not my debt

ladylumps45

:eek:oh my god!
and we believed him.he was sooo big and abrupt that we did let him in and believed everything he said,had no reason not to!.
thanks guys for your advice and i certainly wont be so blimin gullable again.he made us feel that if he was after the bloke that lived there before,then there would be many others that may just break in if we werent in and that if that happened it would be our fault as we had sent all their warning letters back instead of opening them and being aware.
how wrong that somebody in their position lies to innocent people like that.
im so glad i joined this forum! thanks again.:T

RobertoMoir

debt collectors are full of crap and the majority of bailiffs are not that much better. Keeping people ignorant of their rights and the rules is the only way they stand a chance of recovering a lot of debts.

chnelomi

thanks everyone will just stand my ground if anyone comes to the door. my only fear when they came out before and i couldn't shut the door is that i have two Akita's and they were going nuts because i was stressed out. if i had left the door and the guy had opened it i don't know if the dogs would have stayed where they were. and at over 100lbs and one just under in a small hall i wouldn't grantee i could hold them of if they thought i was in danger.

but now i think i will play them at their own game and put the letter threw the letter box to prove I'm a new teneant and if thats not good enough they can give me the company details. i will also write a letter to the court (address is on the envelope) need to feel like i have done something. after that i suppose it's two plus years of unwanted mail.
cant win them all i suppose lol :rotfl:

:TThanks for clearing things up and the advice knew i was right should not have doubted myself.

mcmanlyn

Hiya, sorry to jump on this thread but I have a similar problem to the OP, and i'm really worried!

I returned letters addressed to this 1 person as 'not known at this address'. Last week a letter turned up that was open so I snuck a peak and it was a letter from Marston about a fine for avoiding a fare and it says 'HMCS Bury' and a Ref number so I know from googling that it's a serious one...

So I rang up & was told to write proving I live here & not this guy. So I did!

Today another letter turned up (sorry I did open this one) from the removal division saying if this person doesn't pay up they have court authority to get entry to my property with the use of a locksmith to remove items if no-one is in!!!!!

OMG what do I do??? I've called to tell them & wrote a letter with proof (admittedly it was only last week) But i'm now kakking myself thinking if I nip the shop or go to work that i'll come back to my door broken down & my stuff gone and it's nothing to do with me - but if I'm not in when they come how on earth will I prove it!!!!

Debt_Tired

There needs to be an official measure that clearly states who lives at an address. Being unemployed I can phone up Job Centre Plus and ask for a Proof of Benefits.

There needs to be a system which supplies a legal document detailing who lives at an address. If a debtor isn't at that address then no one can take action against that address (black-listing) or the tenant. Simples...

Imagine all the hassle than can be removed from the system. But who would provide such a system? The Police? There needs to be a way in which a legal document can be supplied that is accurate. There would also need to be a law making it a criminal offence to supply false information. Just a Suggestion.

Debt_Tired

chnelomi wrote: »

hope this is the right place. if not please move, thank you.

ok i moved house at the end of last year and as can happen got allot of mail for previous occupier. Then i had the pleasure of debt collectors trying to trick their way into the flat(only reason the first guy backed of was because he seen my dog) another time they were so rude a neighbor came to tell them they were out of order.(he wouldn't move his foot to let me shut the door to get paperwork to prove who i was).

Now i have two letters from the court and i am worried that they will be back again because obviously i got the letters and not the intended previous ocupier. is their somewhere i can send a letter or should i open one of these letters and send a note to the court saying no longer here. and what should i say to anyone at the door because politeness is just over looked in their determination to get payment.

any advice please

Thank you

Do you own a video camera? If someone knocks at your door, film him, her or them. If they complain, state clearly that (a) you are filming in your own home, and (b) that you are filming as a security measure.

Check with your council and have the previous tenant removed from the electoral register. Write a clear letter to the DCA (send a copy to the authorities – making sure that you mentioned that you are sending duplicates to those with clout). Not sure if you are allowed to photocopy the electoral register, but advise the DCA to check it themselves.

Don’t physically remove or harm a visitor, nor become aggressive. Remember they are the scumbags of this world, even if they think they have the law (real, imaginary and damn-right made-up) on their side. Some doorstep agents are freelance and they have friends, if you know what I mean? They can easily switch from being a paid representative for a DCA to someone acting on their own. Explain clearly who you are and that the debtor no longer lives at your address, BUT ONLY after you have secure their ID.

The big question is this: do you personally owe any debts? Some DCAs might try to enter your home or indeed enter in a person-to-person dialogue in an attempt to find out who you are…

MrsTinks

mcmanlyn wrote: »

Hiya, sorry to jump on this thread but I have a similar problem to the OP, and i'm really worried!

I returned letters addressed to this 1 person as 'not known at this address'. Last week a letter turned up that was open so I snuck a peak and it was a letter from Marston about a fine for avoiding a fare and it says 'HMCS Bury' and a Ref number so I know from googling that it's a serious one...

So I rang up & was told to write proving I live here & not this guy. So I did!

Today another letter turned up (sorry I did open this one) from the removal division saying if this person doesn't pay up they have court authority to get entry to my property with the use of a locksmith to remove items if no-one is in!!!!!

OMG what do I do??? I've called to tell them & wrote a letter with proof (admittedly it was only last week) But i'm now kakking myself thinking if I nip the shop or go to work that i'll come back to my door broken down & my stuff gone and it's nothing to do with me - but if I'm not in when they come how on earth will I prove it!!!!

If anyone DOES break in to your house with the aid of a locksmith it's a crime - it's no different to some chav smashing a window and stealing your TV. Why? Because they have not ensured you are in fact the tenant.

Now... the real question is if it's actually a letter from the court or from the debt collector - a LOT of debt collectors will very naughtily make their letters look like official court papers and obviously that puts the fear of (insert deity of your choice) into people.
The ONLY time when court appointed bailiffs can enter your home is if a CCJ has been ignored OR it's a tax debt (I think - it's early... )
when you say "removal division"... is this from the company that is owed money or a proper court appointed bailiff? (There should be details on the letter with their registration details if there is...)
Unless it's a bailiff they can't EVER enter your property and are spouting rubbish to scare. They have NO powers of entry - not even court appointed - only Bailiffs do.

mcmanlyn

Hi,
Thanks for the reply. The person owed money to the train/tram company I think. This Company is called Marston who apparently are a High Court Enforcement Officers & Certified Bailiffs looking at their website I think they are the baliffs who deal with CCJ's and can try to get entry...

God this is crap - I have debts but have never let them get this far! Now I'm losing sleep over someone elses...

cyril82

**sorry this is a long post but hopefully it will sort your problem**

i am appauled at reading this thread, i have experience on both sides of the fence. i have worked as a debt collector, (don't hate me i was nothing like these scum bags) and i have had debt collectors chaseing me quite agressively for a debt i did not owe.

what you need to know when dealing with debt collectors is the huge differences between a bailliff and a debt collector.
Put simply a debt collector can only ask for payment on behalf of the creditor and must leave your property if requested to do so by the owner/tennant. If they don't then call the police, do it in front of him while your at the door and watch him run.

A bailiff on the other hand is a court apointed official and must provide his i.d when calling to proove he is a court official. He does not have to leave your property when requested if he has all the right paperwork and if he has an order to seize your goods then while he can not break into your home or push past you to gain entry to your home he can enter "peacefully" through an open door or window (i.e. when your out) so lock your doors and windows when you go out.
If a bailiff turns up to seize your assessts and you refuse to let them in they can call for police assistance to gain entry however the likelyhood of them being granted permission to break in is small and this would not happen if you were not home.

Now more importantly in your case you are not the debtor and should bailiffs arrive with court order in place and attempt to gain entry you would of course refuse, they would call the police, you would let the police in, show the police proof of new tenanncy and that the debtor no longer lives there, the police would go outside and instruct the bailiffs to leave as they had not got the right details on their court order. Simple and stress free (although still a pain in backside as it's not your debt)

what puzzles me though about your post is that it would seem to me that you are dealing with debt collectors and debt collection agencies not bailiffs yet from what i read it would seem that at times they are purporting to be bailiffs and sending letters purporting to be of an official carracter (i.e court papers) when in fact they are not, if that is the case then they are commiting a criminal offence under The Administration of Justice Act 1970.

Also if they make threats in their letters designed to cause alarm distress or humiliation to the debtor, his family or household then again this is a Criminal offence under the Administration of Justice act 1970 (even more serious since your not even the debtor).

I recommend this course of action, Regarding Debt collectors comming to your door (not bailiffs).
The first time out of courtessy have the copy of your tennancy agreement to proove the debtor has moved, don't enter into a discussion with the debt collector and don't let him into your home. Restrict the conversation to this is my home, the debtor has moved, i do not have a forwarding address, please do not call again.
In the case that they do call again this time have your phone near the door, ask him once politely to leave your property, do not say anything else, do not answer his questions, if he does not leave state "i am calling the police to have you removed" if he isn't already half way down the path make the call and tell them you have a man on your property that will not leave, if you are a female alone tell the police this also and it may make you a priority. I'd be suprised if he waited for you to finish the call let alone wait for the police.

Write to the company involved, this may mean opening a letter to get their address but whos going to complain? not guy who's letter it is as he has already dissapeared. Write to the company informing them that you have taken over tennancy and the debtor no longer lives there nor do you have a forwarding address for the debtor, tell them that you beleive their actions so far to be a breach of the Administration of Justice Act 1970 and that you will report their actions to trading standards and more importantly the Office Of Fair Trading who issue their consumer credit license as any criminal breach of the Administration of Justice Act would affect their ability to hold a consumer credit licence, unless they stop contacting you or sending letters for the debtor to your address.

This should make them stop harrassing you as they won't want to be reported to the O.F.T and risk losing their licence, that would effectively put them out of business.

If you are dealing with bailifs then do as stated above, let the police come and get the bailiffs sent packing then contact the court and inform them that they issed a court order at your property wrongly, they wont renew the court order then untill the creditor finds the debtor and confirms his address.

Beware though that proving an address to a court can be as simple as showing that the debtor is still on the electoral roll so be sure to have updated the register and removed him as advised elswere in this thread.

if there is anything i havent covered let me know and i'll advise you.
You have several pieces of legislation on your side and they have none because you are not the debtor, anything they attempt can be stopped and persistance on their part can be punished by legal action, i'd be happy to help furthr if there is anything i have missed.

Stay strong and don't be bullied.

cyril82

And for the op who stated that she had court papers it should be easy enough to notify the court that the person no longer lives there, there should be instructions on the court papers but if not just ring the court and they will help you then just inform any door knockers that the debtor has gone and you have notified the courts. You don't have to prove anything, they have to prove your lieing.
And if they don't go away let the dogs have em .........(not really):D