What Would You Do?

Here's a question for you AML readers: What do you think should be done with your email address when you leave a place of employment?

I left my last job 11 months ago. However, my former employer has felt the need to keep my email address active. I know this because emails that are sent to that address from friends are forwarded on to me. Apparently, I am to perceive this as a courtesy.

In actuality, it pisses me off to no avail. While I know that legally the address is owned by the company, I have always seen the practice of deactiving email accounts of former employees as both ethical and necessary. If people got a bounce-back after writing to that address, then they would know to try to find another one.

Here's the process with my old email account: An old friend from high school finds that address on the internet somewhere, so they shoot me a few lines. My old boss receives the email. After determining that it is not business related, he then forwards these emails on to me. I get more angry every time this happens.

I have asked several times for the account to be deactivated, but they refuse. Every time I am forwarded an email, I feel that my privacy has been violated. It's one thing when you work at a company and know that some IT guy could be reading your email, but it's an entirely different situation when you don't work there anymore, don't know what people are writing you, and can't do anything about it. I feel that I have no recourse. So, friends of AML, what would you do if you were me?