Why was my letter sent back to me as "returned to sender" when all my other mail has gone thru?

Question

I have been writing to my girlfriend in jail for almost two months now with no issue whatsoever and then suddenly today (5/7) I received one of the letters back with the red stamp from the Post Office "Returned to Sender". The letter which I had received back was post marked 4/30, so I am not sure what happened exactly. She hasn't moved facilities and I called the jail to make sure she is there, and I have the right postage on the envelope so does anyone know what might have caused this to happen? I have seriously mailed countless letters without a problem prior to this and then suddenly I got one back today. I guess my greatest fear is that suddenly my mail is going to have issues going through for whatever reason so I want to ask if anyone has ever had an issue like this? Any suggestions why out of nowhere I had one of my letters returned?

2009-05-07T17:09:53Z

I should clarify also, no mail that was mailed after 4/30 has been returned.

STEVEN F · Accepted Answer

There are SEVERAL possible reasons.  The first two that come to mind are:
1.  The post office made an error.
2.  Someone at the jail made an error.

Note: If the POST OFFICE DOES NOT stamp items 'return to sender'.  They use a yellow sticker that would have included SOME explanation of WHY.  It sounds like it WAS delivered to SOMEONE, and THEY stamped it 'Return to Sender'.

Rob and Kelly B · Answer

It was probably a simple mistake on behalf of one of the postal workers, they are human and it may have just been a really hectic day and they made a mistake, or you may have made a very small error on the addressing such as incorrect postcode or something similar. 

I wouldnt worry too much at this point if you keep having further mail returned then contact your post office and inquire as to why it is being returned, and they will answer your query.

The other option of course is that your gf has decided not to accept your mail, if that is the case you will need to take it up with her.

What Will The Spill Kill? · Answer

It could be as simple as someone making the mistake to sort that letter into a box for "Mail to Return" or something like that--or maybe someone misreading the name and deciding there is no such person there.  So, the best way to find out is by sending another letter and then to wait and see what happens.  Good luck....

Anonymous · Answer

It sounds like there may have written something in the letter that is a violation of the facilities policies regarding mail. All inmate mail is read and inspected for contraband prior to delivery. Try calling the facility to find out a more specific answer.

? · Answer

Or they have moved from that address and someone returned ti to you

Why was my letter sent back to me as "returned to sender" when all my other mail has gone thru?

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