Will I be Prosocuted??

[inky]

I have lived at My Address 2 Years in September and I sometimes still recieve the Ex Tenants Mail, when I do, usually I do not open it and it just ends up going in the Bin, as I don't think I can forward it on as I think the Ex Tenant has Passed Away, according to what Neighbors have said!!!!!!! But there has been a few occasional Times when by mistake, I or My Partner have opened the Ex Tenants Mail without looking on the Front, just assuming it's for us, (Until we read the Letter) and then realise it is not for us

Well My Problem is, that sometime last Year we received a Letter and By Mistake and opened it without looking at the name, inside was a Staff Railcard (The Ex Tenant must have been Employed By Network Rail at some point) It said on the back of the Card, that if it was found and handed in a Reward was paid, so I took it into the Train Station and handed it in and got a 10 Pound Reward.

Then a Couple of weeks ago, We did the same thing again, opened a Letter without looking assuming it was Addressed to us, well inside was another Railcard, My Nephew who is 10 was staying at the Time and He saw the Card and asked if He could have the Reward, I said Yes!! As I wasn't going to waste My Time going into the Train Station for 10 Pounds, it was just a Tenner!!

But when I took this in to get the Reward for My Nephew, they said that they remembered My Face from the Year before when I previously handed one in, She took some Details from Me, I gave Her My First Name, but I gave Her My Partners last Name and I gave them My Sisters Address, but the Right Telephone Number

They have been in touch Today to say that it is now being Dealt with By The Revenue Protection, I think that's what She said and that someone will be in touch

I told Her that I was handing the Card in, I wasn't Intending to use it, so what was the Problem, She said that We need to find out who has been opening the Persons Mail as they have done some research and believe that the Man is deceased, She also said that the Address I gave (My Sisters Address) Didn't match up to the mans, so they want to know how I have been getting hold of these Cards

What do You think will happen for opening the Mans Mail, even though it was by mistake, but I did hand His Railcard into the Train Station??

 

[michael769]

Assuming it was genuinly addressed to your home you have nothing to worry about IMO.

While it is indeed an offence to dishonestly open mail not addressed to you, no offence is comitted if you do it by accident - and it is perfectly credible that a householder would innocently open mail posted theough their letter box without checking the front of it. The fact that you handed the contents in will support your version of events.

It sounds like they have identified something fishy around these cards that requires further investigation. This is probably down to you having given them your sisters address rather than your own, which would seem a little suspicious to an outsider With out the context behind your actions. As part of that you will no doubt be interviewed as a potential witness. The best thing you can do is to co-operate and give them your real address. Obviously you can expect to be asked to explain why you did not give your own address up front, But I don't see that there is much for you to worry about at this stage, as you appear to have a credible and understandable reason for that.

Obviously if it emerges that investigators suspect you of an offence, you should seek further advice.

 

[455driver]

So you "accidentally" opened the first letter and instead of destroying it, you decided that in future you would open someone elses mail so you could claim the reward for handing in the passes instead of just writting on the unopened envelope "no longer at this address" and popping it into a postbox when convenient!

When the post turns up we always look to see who it is addressed to, I dont open my partners mail and she doesnt open mine.

If you dont return the letters how do you think the letters will stop?
Or are you happy enough to keep opening other peoples mail so you can claim the "reward"?

Edit-
I see you have also given a false name and address as well.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Assuming it was genuinly addressed to your home you have nothing to worry about IMO.

While it is indeed an offence to dishonestly open mail not addressed to you, no offence is comitted if you do it by accident - and it is perfectly credible that a householder would innocently open mail posted theough their letter box without checking the front of it. The fact that you handed the contents in will support your version of events.

It sounds like they have identified something fishy around these cards that requires further investigation. This is probably down to you having given them your sisters address rather than your own, which would seem a little suspicious to an outsider With out the context behind your actions. As part of that you will no doubt be interviewed as a potential witness. The best thing you can do is to co-operate and give them your real address. Obviously you can expect to be asked to explain why you did not give your own address up front, But I don't see that there is much for you to worry about at this stage, as you appear to have a credible and understandable reason for that.

Obviously if it emerges that investigators suspect you of an offence, you should seek further advice.

The first time he opened the letter was an accident, the second time wasnt.
They were not "just handed in" though were they, the letter was knowingly opened so the lad could claim the finders fee!

 

[6Gman]

So you "accidentally" opened the first letter and instead of destroying it, you decided that in future you would open someone elses mail so you could claim the reward for handing in the passes instead of just writting on the unopened envelope "no longer at this address" and popping it into a postbox when convenient!

If you dont return the letters how do you think the letters will stop?
Or are you happy enough to keep opening other peoples mail so you can claim the "reward"?
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

The first time he opened the letter was an accident, the second time wasnt.
They were not "just handed in" though were they, the letter was knowingly opened so the lad could claim the finders fee!

And the reward is for people who FIND a card which has been LOST by its rightful owner.

Not for people who receive misdirected post!

 

[Phirstman]

The first time he opened the letter was an accident, the second time wasnt.
They were not "just handed in" though were they, the letter was knowingly opened so the lad could claim the finders fee!

This was what the OP has stated...

Then a Couple of weeks ago, We did the same thing again, opened a Letter without looking assuming it was Addressed to us, well inside was another Railcard, My Nephew who is 10 was staying at the Time and He saw the Card and asked if He could have the Reward, I said Yes!! As I wasn't going to waste My Time going into the Train Station for 10 Pounds, it was just a Tenner!!

 

[michael769]

Why did the ToC send out the second after the first was handed in? How could someone with no connection to the railway be reasonably expected to identify it was another card after a period of months?

Given that they seem to have ignored the first being handed in and continued to send another out, what grounds are there for a reasonable person to think that they would pay any better heed to a return to sender?

Would they prefer that it fell into the wrong hands and was used for ticket fraud?

I the ToC does not want to be paying out rewards they should take better care of these cards, sending them out after one has been handed in without a basic check with the rightful holder is negligence pure and simple.

 

[455driver]

If the first one was returned unopened with "no longer at this address" written on the front of the envelope then it is unlikely another one would have been sent out, the fact the first one was handed in as "found" means that the TOC (ATOC actually) would simply send out the renewal when due, why wouldnt they?

 

[michael769]

Surely they would check wth the holder to ascertain why it was not reported as lost before sending another?

To just send one out without making any enquiries is asking for trouble IMO.

 

[455driver]

Some people dont use the passes so wouldnt know/couldnt care if the passes were lost.

Do you consider it acceptible to open someone elses post (twice) and then claim a reward?

 

[jon0844]

Some people dont use the passes so wouldnt know/couldnt care if the passes were lost.

Do you consider it acceptible to open someone elses post (twice) and then claim a reward?

Tough question. If it came to your address, I expect you could accidentally open mail not addressed to you many times. If I get a lot of post, I will open it all quite quickly and sometimes that means I have opened a letter to my wife (not helped that we both have the same initial!). You can't just say it would only ever happen the once.

What you do with the post after you've opened it is another issue though. If you realised that you shouldn't have opened something, do you contact the rightful owner (if you can) or the sender - or just panic and bin it/burn it as I can imagine someone might do to avoid getting into trouble, even if that might be an even worse offence!

 

[inky]

Some people dont use the passes so wouldnt know/couldnt care if the passes were lost.

Do you consider it acceptible to open someone elses post (twice) and then claim a reward?

We don't often get alot of Mail Addressed to this Ex Tenant and we don't read the front of envelopes when we open them, My Partner opens my mail I open His, We are a Couple I have nothing to Hide, the first time My Partner opened it by Mistake, the Second Time I opened it by Mistake, this was when My 10 Year old Nephew was staying over, I saw the Card and wasn't going to claim on it, as
I am not that desperate for 10 Pounds, but My Nephew wanted it, I just don't really see the harm in ''Handing in a Card'' It's not like I intended to use it, or
let somebody else use it, I just thought it was harmless, I will be writing ''Not at this Address'' in future
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Assuming it was genuinly addressed to your home you have nothing to worry about IMO.

While it is indeed an offence to dishonestly open mail not addressed to you, no offence is comitted if you do it by accident - and it is perfectly credible that a householder would innocently open mail posted theough their letter box without checking the front of it. The fact that you handed the contents in will support your version of events.

It sounds like they have identified something fishy around these cards that requires further investigation. This is probably down to you having given them your sisters address rather than your own, which would seem a little suspicious to an outsider With out the context behind your actions. As part of that you will no doubt be interviewed as a potential witness. The best thing you can do is to co-operate and give them your real address. Obviously you can expect to be asked to explain why you did not give your own address up front, But I don't see that there is much for you to worry about at this stage, as you appear to have a credible and understandable reason for that.

Obviously if it emerges that investigators suspect you of an offence, you should seek further advice.

What actually happened is when I went in to claim the Reward the Lady at the desk said she would be a while sorting it out as she had to go through some stuff, so she told me to write my name and address on a piece of Paper, I gave My real first name but my partners last name (I usually use My partners last name for things which are not official, such as Boots Advantage Card, Iceland Bonus Card etc) She told Me to write My Name and Address down so they could get in touch with me about the reward, the reason why I gave My Sisters Address was because it was My Nephew I was claiming the reward for, I just didn't think that handing it in would be bad, because there could have been worse things I could have done with it, such as gave it to someone else so they could get free rail or used it myself, but I never, so wish I had never done it
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Some people dont use the passes so wouldnt know/couldnt care if the passes were lost.

Do you consider it acceptible to open someone elses post (twice) and then claim a reward?

The mail was opened BY MISTAKE, both times!!!!!!!
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Tough question. If it came to your address, I expect you could accidentally open mail not addressed to you many times. If I get a lot of post, I will open it all quite quickly and sometimes that means I have opened a letter to my wife (not helped that we both have the same initial!). You can't just say it would only ever happen the once.

What you do with the post after you've opened it is another issue though. If you realised that you shouldn't have opened something, do you contact the rightful owner (if you can) or the sender - or just panic and bin it/burn it as I can imagine someone might do to avoid getting into trouble, even if that might be an even worse offence!

The rightful owner is Deceased
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

And the reward is for people who FIND a card which has been LOST by its rightful owner.

Not for people who receive misdirected post!

I know I should have, but I honestly didn't think of it like that at first, I just assumed that as long as they got the card back it doesn't matter how it was found, I thought that it was better for it to be handed in than Me or someone else trying to use it on Trains

 

[soil]

I know I should have, but I honestly didn't think of it like that at first, I just assumed that as long as they got the card back it doesn't matter how it was found, I thought that it was better for it to be handed in than Me or someone else trying to use it on Trains

How would someone have tried to use it on the trains if it had been sent to you by mistake? The only way that could happen is if you used it criminally, or encouraged someone else to do the same.

It seems that you tried to claim a £10 reward twice, oops, silly you, that wasn't worth it, was it?

 

[455driver]

We don't often get alot of Mail Addressed to this Ex Tenant and we don't read the front of envelopes when we open them, My Partner opens my mail I open His, We are a Couple I have nothing to Hide,

Fair enough, each to their own.

I am not that desperate for 10 Pounds, but My Nephew wanted it, I just don't really see the harm in ''Handing in a Card''

You handed the card in twice to gain financially so it might appear that you did want the £10.

I just thought it was harmless, I will be writing ''Not at this Address'' in future

Claiming a reward after opening another persons post (whether they are deceased or not) is still against the law.

What actually happened is when I went in to claim the Reward the Lady at the desk said she would be a while sorting it out as she had to go through some stuff, so she told me to write my name and address on a piece of Paper, I gave My real first name but my partners last name (I usually use My partners last name for things which are not official, such as Boots Advantage Card, Iceland Bonus Card etc) She told Me to write My Name and Address down so they could get in touch with me about the reward, the reason why I gave My Sisters Address was because it was My Nephew I was claiming the reward for, I just didn't think that handing it in would be bad, because there could have been worse things I could have done with it, such as gave it to someone else so they could get free rail or used it myself, but I never, so wish I had never done it

Can you see how giving the correct first name with a false surname and a different address might appear odd? If you have got other cards with the same set up on it might help but when asked for your name and address that is what they want.

Just handing it in wouldnt be bad, claiming a finders fee when doing so is a bit different.
If you hadnt been rumbled would you have "accidentaly" opened the letter next year?

There isnt much anyone can do until the letter arrives to see what action (if any) is being taken and why, it is just a waiting game.

 

[Scotty]

And the reward is for people who FIND a card which has been LOST by its rightful owner.

Not for people who receive misdirected post!

And the card certainly isn't lost, if it has been delivered to the specified address.

OP: Did you mention when you handed the first one in at the station, that the person was deceased?

 

[jon0844]

The rightful owner is Deceased

That's why I said 'if you can' as I was talking more generally. It does seem that after the first card was handed back, presumably with the reason explained (i.e. the intended owner was no longer with us) they should have stopped any further cards going out.

Assuming things like this go out to other people who are deceased, but in this case to the rightful home, it can often be distressing to other family members.

 

[455driver]

A lot of "presumptions" there JM, the OP has never said anything about informing the sender (or anyone) that the cards were sent to the correct address but the intended recipient had passed away!

 

[michael769]

A lot of "presumptions" there JM, the OP has never said anything about informing the sender (or anyone) that the cards were sent to the correct address but the intended recipient had passed away!

But does mention that the ToC admitted to suspecting that they had passed away!

She said that We need to find out who has been opening the Persons Mail as they have done some research and believe that the Man is deceased,

 

[inky]

How would someone have tried to use it on the trains if it had been sent to you by mistake? The only way that could happen is if you used it criminally, or encouraged someone else to do the same.

It seems that you tried to claim a £10 reward twice, oops, silly you, that wasn't worth it, was it?

Exactly, what I am saying is I could of done far more worse things than hand it in for a Reward, I could have gave it to someone else to use, or used it myself, I never, they got it back!!
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Just handing it in wouldnt be bad, claiming a finders fee when doing so is a bit different.
If you hadnt been rumbled would you have "accidentaly" opened the letter next year?

There isnt much anyone can do until the letter arrives to see what action (if any) is being taken and why, it is just a waiting game.[/QUOTE]


These Letters were opened by Mistake, I didn't know what was going to be inside when they were opened, so when You say will I be opening them next Year, You make it sound like I knew it was from the Railway, We didn't!!
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
I didn't know all the Laws on Post and things like that, I honestly didn't, I remember at My Last Address I lived in a Little Block of Flats (12 Flats in all) And our Postboxes were at the Front of the Buliding, when other People in there used to get Mail for someone else, they used to Leave it on the Side near the Main Door, then when the Cleaners came Round to Clean the Buliding, they just used to throw it in a Binbag and Bin it, I seen them to do it plenty of Times, So I didn't fully understand the Laws on Post, I just thought that there wasn't one, seeing as what I'd seen in the Past, You arn't taught about these Kind of Laws at School, I'm only Young, I honestly didn't know it was this Important, I feel Bad
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Fair enough, each to their own.


You handed the card in twice to gain financially so it might appear that you did want the £10.



Claiming a reward after opening another persons post (whether they are deceased or not) is still against the law.




Can you see how giving the correct first name with a false surname and a different address might appear odd? If you have got other cards with the same set up on it might help but when asked for your name and address that is what they want.

Just handing it in wouldnt be bad, claiming a finders fee when doing so is a bit different.
If you hadnt been rumbled would you have "accidentaly" opened the letter next year?

There isnt much anyone can do until the letter arrives to see what action (if any) is being taken and why, it is just a waiting game.

They didn't ask for My Name Address so they could Investigate this, they asked because they was gong to give Me the reward, but She said She was going to be a while sorting it so told Me to write My Name and Address and Phone Number on a piece of Paper, at this Point I really felt like saying it's ok about the Reward, but She had the Pen and Paper in My Face so I just wrote it down, I just wanted to get out of there to be honest, I felt Embarrased Claiming it, but My 10 Year old Nephew wanted it so I thought I was being Nice,

when I took the one in the Year before, I didn't know how much I would get or what I would get, I didn't sign the back to make it look more Official ethier, for all I know they could have said that they can't pay out a Reward if the Card wasn't Signed, I did think of this, but still didn't sign, as I wasn't fussed if I got a Reward or not, I just handed it in!!

I do have My Advantage Card from Boots with the exact First Name and last Name that I gave
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

That's why I said 'if you can' as I was talking more generally. It does seem that after the first card was handed back, presumably with the reason explained (i.e. the intended owner was no longer with us) they should have stopped any further cards going out.

Assuming things like this go out to other people who are deceased, but in this case to the rightful home, it can often be distressing to other family members.

I thought that sometimes even when People are Deceased, Letters can still be sent out to them, Someone told Me it's a Automated Computer System that Sends them regardless, I never told them the First Time that the Guy was Deceased, I didn't know we would recieve more in the Future, I never knew that people on Railways got free Travel Cards every Year, what do You think I should do in Regards to this? Advice Appreciated