Opening post not addressed to you????

Elbows22

I dont know if i am in the right section but il try anyway. I moved out of a house there a while back. Now due to recession etc i could not afford to pay a bank loan which was passed onto a debt collectors agency. I got a text from the ex housemate who ive been on bad terms with saying do this or do that or i will be getting in contact with the agency to pass on details of where you live and work etc and rota times ( he works in the same building - different department) - Now the funny thing is I rang the company who advised they sent a letter ,not an agent.
Now what i need to know is:
1. Is it illegal to open post addressed to someone else and if so what are the consequences?
2. As regards giving out my rota (even though unknown to him Ive been in touch with the company) - how does that affect data protection in the workplace etc?
What options do i have?

Scotty #

http://debates.oireachtas.ie/dail/1979/04/25/00013.asp

"If any person not in the employment of the Postmaster-General wilfully and maliciously, with intent to injure any other person, either opens or causes to be opened any letter which ought to have been delivered to that other person, or does any act or thing whereby the due delivery of the letter to that other person is prevented or impeded, he shall be guilty of a misdemeanour, and be liable to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds, or to imprisonment, with or without hard labour, for any term not exceeding six months."

BrianD

Scotty # wrote: »

http://debates.oireachtas.ie/dail/1979/04/25/00013.asp

"If any person not in the employment of the Postmaster-General wilfully and maliciously, with intent to injure any other person, either opens or causes to be opened any letter which ought to have been delivered to that other person, or does any act or thing whereby the due delivery of the letter to that other person is prevented or impeded, he shall be guilty of a misdemeanour, and be liable to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds, or to imprisonment, with or without hard labour, for any term not exceeding six months."

It would be my understanding that this applies to items of post before they are delivered to an address.

It would be not wrong for post to be opened once it has been delivered to the correct address.

For example, it is quite common for employers to open all post that arrives at a business and then distribute it to the employees it was addressed to.

Alternatively, if I was receiving unidentified post (i.e no sender info on envelope) it would be appropriate to open the envelope to get a return address.

However, in the OPs situation the opening of post is almost irrelevant. The other party is engaging effectively in blackmail and using private information from his place of employment to commit a potentially illegal act. This person could be in serious trouble - perhaps the OP should remind him of this or advise his employer.

In the mean time, you are probably best to start dealing directly with the debt agency. At least, this removes the 'blackmail' power from your former housemate.

Looks, like the tables could be well and truely turned!

James Jones

BrianD wrote: »

It would be my understanding that this applies to items of post before they are delivered to an address.

It would be not wrong for post to be opened once it has been delivered to the correct address.

For example, it is quite common for employers to open all post that arrives at a business and then distribute it to the employees it was addressed to.

This is particularly bad advice. Section 54 of the Post Office Act 1908 concerns "Criminal diversion of letters from addressee". The addressee is the person named on the item posted and the address is where the addressee lives. Two different words.

Nolanger

What happens if An Post open your letters in the sorting office?

Scotty #

Nolanger wrote: »

What happens if An Post open your letters in the sorting office?

First line of the act above... If any person not in the employment of the Postmaster-General wilfully and maliciously...

The Act does not apply to staff of An Post.

Scotty #

BrianD wrote: »

It would be not wrong for post to be opened once it has been delivered to the correct address.

For example, it is quite common for employers to open all post that arrives at a business and then distribute it to the employees it was addressed to.

Alternatively, if I was receiving unidentified post (i.e no sender info on envelope) it would be appropriate to open the envelope to get a return address.

The act specifically says "malicious purposes". Your examples are not malicious.

paky

as far as im aware, with regards to debt collectors, you have no legal obligation to pay them any money since you have no legal agreement with them. they can send all the letters they want but what can they do?

the_syco

paky wrote: »

they can send all the letters they want but what can they do?

If it's enough money, they can bring you to court. Heck, they can bring you to court anyway, but usually if it's only a small amount that you owe, they don't.

Our man in Havana

Debt collectors cannot take you to court. Only the owner of the alleged debt can.

the_syco

Our man in Havana wrote: »

Debt collectors cannot take you to court. Only the owner of the alleged debt can.

Oh? I thought it was the owner of the debt? If this is the case, they really are fools for setting up business in Ireland...

Del2005

Our man in Havana wrote: »

Debt collectors cannot take you to court. Only the owner of the alleged debt can.

Don't the debt collectors buy the debt from the original company/person? Therefore they own the debt and can chase you for it.

ArseBurger

Our man in Havana wrote: »

Debt collectors cannot take you to court. Only the owner of the alleged debt can.

Debt can be sold and ownership changed.

NAMA for example.

Our man in Havana

Del2005 wrote: »

Don't the debt collectors buy the debt from the original company/person? Therefore they own the debt and can chase you for it.

They don't for the small amounts involved.

The debt collector meerly acts as an agent of the owner of the debt and receives a % of anything they collect. The system in the UK is rather different where the debt collector might buy a job lot of small debts. That does not happen here, hence the original creditor must bring the legal proceedings in their name.

BrianD

James Jones wrote: »

This is particularly bad advice. Section 54 of the Post Office Act 1908 concerns "Criminal diversion of letters from addressee". The addressee is the person named on the item posted and the address is where the addressee lives. Two different words.

Most companies that I have worked for, it has been the policy that all mail is opened on arrival unless marked 'private and confidential'. Nothing unusual there.

The link you posted is the UK law. I would question if it applies to any post once it drops inside the letterbox of the intended address.

James Jones

BrianD wrote: »

Most companies that I have worked for, it has been the policy that all mail is opened on arrival unless marked 'private and confidential'. Nothing unusual there.

The link you posted is the UK law. I would question if it applies to any post once it drops inside the letterbox of the intended address.

But this is a private residence and not a workplace. Also, the act applies here as we were part of the UK in 1908 and the legislation has not been amended, hence the referral of it in the Dáil in the previous link.

Pkiernan

To get back on point a little:


There is another avenue for you here:

OP if a work colleague is saying that he will divulge your work address and details, he is almost certainly breaking the policies of your company that relate to personal information.

Tell you manager or HR department what your colleague is threatening to do.

Tell your manager that you may hold the company responsible for inappropriate use of your personal information if the other employee is not reprimanded.

Don't delete that text you were sent.

Also, call the Guards and say that your mail is being tampered with.