Return to sender, address unknown

A man contacted our Office in frustration when the Ministry repeatedly sent mail to his address for a former tenant. He had returned the envelopes several times with a note stating “this person does not reside at this address,” but the Ministry mail did not stop.

When he contacted the Ministry to ask it to update its records, he was told that it could not change the information in its database unless contacted by the driver directly, not a third party. The Ministry also told him it requires notification from drivers and vehicle owners within six days of an address change.

Ombudsman staff asked the Ministry to review the issue. It responded that it doesn’t have the resources or authority to trace and locate drivers, but that it would review the legislation and consider what could be done about similar cases.

Read about how we helped other people in our Selected cases.