If you aren't paying for it, please stop using it

[TootsNYC]

Also, I think you could simply draw a slash through the address without crossing out the bar code or writing "not at this address." That would make that MUCH faster. And then just hand it in at the window, or throw it in the mailbox on your way out of the post office.

Whatever is FASTEST for you.

[leaf_eater]

If you don't cross out the bar code it will be redelivered to the original address. Most mail is sorted by machines that read the bar code. The first person to actually look at it may be the one putting it in your mail box. Maybe not even then. 

When you black it out, it forces the mail to get hand sorted by an actual human who should follow the return to sender (or whatever) directions.

I've dealt with this in the past and I just let it accumulate until I had a few minutes to mark them up and throw them back in the mail stream.

[norrina]

I had a piece of mail at a previous address that came back to me no less than THREE times. First delivery, i made a line through the barcode and wrote RTS/AU in big letters (I've seen the postal service use this abbreviation themselves, and had used it previously with no issues). Second delivery, I used sharpie to completely obliterate the barcode and wrote out Return to Sender, Addressee Unknown. Third delivery, I put an "X" through the address and circled the Return to Sender, Addressee Unknown with red sharpie. The next day the mailman knocked on my door to tell me I wasn't to mark through the address, because then he couldn't see who the addressee was to make note of it. 

Thanks for the advice mrkitty. I'll start with the window clerk just because I don't know where else to get contact info for my city's postmaster, and then escalate from there up your chain of suggestions until I get satisfaction.

[Bijou]

I know it is inconvenient as all get out, but if the volume of mail is way too much, perhaps it's best just to move to a new mailbox?

I like this solution.  It's what I would do.

[Redsoil]

Get an A4 envelope.  Put all mail addressed to other company in it.  When it's full, post it to his home address with a note or simply mark it "Not known at this address", and drop off at PO when convenient to you.

[Margo]

Get an A4 envelope.  Put all mail addressed to other company in it.  When it's full, post it to his home address

I have to admit that after 2 years of getting lots of mail for the previous owner of my home, and after multiple requests that they get their mail redirected, this is what I did. EvilMargo  may have accidentally put insufficient postage on the envelope so they had to pay to get it.

[norrina]

I know it is inconvenient as all get out, but if the volume of mail is way too much, perhaps it's best just to move to a new mailbox?

I like this solution.  It's what I would do.

I agree that this could be a solution; however, it is not a solution I am willing to pursue. The po box was my company's only postal identity for nearly 2 months, and was printed on 500 business cards, many of which are in circulation. I opened the box specifically because I wanted the company to have an address at a time when I could not afford to rent a physical office. The costs of changing that address, particularly so early in the business' existence, far outweigh the benefit of no longer receiving someone else's mail, which is not guaranteed to not be an issue with a new box number in any event.

[bopper]

I would talk to someone at the post office and say "Stuff for Mr. XYZ's business keeps getting delivered to my box. It is going on 4 months now. I have dutifully marked this person doesn't use this box anymore but I am tired of it.   Can you please make sure nothing else gets delivered to it that isn't for me?"

[IWish]

It's possible that the previous owner actually HAS already filled out a change of address and these items are slipping through the cracks. Our office moved two months ago and we did fill out a change of address. We still have to swing by the old office once a week because the new tenants save a stack of mail each week that has not been forwarded. This is "real" mail, not junk mail or bulk mail. At this rate, it seems like 2/3 of our mail is being forwarded to our new address but 1/3 of it does not get flagged at the post office for whatever reason. If not for the kindness of the new tenants, we would be missing a lot of important mail.

OP, in your situation it is likely that the owner did not want to be found and thus did not fill out a change form. Your irritation is justified, but it probably needs to be shared between the previous owner and the post office. 

[TootsNYC]

you could also print out stickers w/ his new address on them, and put them on the front of the envelope, so they're forwarded to his home.

but frankly, i vote for sticking them all in an envelope until it's sort of full, and then handing the entire batch to someone at the post office and saying, "YOU deal with these." (Or, write on the front of the envelope: "All contents not at this address," seal it, and stick it in the mail slot.)

(If you think that mail will just get back in the mail stream and come back to you, maybe slash through the address w/ a Sharpie first--then you'll see if when it comes back the 2nd time)

It's the least amount of work, and the least amount of thinking about it.

[Minmom3]

Interesting.  I would have tossed it after the first month,  but now that I know it is federal offense, my mail lady will not like me anymore.

I will just give it back.  right?  Oh, I find a red sharpie is far more effective.

Why do you black out the barcode?

Because NOT blacking it out means that about half the time, you get the stupid thing back again.  What proved to be the most time and temper saving way for me to redirect mail-not-mine, was to print a few sheets of labels that said "MOVED, left no forwarding address" - I would put the label over the address, covering everything but the name.  It took months and months and months, but eventually, the stream of mail tapered down to reasonable amounts - 1 every 6 months or so.

[norrina]

In thinking about it a little more, I think a big part of why I am getting frustrated is not just because I have to spend a couple seconds marking the mail and putting it in the outgoing receptacle, but because often I make what turns out to be an unnecessary trip to the post office.

My post office (maybe all post offices, but I don't know that) offers a service whereby they will send you an email or text when you have received new mail. I only go to the post office when I have received such a notice. Except over half the time, the notice isn't for mail for my business. Truthfully, the other business isn't receiving a lot of mail, maybe two-four pieces a week, but its working out to a difference of whether I go once a week or two-three times. I don't necessarily drop everything and run to the post office the instant I get an email, but I do try to get over there within a day or two, as I am in a business where a fast turnaround time can be critical.

[secretrebel]

In thinking about it a little more, I think a big part of why I am getting frustrated is not just because I have to spend a couple seconds marking the mail and putting it in the outgoing receptacle, but because often I make what turns out to be an unnecessary trip to the post office.

My post office (maybe all post offices, but I don't know that) offers a service whereby they will send you an email or text when you have received new mail. I only go to the post office when I have received such a notice. Except over half the time, the notice isn't for mail for my business. Truthfully, the other business isn't receiving a lot of mail, maybe two-four pieces a week, but its working out to a difference of whether I go once a week or two-three times. I don't necessarily drop everything and run to the post office the instant I get an email, but I do try to get over there within a day or two, as I am in a business where a fast turnaround time can be critical.

I think this is bad service on the part of the PO. After 2 years they are still putting someone else's mail in your box and your are reciving notificatios that you have mail when it's not actually your mail.

I would address this with the post office. Write them a formal letter explaining the inconvenience of this and requesting that no more mail for the other business is put in your box.

[snowdragon]

   We have this issue with a neighbor.  She uses our address for everything, even tho she has her own apartment, she's given out our address to all and sundry. We have been  getting her mail for 4 years and have returned her mail to the senders, we have gone to the PO and complained, and we have complained to her. She admits doing it deliberately because she does not want to have to shovel out her sidewalk where the post boxes are, and "this is easier" for her.
   my point is this could be a deliberate act on the addressee's part because he does not want to come down to the PO to get his mail...it's easier to have you send it either to him or return it to sender.  All the benefits, none of the cost or hassle.
   

[norrina]

In thinking about it a little more, I think a big part of why I am getting frustrated is not just because I have to spend a couple seconds marking the mail and putting it in the outgoing receptacle, but because often I make what turns out to be an unnecessary trip to the post office.

My post office (maybe all post offices, but I don't know that) offers a service whereby they will send you an email or text when you have received new mail. I only go to the post office when I have received such a notice. Except over half the time, the notice isn't for mail for my business. Truthfully, the other business isn't receiving a lot of mail, maybe two-four pieces a week, but its working out to a difference of whether I go once a week or two-three times. I don't necessarily drop everything and run to the post office the instant I get an email, but I do try to get over there within a day or two, as I am in a business where a fast turnaround time can be critical.

I think this is bad service on the part of the PO. After 2 years they are still putting someone else's mail in your box and your are reciving notificatios that you have mail when it's not actually your mail.

I would address this with the post office. Write them a formal letter explaining the inconvenience of this and requesting that no more mail for the other business is put in your box.

I may have mistyped in the OP, I've only had this address for a little over 2 months. I'm not sure how long ago the previous company abandoned this address.

Responding to snowdragon - As far as I can tell, this was a legitimate address for the company previously, so I don't think they're deliberately trying to make someone else handle their mail for them. I think they just didn't bother with a Change of Address when they closed the box because they weren't continuing in active business.