MONEY MORAL DILEMMA: Would you give debt collectors someone's address?

Pellyman

Actually as I don't know the new address I couldn't give it!

Should I take the trouble to find out? Probably not, just to inform his creditors but I would if I thought it might come in useful to me in the future.

However, that attitude poses an underlying 'moral issue'. Namely as such people, who seek to avoid paying their debts by 'doing a runner', indirectly compel the creditors to increase their charges to those customers who do pay up (me and the majority like me); shouldn't we all do everything we can to ensure the debtors are chased from pillar to post? Just to get our own back and so become a real Money Saver on behalf of all honest people!

sparrer

When I was a landlord I had debt collectors at my door for two different people. I objected to one telling my neighbourhood at 8am, in a very loud voice that he'd come to collect £xxxxx from someone, who incidentally didn't live at my address. I asked him to have the courtesy to lower his voice, and step inside so we could discuss his business, both which he did. On being invited in he became a very different person, charming, polite, courteous and quiet. I told him I had no knowledge of the person's whereabouts but to leave me a number and I would inform him if I heard anything (would I hell! ). Told the other one the same.

After a following letter from each I phoned their respective companies (using saynoto0870 ) and never heard from them again.

I'm not frightened or in awe of these people but I never, ever lose my rag with them. Treating them politely, which includes offering a cuppa, throws them completely!

As for the two people concerned, neither owed me rent, they borrowed from loan companies/banks. What I really object to are the ad's on television which tell you they will get most of your debt written off, because it just encourages people to borrow what they couldn't ever afford to pay back...but then they don't have to with that sort of assistance, do they?

redfibee

When I bought my first house, I dutifully forwarded on all mail.

One day, a letter, undealed, obviously hand delivered, arrived.

I opened it. It said that the Bailiffs were due round the following day because the previous owners had not paid their bills.

It took me ages to sort out (Bailiffs are determined people, and thought I was trying it on) and I did let them have the correct address.

To think, because these people had not paid their debts, my property would have been taken.

nonny27

This is currently happening to me.

I moved into a rented property last April and got bombarded with mail, mostly statements and debt collection letters which I passed on to the letting agent so they could forward them to the previous tenants, as they had their forwarding address.

Several months later I was still get the same letters from the same companys and was sick of forwarding them myself as it was costly me time and petrol, so I spoke to a neighbour who knew where the previous tenants has moved to ...... about 10 doors away from the property I rent.

So I thought rather than pass them on to the agents i'd pop the mail through their door, which I did so on a daily basis whilst doing the school run, in the vague hope they'd inform their creditors themselves of their address change. So when this still failed to reduce the letters I started to send them back marked "Not known at this address please return to sender" with a brief statement on the back explaining they had not lived at the address since April.

When this still failed to stop the letters I opened them at the instruction of the letting agent and told the creditors that the people they where writing to did not reside here and had not done so since April. They all said they'd put a trace out for the previous tenants and stop the letters but alas I still get them, although a lot fewer but I just pop them back in the post in the vague hope they will stop one day.

I would never give them the address of the debtors even though I know where they are. I have however sent off copies of my tenacy agreement to the persistant letter writers to prove I'm the tenant. So far no door knockers but if I get one i'll just show them I.D and ask them to leave, if they did not I'd happily take them to court and sue them!!

tramsay

I probably would. People have to pay what they agree to pay, the principle has no boundaries.

tryfive

redfibee wrote: »

It took me ages to sort out (Bailiffs are determined people, and thought I was trying it on) and I did let them have the correct address.

To think, because these people had not paid their debts, my property would have been taken.

NO! NO! NO!

If it's not your debt, IT'S NOT YOUR DEBT!

GET USED TO THE IDEA!

The only way your property could "have been taken" would be if it had been PROVEN IN COURT that the debt was yours.

Please don't promote such garbage as to claim they a debt collector could "take your property" for a debt YOU DON'T OWE!

It's people like you that end up paying DEBTS YOU DON'T OWE, just because you don't want to stand up for your rights. This doesn't just harm you, but other people who are victimised by overzealous debt collectors.

Philipgray

It is difficult for some people to grasp the fact that debt collectors come in all shapes and sizes. Most are decent people doing a difficult job as compasionately as possible. The reason it goes as far as debt collection agencies is that the debtors have evaded facing up to the facts and their own personal liability for many months and frequently years of burying their head in the sand.

The problem is the debt and how that was accrued NOT with the debt collector who is doing a difficult job as best he/she can.

sharalee99

silvercar wrote: »

Now whatever problems the previous owners had why should I, completely innocent of their mess, be subjected to hassle due to their actions?

Absolutely!
I wouldn't go out of my way to search high and low for their new address but if I happened to know where they had gone, I would have no hesitation in passing it on.
Why should an innocent party have to deal with something someone else couldn't/wouldn't deal with........??

Pet50

Yes I would and have done. We ended up with post, phone calls and visitors after payments of bills!! Not nice. Passed on details of the house agents as we had no idea where this family had moved to. We pay our way - they should too!!

tryfive

Scorpion_Sting wrote: »

It's all very well believing that you'd be safe from the bailiffs, but we moved into a house many years ago and the previous owners had moved without telling anyone. Amongst other mail addressed to them, we got letters addressed to The Occupier saying that someone was coming to repossess our car if we didn't pay the sum owed to the company.

Our word for today is "THEFT". Please write this word in your exercise books now.

If you find your car "vanishes" in the night, call the police and give them the "bailiffs" details.

A COURT BAILIFF CANNOT REPOSESS PROPERTY NOT OWNED BY THE DEBTOR. There is no room for "mistakes" here either.

A "private" bailiff can do even less, as there's no court order to back them up.