Time and again I get mail addressed with my old name which is my ex husbands wifes name now(we have the same first name). Even though we have different middle initials I think they assume that I am her since I lived at this address before I changed my name back to my maiden name and I was on mailing lists with him. We have been divorced for 10 years and yet I think because she has my old name they are linking it to his and assuming it's me. I wonder if she's getting mail at her house with my middle initial and how it can be looked into or stopped. I called one place and told them this and they said they'd take the name off of their list for this address but I still get other mail and don't know if it's for the old me or her. Any suggestions on how to get this straightened out? Some of the mail is from credit card companies and I want to make sure my credit doesn't get misused.
Who knows!?!?
I've been divorced since 83 - bought this house in 91, just me on the deed -- and sometimes I get mail addressed to the ex here ??? WTH???
For things with your middle initial, you could fill out another change of address with the post office.
For things without your middle initial, there isn't much you can do since what is hers and what is yours is a mystery.
Just write return to sender or refused on the mail and return it to the post office. This may or may not work. We still get mail on occasion for someone who has been dead for a few years. Last month my parents got a jury summons for me in a state I haven't lived in for over 5 years and I still get local tax notices from my college town. Sometimes all you can do is recycle the mail or throw it away.
If it looks important be a dear and forward it to her and ask that she do the same if she happens to have the same situation at her house where she is getting mail intended for you. If it appears to be junk then recycle it.
If your main concern is that your credit doesn't get misused then you can put a freeze on your credit. You have to do it at all three credit places. Because you have the same name as your ex's new wife you'll need to make sure to use your middle initial and or middle name (you wouldn't want them to freeze her credit instead). By doing this, no one can check your credit. If you need to get a loan at any time then you have to pay to have the freeze temporarily removed. It costs $5 at each credit place for a total of $15. You also have to pay that $15 initially to get the credit freeze. If you prefer something you don't have to monitor, you can check into a company that will do it for you for a fee...I think it's called "lifewatch" or something like that. Either of these options also helps protect you from identity theft.
Edit: It's called lifelock (sorry for the name mistake)
Not sure that you can do much about the junk mail. But it's junk, so who cares, right? For all the important stuff, like bills, bank statements, doctors, subscriptions you could call and make sure they have the right name on record and that they are not sending duplicate mail to any other name. The thing with mailing lists, is that they never go away. I still get mail in my maiden name at my mom's house, and I've never even lived at that particular address!! I've moved around A LOT through college and beyond... It makes you wonder how many addresses you still get mail at! As long as you are not missing anything important, junk mail is junk and I'm sure it's just tossed anyhow. I guess the only thing you could do is to call her up and ask her to extend the courtesy of forwarding any important looking mail to your address, and you will do the same. It's a pain, but the likelihood that you will actually need to do it is low. Do keep an eye on your credit report though, it's far too easy for errors to show up when there are two people with the same name, especially both being married to the same man at one time or another.
I don't know any easy way of fixing this other than contacting each place that this mail comes from. Going forward, you might want to start spelling out your middle name on any forms you fill out to make the difference more obvious. Have you talked with her about this issue? Could she help you out with this?
I have the same first/last name as my exhusband's first ex-wife (confusing enough?) but different middle names. I haven't had any issues with mail, but a credit report once showed me living at the address that the two of them had lived at when they were married (I never lived there) based on assumptions made just on fname/lname.
Did they create the sitcom "The new adventures of Old Christine" about you?!!
Check w/ your post office, get a credit report and put your Middle initial on EVERYTHING!
I'd ask your post office what you should do. It seems like maybe you both should put middle initials on everything. Also make sure the post office knows there is a difference. ??? My daughter and I have the same name with different initials so I make sure everything has our initials on it. That would be very annoying. Good luck!!
