Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Letterbox
Some years ago, we bought a plot of land in a new housing release estate and built our house. Each plot of land in this new estate was given a number on the plan but this is not the address number. One by one, when the houses were built, the local councils allocated an address number to each house. This number given by the Council is the actual address number and is different to the plot number on the plan.
Soon after we moved in, we began to receive letters bearing our address number but belonging to Mick, one of the plot owners in the estate. At the time, we thought that it was a simple case of Mick making a mistake in giving out his house address number to his friends. Being a good Samaritan, we collected the letters and dropped them into Mick’s letterbox. This carried on for weeks and months. Finally we decided that instead of dropping the letters into Mick’s letter box, we would hand the letters personally to him and request him to inform his friends on his correct address. We did so, but the letters (and plenty of junk mails) continued to arrive at our letterbox.
On two occasions, some strangers knocked at our door and asked to see Mick. We explained that Mick never live here but rather, he lived further down the road. We also advised them that they should tell Mick that Mick had given them the wrong address. Nevertheless, letters addressing to Mick continued to bear our house address and delivered to our letterbox.
A few more months passed, we decided that enough is enough and instead of handing the letter to Mick or drop in his letterbox, we returned all of them to the post office to be returned to senders with the marking of wrong address on the envelope. Since then, our letterbox was less clogged up by these unsolicited letters, though they continued to arrive at lesser number and frequency.
One evening six years later, I had a knock on my front door. I opened the door and there they were, Mick and his wife. Mick informed me that he was expecting a letter from one of his friend and asked me whether I have received that letter. I asked Mick why would his letter be sent to my house and I was not running a postal service. I told Mick that he should not continue to give his friends and other my address. Instead he should give them his real address. Nothing can be simpler than this. Instead Mick insisted that my house number was once his number too. Who knows where he got that idea. Needless to say, Mick and his wife left disappointed.
After that day, we still received occasional letter addressed to Mick and send to my house. And I continued to return these to the local post office to be returned to the senders.
When would Mick really learned? Or would there be other motives why Mick continued to behave in the wrong way?
Soon after we moved in, we began to receive letters bearing our address number but belonging to Mick, one of the plot owners in the estate. At the time, we thought that it was a simple case of Mick making a mistake in giving out his house address number to his friends. Being a good Samaritan, we collected the letters and dropped them into Mick’s letterbox. This carried on for weeks and months. Finally we decided that instead of dropping the letters into Mick’s letter box, we would hand the letters personally to him and request him to inform his friends on his correct address. We did so, but the letters (and plenty of junk mails) continued to arrive at our letterbox.
On two occasions, some strangers knocked at our door and asked to see Mick. We explained that Mick never live here but rather, he lived further down the road. We also advised them that they should tell Mick that Mick had given them the wrong address. Nevertheless, letters addressing to Mick continued to bear our house address and delivered to our letterbox.
A few more months passed, we decided that enough is enough and instead of handing the letter to Mick or drop in his letterbox, we returned all of them to the post office to be returned to senders with the marking of wrong address on the envelope. Since then, our letterbox was less clogged up by these unsolicited letters, though they continued to arrive at lesser number and frequency.
One evening six years later, I had a knock on my front door. I opened the door and there they were, Mick and his wife. Mick informed me that he was expecting a letter from one of his friend and asked me whether I have received that letter. I asked Mick why would his letter be sent to my house and I was not running a postal service. I told Mick that he should not continue to give his friends and other my address. Instead he should give them his real address. Nothing can be simpler than this. Instead Mick insisted that my house number was once his number too. Who knows where he got that idea. Needless to say, Mick and his wife left disappointed.
After that day, we still received occasional letter addressed to Mick and send to my house. And I continued to return these to the local post office to be returned to the senders.
When would Mick really learned? Or would there be other motives why Mick continued to behave in the wrong way?
