USPS change of address question--pink card?

Everything else
1

Hi all, figured I’d ask this here first before braving the wilds of the USPS 1-800 number. Background: my 84 year-old mother is living with me due to memory issues so we filled out an official USPS change of address and forwarded everything sent to anyone with our last name here to my house (this would include my late father and mostly junk mail somehow still arriving for us “kids” and of course my mom’s normal mail).

Anyway, a couple of weeks after things had begun to be forwarded to my address, a hot pink card showed up in her mailbox (at the old address) from the USPS stating: Per our records this address is vacant. Please list here anyone who should still get mail here <–(except this last sentence wasn’t worded that clearly, which led to some confusion). I was going to call the USPS to ask about it so I set the card aside but my mom got ahold of it, misunderstood what it was about and filled out all our names on it and proceeded to send it in (it was postage paid) before I could stop her.

Is there anyone here who’s changed their address recently who can tell me, do you recall such a card, and what did you do with it? Did I understand correctly that it needed to be sent back only if there was still someone living at the old address?

Thanks so much for any replies/experiences.

2

I used to work in a USPS office years ago (military, but I know how they work). It’s just a card to confirm for the the local P.O. that it is empty. It is for when the new occupant moves in and can send in the card to let them know it is no longer vacant.

Seeing that the card is going to counter the info they have, your best bet is to go in and talk to someone. I would not call a 1-800 number, you want someone local (which they will probably pass a message on to call you).

3

Thanks. I was afraid of that. Like I need one more effing thing to do. Le sigh.

4

To be clear, I’d need to talk to someone at the local post office that serves her old address, right?

5

Yes, old address. You can try calling and they will most likely send a message to the servicing P.O. to call you. I have done that, and they called me back in about 24 hours.

You could also just do the card to forward it again. They may not think anything of it and just set it up to forward again.