Here is a tip from Dear Abby the other day that you might have missed – and that could end up costing you money. If you recycle envelopes that companies give you for bill payments, you might think just crossing out the company’s mailing address on the front is enough, but it isn’t. You could inadvertently be sending your mail to that company, even with the address crossed out – and if you used it to send bill payments, this could mean late fees or charges.
Next time you recycle one of these envelopes, cross out the address AND the bar code that is printed on the bottom. This has specially coded information that the postal sorting machines can read, and will automatically send that envelope off to the company originally listed on the envelope.
Unfortunately, using a blue ball point pen usually won’t cut it. Instead grab a black marker or sharpie and cover it completely, or use a white sticky label to cover it. Then your mail won’t inadvertently get sent off the the wrong place.
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