Getting previous owners letters - 3 years on!

Bufger · 5 March 2013 at 9:57AM

I think this is the most applicable place for this to be. I'm after some advice please.

3 years ago I moved into my current home. It became quickly apparent that the person we bought the house from didnt bother instructing Royal Mail to forward his mail to his new address, they left us a forwarding address so for about 2 months I posted them back with the message 'no longer known at this address, forward address: '.

Since then I have been posting each and every letter back with the message 'not known at this address' but the companies still send them.

This got rid of alot of them but I still get roughly 5 letters a month and its now 3 years on!! I can sometimes see in the viewing pane where the letter has come from. On one instance I rang Barclaycard as I saw a letter was from them and I asked them to stop sending the mail to my address, they said they needed it in writing so I wrote to them and they STILL send the mail.

I'm worried that the previous homeowner still has my house linked on his financial records with some of these cards. He's a self employed builder and by the amount of credit card companies these letters are from i'd say he has a lot of credit from various sources.

How do I put an end to this. 3 years on and I no longer have the forwarding address and the companies I contact dont seem to listen. Is there a period of time thats allowed to pass before I can open these letters and ring the people sending them? Is there anything from a legal standpoint I can say or do to make them do their homework and find out where their guy is living??

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bryanb · 5 March 2013 at 10:05AM

Straight in the bin would be my answer.

Edit: Recycle bin of course!

Ken68 · 5 March 2013 at 10:13AM

Yes agree, bin 'em. I still get letters for someone who lived here 16 years ago. Same thing, initially advised the senders still letters arrived. Made me think to make them pay some way.

Sagz_2 · 5 March 2013 at 10:14AM

I've been in my house 8 years and still get letters from dept collection companies addressed to the previous owner. It's had no effect on my credit rating.

Just throw them out!

JimmyTheWig · 5 March 2013 at 10:38AM

Unless you've got joint financial products with this person you won't be linked on your credit report.

Dukesy · 5 March 2013 at 11:04AM

At our old house, we were getting mail for someone who had lived there at least 10 years previously right up to the day we sold up.

Mostly it's just annoying, but the REALLY worrying thing was that it became apparent she was still putting our address down for things during our ownership. We had innumerable letters from debt collection agencies, credit card companies with HUGE unpaid bills, car finance, bailiffs etc. Then, when we had a phone line put in, we started getting numerous threatening calls from debt collectors. At first, we ignored them. When they were still coming through the door four years later, I began to worry that our address might somehow become 'blacklisted' and started calling each and every one up and telling them that no person of that name was known at our address. Most of them stopped after a couple of calls, in which I threatened them with every official body I could think of.

jimbo_the_jetset · 5 March 2013 at 11:34AM

http://www.mpsonline.org.uk/mpsr/

PDC · 5 March 2013 at 11:39AM

jimbo_the_jetset wrote: »

http://www.mpsonline.org.uk/mpsr/

Interesting, not heard of that before, is it more effective than the Telephone Preference Service?

Bufger · 5 March 2013 at 12:15PM

Thanks all. I didnt know this was so common! I'll be binning them and I just registered him as a previous occupier at my address and to be taken off mailing lists so that should help a little.

Thanks again

ic · 5 March 2013 at 12:53PM

Bin them. I'm still getting some seven years on for the previous people (who only lived here themselves for about a year). The financial ones chasing huge debts I open and have a chuckle at, then bin.

VSynth · 5 March 2013 at 4:47PM

After 6 years we are still getting mail for the previous occupiers.

Mail is from their work and even the inland revenue.

Funny thing is they live next door to us! they moved out of this house to the one next door which is larger.

I've asked them to get it sorted but they still haven't bothered.

Getting previous owners letters - 3 years on!

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