Rarely-known law that could see you face jail for opening letters

Households throughout the UK receive postal deliveries almost daily. Certain items might be sent to the wrong address completely or to somebody who no longer resides at the property. It could even be post that turns up for former partners or relatives who have relocated elsewhere.

Is it illegal to open someone else’s mail?

The Postal Service Act 2000 specifies that it is illegal to open post not addressed to you.

It states: “A person commits an offence if, without reasonable excuse, he- (a)intentionally delays or opens a postal packet in the course of its transmission by post, or (b)intentionally opens a mail-bag.”

It continues: “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.”

Can I open my partner’s mail?

The Postal Service Act states clearly that an individual is committing an offence if they deliberately open correspondence they know or suspect has been wrongly delivered to them. You require permission to open your spouse’s post.

If your husband or wife no longer lives with you, you could be committing an offence.

What happens if you open someone else’s mail?

There are severe penalties for opening with mail that does not belong to you, ranging from a financial penalty to even a prison sentence.

The act states: “A person who commits an offence under subsection (1) or (3) shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both.”

What to do if you receive someone else’s mail?

Royal Mail clarified that should you receive post with your address but an incorrect name, this happens because they deliver according to address rather than the recipient’s name.

Simply cross out the address on the letter and write ‘Not known at this address’ or ‘No longer lives here’ and put it back into a postbox.

Royal Mail said: “We’ll try to return it to the sender so they can update their records.”

Should you receive post that has neither your name nor address, Royal Mail acknowledges it’s “sorry for the mistake and inconvenience”.

It added: “Please drop the mail in a postbox when you can. There’s no need to add postage. We’ll handle it from there and deliver it to the correct address.”