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

zygurat789

Data protection is a complete red herring - nothing is held on a computer.
Not to pass on the address, if known, is effectively condoning a theft. It could well be that the person you are protecting is a complete conmerchant who has taken several old people and single parents for money which they could not afford, or worse still a terrorist who has not paid for explosives.
It is your moral and civic duty to willingly divulge all the information you have.

torsay

I have been chased by debt collectors before for debts which I hadn't even run up - an energy company had falsely been given my name for 6 years worth of bills at a flat I had lived in for 6 months, 7 years previously! Someone had obviously given them my new address as I received threatening letters for a debt of £2,500 which wasn't my debt! So no, having been in that situation, I wouldn't pass someone's details on to a debt collection agency as their methods are (in my experience) suspect. The first I was even made aware of the debt was a VERY rude, aggressive and threatening letter, which scared me, and I can imagine would be worse for someone elderly or less "experienced" in life!

POSSETTE

yes i will and have done..next doors letters were coming to me..bailiff threats the lot..i told them where to send letters..next door! they stopped harrassing me then!

Impet_Limpet

No I wouldn't.

How do you know they are chasing the correct people for a start? Some debt companies just send out letters to everyone with the same surname in the hope they find the correct people for example we receive debt collection letters to a Mrs P. We have a Mr P but I'm a Miss D. They are just assuming the person is here.
If debt collectors visit some form of ID is enough to demostrate they no longer live here.

Also as an NHS employee we are told alot about data protection and I would not feel comfortable passing on this information to other people.

Cloudane

From a legal point of view (just from what I'm aware of, this is not legal advice) the Data Protection Act is basically irrelevant for individuals. It applies to organisations holding records on computer or a "relevant manual system" e.g. a filing cabinet, not to private individuals knowing an address in their head or having it written down on a bit of paper somewhere. It's questionable if it's in an address book (which would constitute a filing system) but I'm pretty sure it still falls under the exempt category of domestic/personal matters.

Morally, well, that's something else and of course the reason the thread exists.

If it was the landlord who had the details, then the DPA would apply, as the details are kept for the purpose of running the business.

Also the DPA doesn't apply for matters relating to crime (in fact you're obliged to help if the police were to request it), although I'm not quite sure where the bayliffs stand on this. I think it's probably a civil matter rather than criminal.

P.S. Where's this week's MMD? Couldn't find it in the email newsletter.

gaily

Supercharge_Me wrote: »

As mentioned in a previous post, we have to assume the person has moved and forgotten to update their address with their creditors.

Some of the posts on here are baffling, this isnt school..youre not 'grassing' people up. Some responses suggest that creditors are evil companies, you have to remember the money was lent to individuals in good faith that it would be repaid following the terms set out in their agreements, these individuals are more than capable of updating their address details surely? as adults?

So on the basis that they may have forgotten, i would happily forward all the information i had, not only to stop the letters clogging up my letterbox but to save them from potentially being liable for legal costs.

I fully agree - I can understand that many people have had bad experiences with debt collectors, or been chased for debts that weren't theirs, but if you have the details of the forwarding address, why not pass it on. If they really are that bad, they'll probably have moved on again by the time the agencies catch up to them.

You take credit out - or use a service - be it phone, gas water, on the understanding that you will pay it back. It's not good enough to say that because the previous tenant has gone, to let the debt go. If that were the case, why does anyone pay anything back. We'll all just run up loads of bills and move home every 6 months. Lets see where that leaves the economy. :eek:

Musical Homes anyone? I'll get my credit applications in now, and the bills for my maxed out cards should be about ready in 6 weeks if anyone wants to come live at my house... MAYBE NOT!

young_codger

gaily wrote: »

I fully agree - I can understand that many people have had bad experiences with debt collectors, or been chased for debts that weren't theirs, but if you have the details of the forwarding address, why not pass it on. If they really are that bad, they'll probably have moved on again by the time the agencies catch up to them.

You take credit out - or use a service - be it phone, gas water, on the understanding that you will pay it back. It's not good enough to say that because the previous tenant has gone, to let the debt go. If that were the case, why does anyone pay anything back. We'll all just run up loads of bills and move home every 6 months. Lets see where that leaves the economy. :eek:

Musical Homes anyone? I'll get my credit applications in now, and the bills for my maxed out cards should be about ready in 6 weeks if anyone wants to come live at my house... MAYBE NOT!

Absolutely right. Your first moral obligation is to yourself and those who live with you. Protecting yourself from debt collectors and mistaken prosecution takes precedence over any imaginary obligation to previous tenants who are obviously in the wrong. Just one thing: you only know that the letters are threatening if you actually open the envelopes which are addressed to somebody else, and as no forum subscriber would dream of doing such an illegal act, how can you do anything but return them to sender, thus avoiding the whole issue?

DJ_Medic

Yes!!

I can't believe people wouldn't! This has happened to me a few times.

One was a girl who used to live with me. She did some nasty things to me so I gave the credit company her new address and where she worked. Otherwise the debt would have come to the address and possibly be blacklisted. If this happens it can cost the innocent party more as they would not be able to take credit out themselves. This happened to my parents when they moved into a new house years back, it cost them money to remove the address from the black list file.

Its happened recently to us. I discovered the person had massive debts and bailiffs and court action were to ensue so I called the company and explained I did not know these people and the length of time we had been in the house. I don't want grief for other people's reckless actions. I was scared of some heavy handed bailiff coming over and taking our things. I didn't think they would believe I wasn't the person they were after.

Its unacceptable for people to rack up debt then leg it! Why should other people have to pay for their actions.

DJ_Medic

In response to, "if you actually open the envelopes which are addressed to somebody else, and as no forum subscriber would dream of doing such an illegal act"
But surely if you accidentlly opened the post not looking at the name on the envelope assuming it was addressed for you thats different??

gaily

DJ_Medic wrote: »

In response to, "if you actually open the envelopes which are addressed to somebody else, and as no forum subscriber would dream of doing such an illegal act"
But surely if you accidentlly opened the post not looking at the name on the envelope assuming it was addressed for you thats different??

I sometimes manage to open my husband's post under the same premise!!! (He always gets me to open it for him anyway, as he doesn't check it, but it's easily done)

Fortunately when I live now was owned by his Gran for 30 years, so once we'd got the message to people that she was no longer there, we haven't had any issue.

I wouldn't open anyone else's post if I lived somewhere where I got the previous occupants mail, but it becomes fairly obvious when 'red' letters start coming thorugh the door. At that point maybe the letters back to sender need the forwarding address pointed out to them.