Receiving Incorrectly Addressed Emails: What Do You Do?

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Tinshed

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#194898 29-Mar-2016 12:01

As someone with half-a-dozen different emails addresses it is not uncommon for me to receive emails that are clearly not meant for me. Usually it is a mistake in the e-mail address and sometimes it is clear that the e-mail address has been recorded incorrectly. Depending on the content of these e-mails I usually just ignore them. Sometimes I will write back with a one-liner "incorrect email address" response but I am less and less inclined to do this. If people can't get an email address right, why should I spend time correcting them? However I am currently receiving e-mails from a pro-Trump supporter in America who is incorrectly sending me emails meant for a friend of hers. The links in the e-mails are hilarious! Talk about right-wing conspiratorial freaks. I am tempted to troll her but that seems a bit petty.

What do others do when they receive incorrectly addressed e-mails?

Tinshed
Wellington, New Zealand

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Ultimate Geek

#1522165 29-Mar-2016 12:06

Remove them / mark as spam

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Hammerer

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#1522168 29-Mar-2016 12:13

I used to return a message but I now delete. I also mark as spam if I am certain.

I've received many spam items which appear to be incorrectly addressed emails. They look like personal messages but when I respond with "incorrect address" I find I get more spam.

dclegg

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#1522170 29-Mar-2016 12:16

Tinshed:

However I am currently receiving e-mails from a pro-Trump supporter in America who is incorrectly sending me emails meant for a friend of hers. The links in the e-mails are hilarious! Talk about right-wing conspiratorial freaks. I am tempted to troll her but that seems a bit petty.

What do others do when they receive incorrectly addressed e-mails?

In this case I'd recommend sharing them on a website, or dedicated forum thread here for our amusement :-)

Like you, I generally look at the contents to see if the sender should be notified. If it's obvious spam, or content looks reasonably unimportant, I delete. But if it looks like an email with reasonably important actionable items, I'll generally let the sender know.

wsnz

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#1522457 29-Mar-2016 20:10

So if physical mail turns up misaddressed, what do you normally do? Bin it?

tdgeek

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#1522470 29-Mar-2016 20:48

I see many mistyped email addresses used by customers asking serious questions or requesting services. I can't get over it. near enough isn't good enough, but its often so casual.

MikeB4

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#1522471 29-Mar-2016 20:51

I send a reply if it's an obvious mistake, if it's spam other I delete

Geektastic

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#1522501 29-Mar-2016 22:09

Depends what it says...!

sleemanj

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#1522786 30-Mar-2016 13:49

My domain name is very close to one used by a large travel company, I am constantly getting emails asking to confirm their travel bookings, make urgent changes to travel bookings, from hotels complaining their invoices havn't been paid by said company, or cancelling bookings, or....

I gave up caring long ago. If people can't manage to give out, or type in their correct email address, I can't be bothered to care when they turn up to the airport on the wrong day or whatever.

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James Sleeman
I sell lots of stuff for electronic enthusiasts...

dclegg

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#1522796 30-Mar-2016 13:52

wsnz:

So if physical mail turns up misaddressed, what do you normally do? Bin it?

We're still getting snail mail for the previous owner of our house, four years after moving in. So I take a similar approach to the one I take with email. If it is obvious junk mail, I bin it. If its junk mail status can't be determined, I return to sender.

Tinshed

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Ultimate Geek

#1522848 30-Mar-2016 15:55

Thanks for your replies. I should have made it clearer that the e-mails I was talking about were those incorrectly addressed to one of my emails addresses, and not spam. For example, someone once signed up at a local dentist with one of my e-mails. I wrote back to them saying the e-mail address was wrong and I was not person so-and-so. I got a very snippy reply from the receptionist saying, "Well that is what you wrote down so it must be correct!" I am agree with seemanj and tdgeek - if people can't type in their, or others e-mail addresses correctly, then I don't really see it as my problem - especially if they do so on a consistent basis. In the current e-mails I am incorrectly getting, this arrived this morning "Odd that it didn’t get to you yesterday….here it is again"!

Tinshed
Wellington, New Zealand

xpd

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#1522861 30-Mar-2016 16:03

dclegg:

wsnz:

So if physical mail turns up misaddressed, what do you normally do? Bin it?

We're still getting snail mail for the previous owner of our house, four years after moving in. So I take a similar approach to the one I take with email. If it is obvious junk mail, I bin it. If its junk mail status can't be determined, I return to sender.

5 years now, and still get letters from companies for the previous owner.... have contacted said companies who acknowledge the fact the previous owners arent even in the country anymore, yet still send them to our address.... just bin them all now.

Had lots of NZ Police letters turn up at our number but not specify which unit, with a name on them which has never been at either unit. Those get sent "RTS, not at this address".

Gavin / xpd / FastRaccoon / Geek of Coastguard New Zealand

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xpd

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#1522864 30-Mar-2016 16:06

During my ihug days, I had ihug.co.nz@ihug.co.nz for a laugh.... was amazing how many account queries etc came through that :D

ihugsux@ihug.co.nz however got very little.... IHUG call center manager saw it on my account and just said "not very appropriate is it" - I was working for them at the time.

Gavin / xpd / FastRaccoon / Geek of Coastguard New Zealand

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andrew027

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#1522868 30-Mar-2016 16:19

dclegg: We're still getting snail mail for the previous owner of our house, four years after moving in. So I take a similar approach to the one I take with email. If it is obvious junk mail, I bin it. If its junk mail status can't be determined, I return to sender.

We've only been in our new house six months and get the odd thing for the previous owners, but one of them works for the same organisation as my wife so she sticks it in their internal mail and they update their details with the senders.

We're also getting the odd bit of mail for the owners before the previous owners who moved out about five years ago. One of them was from a bank in the UK and (from a quick feel of the envelope) contained new EFTPOS or credit cards. They aren't in the phone book and Google didn't help but in desperation I spoke to the neighbours and one of them is still friends with the old old owners and knows where they live. They gave me contact details and I was able to pass the mail on. I now have an arrangement that if anything else turns up I put it in the friend-neighbour's letter box and they take care of it.

richms

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#1522869 30-Mar-2016 16:23

xpd:

During my ihug days, I had ihug.co.nz@ihug.co.nz for a laugh.... was amazing how many account queries etc came through that :D

ihugsux@ihug.co.nz however got very little.... IHUG call center manager saw it on my account and just said "not very appropriate is it" - I was working for them at the time.

I had f_ckoff@ihug when I was there. Similar response. Except it had the u. cant put that on here or the forum will complain.

Richard rich.ms

SepticSceptic

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#1522878 30-Mar-2016 16:50

xpd:

dclegg:

wsnz:

So if physical mail turns up misaddressed, what do you normally do? Bin it?

We're still getting snail mail for the previous owner of our house, four years after moving in. So I take a similar approach to the one I take with email. If it is obvious junk mail, I bin it. If its junk mail status can't be determined, I return to sender.

5 years now, and still get letters from companies for the previous owner.... have contacted said companies who acknowledge the fact the previous owners arent even in the country anymore, yet still send them to our address.... just bin them all now.

Had lots of NZ Police letters turn up at our number but not specify which unit, with a name on them which has never been at either unit. Those get sent "RTS, not at this address".

I used to get persistent previous owner mail, even after advising "RTS, no longer at this address".

I find that "RTS - Addressee deceased" works. Every time ....

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