, but made with Fruit loops, and a glass Cigar holder with a cone shaped translucent paper with what looked synthetic pot, a conical splief about 6 inches long. It was all individually wrapped in toilet paper and aluminum foil, lots of foil.

It creeped us all out, I threw it in the garbage can outside.

komputodo says

richwicks says

You can also just write "delivered to the wrong address" on the envelope and dump it in the outgoing mail.

Thats the solution I was offering.....the other guy writes NOT AT THIS ADDRESS....I told him he was screwing the guy

If the correct address has the wrong recipient, write "return to sender" and drop it into outgoing mail and let the sender figure it out.

I was just suggesting to be neighborly. I often get amazon packets at my door, bring them to the correct neighbor, and give them a knock. If they answer the door in time I explain the error and demonstrate to a person (which I'm generally meeting for the first time) I'm not an asshole and don't steal stuff. If they don't show up to the door, it only took me a minute anyhow.

I would expect them to do the same for me and who knows - perhaps they have?

If I know where it goes to I take it to the house.

I get the mail from three prior occupants. More than three people mind you, but actually the previous 3 groups of people that occupied this residence and ive been here two years already.

If they are that irresponsible, fuck em. I toss it in the trash.

Just remember the song
"Return to Sender. Address(-ee) unknown"

We get a fair amount of mixed up mail. If it is a neighbor, we just put it in the right box. Next door neighbor is a judge, and a skateboard from Amazon came to our doorstep. I just walked it over. It was a gift to a grand child.

I don't think you are supposed to deliver mail, however, I think only the post office can do that. Mailboxes are considered part of the post office, so you aren't supposed to use them for any purpose other than postmarked mail to your address. You are not authorized to 'invade' anybody else's mail box or to use them for non-postmarked mail. If a neighbor was an asshoe, they could probably cite you for re-delivering mail to them even though correct.

i think technically you hand the mail back to the post office in one way or another and have them re-deliver it to the correct address.

House in Santa Cruz was a cash purchase foreclosure, so we got a lot of legal looking stuff and skip tracing stuff for people we did not recognize (but the correct address).

It's always someone in my immediate area and I just put it in their mailbox

Booger says

It's always someone in my immediate area and I just put it in their mailbox

How do you put it in the correct mailbox in the multi-mailbox ? Is there a slot?

I don't think there is an obligation to do anything with mail that isn't first class. That said, I just stick the wrong-address mail (of any class) back in the slot in my garage wall. The mailman (femaleman, actually) picks it up the next day.

komputodo says

How do you put it in the correct mailbox in the multi-mailbox ? Is there a slot?

At my current location, we have regular mailboxes, so it's not an issue. When I lived in an apartment, I would slip it under their door.