Do I have the right to open any mail which comes to my home?

treepotato1

Any wrote: »

It will not show on your credit score..

I used to live ion a 9 flat tenement. I was employed in a very well paying job and was refused to open a current account at a bank - so I asked for my credit report. Every single flat in that building's debts were on my credit reference, including several County Court Judgements of a serial offender who lived in the building. It took me 18 months to get everyone else's crap taken out of my file, but they still refused to remove the, by now 8 CCJs this idiot had amassed because he hadn't given his flat position, only the building address.

So - it probably WILL show on OP's credit score.

Evansangel

Just wanted to add, how would OP know the debt collecters telephone number without opening the mail?
So she would have to open it to get the number to call them to tell them that her ex doesn't live there anymore.

Swan_2

treepotato1 wrote: »

Of course it has! If you receive mail and open it, then you are preventing that mail from being sent to the correct recipient unless you make every effort, after you open it, to give it back to Royal Mail..

afaik, the Royal Mail's duty is to deliver to a particular address & not to a particular recipient, & their duty ends when the mail goes through the letterbox at that address

that's why I'm still getting mail for the former residents of my flat, in spite of our lovely postie knowing full well they've not lived here for months, he's performing his legal duty

as vaio suggested, have a read of post 12 for clarification about the legal position re the opening of others' mail

pigpen

Ring the collection agency and give them his new address, they will send it on there.. I have done similar with the previous occupants from my house. She was an absolute scrote and had to sell the house before being made bankrupt so we had loads and loads.. we even had one lot of bailiffs round so I gave them all her new address..

If there is a problem getting credit because of his rating you can have a notice of disassociation set on the account, we had to do this too because we couldn't get anything because of the bankruptcy notice.. it was all sorted in a couple of weeks.. and was free!

bylromarha

Evansangel wrote: »

Just wanted to add, how would OP know the debt collecters telephone number without opening the mail?.

There would be a return address on the envelope. Easy enought o get company name, therefore phone number, from there via a quick google.

custardy

treepotato1 wrote: »

Of course it has! If you receive mail and open it, then you are preventing that mail from being sent to the correct recipient unless you make every effort, after you open it, to give it back to Royal Mail..

RM deliver to addresses,so once it goes through the letter box is delivered

bryanb

Pee wrote: »

You could speak to the postman so that they do this with any post addressed to your ex.

No point speaking to the postman, he has to deliver to the address on it, unless the person has applied to Royal Mail to redirect.

sillyvixen

contact the debt agencies - give them the new address details - otherwise you will have baliffs/debt collectors calling at your address.. my house was rented 5 1/2 years ago and the tennents were and still are in debt, the house has changed hands twice since they lived there - i had debt collectors turning up for them within 6 months of moving in! i still get letters and open them and call the agencies and explain they are no longer there and i have no details for them (no longer get collecters as a result of calls) funnily enough they have married recently and the companies they owe money to have been informed of her change of name and marital status but no address change have been made!!

sending stuff back return to sender does not work - companies tend to think it is a debter trying it on (as told to me by a collector who turned up at my home and when i proved who i was and told him i had been retuning letters for months)

peachyprice

treepotato1 wrote: »

Of course it has! If you receive mail and open it, then you are preventing that mail from being sent to the correct recipient unless you make every effort, after you open it, to give it back to Royal Mail..

Preventing the mail being delivered to an address is an offence, i.e pinching mail sacks. Once it has been delivered to the address on the envelope it's only an offence if you use the information contained within the post to the detriment of the intended recipient. i.e you can read whatever you like, but if you then use that information to, obtain credit or for defamation of the recipient for example, it is an offence.

The OP has not committed an offence in either opening the post or using the information to protect themselves.

mums_got_no_pennies

I have had this problem recently,i was returning letters at first,but got more and they wouldnt take my word that ex wasnt here and have had to send copies of council tax bills and my rent agreement and a signed letter stating i was telling the truth.If i hadnt opened the letters then i would still be getting them.Also as the only adult in my home i dont even check who they are addressed to,i assume that if they have been delivered to my home then they are meant for me,so cou;d be an easy mistake to open them anyway.