Debt collectors looking for housemate

Sir_Osis_of_Liver

I live in a shared house and keep getting what I think are debt collectors/debt management reps turning up at my door looking for my housemate.

The latest one was from a company called Resolve Call - anyone know anything about them?

The thing is, I don't see that my housemate's debts or otherwise are any of my business and I don't want to get involved in his finance problems, so I just say "I'm sorry, but I can't help you," and close the door. I'm not telling them that he doesn't live here, because that would be out-and-out fraud (and I'm SO not going there), but I'm also not going to do their work for them either because it is nothing to do with me.

By saying what I do, I'm not doing anything wrong, am I?

Tixy

Have you told your housemate people have been calling?

To be honest if they are just debt collectors you are under no obligation to tell them anything.
Your housemate could send a letter revoking their right to visit him at home - I'll stick a template up.

If it gets to the stage that its actually baliffs calling then ideally don't answer the door at all (that way you won't have to say anything).

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.html?p=33792303&postcount=38

Sir_Osis_of_Liver

I've told him that people have been calling, but because I'm obviously not him (I'm a girl) and because I don't acknowledge or deny his existence, they don't tell me who they are or what they're calling about or leave any contact info. This means he can't get in contact with them because he doesn't know which company they represent! The only reason I knew the identity of the last one was because it said so on his uniform!

Thanks for your reply, though.

katsu

You are doing fine. Just keep being polite and uninvolved. You are not obliged to talk to debt collectors - and I don't believe you could be done for fraud even if you did say he does not live there.

DarkConvict

Your doing nothing wrong, and to be honest there is nothing you can do about what is happening it is upto him to deal with it. That is to write the letters to get them to contact him.

Sir_Osis_of_Liver

Thanks for all the advice, peeps.

I've just been told by my elderly neighbour that the same chap came and knocked on their door too, looking for my housemate.

I've just looked up Resolvecall and apparently they are a customer reconnection service - reconnecting creditors with "absent" customers and are a division of Scotcall.

DarkConvict

Customer Reconnection Service = Debt collector

Secretary = Administrative Assistant

DVardysShadow

Sir_Osis_of_Liver wrote: »

Nothing to add to the good advice.

I just love your name. I'll drink to that :beer:.

dktreesea

Beware of living at an address which is associated with someone else's bad debts. We've been living in our current flat for nearly seven years, and every few months some collection agency or another either rings up or comes around looking for a Mr Simpson. They are variously suspicious, asking to come in (I have never let them across the doorstep), asking when he will be in, even though we have never heard of him.

I wouldn't have cared, except one day, after we had lived here for three years, we were applying for a mobile phone contract and it got refused. We were surprised and followed it up, and it turned out we were turned down because our address had bad credit history. So something that has nothing to do with us has affected our ability to get credit. This has happened on a couple of other occasions. One was a store card application which got turned down, and in that case it was because their records show a bad debt for our address ten years ago!

DarkConvict

dktreesea, addresses do not have bad credit history.

History is assigned to a name and an address. When they did a credit check they do it on you, if name and address do not match the records are not shown. Credit history only lasts 6 years as well, so a debt from over 10 years ago will not show up.

In some places in London additional checks are done on entire post codes due to high fraud areas.

woody01

dktreesea wrote: »

Beware of living at an address which is associated with someone else's bad debts. We've been living in our current flat for nearly seven years, and every few months some collection agency or another either rings up or comes around looking for a Mr Simpson. They are variously suspicious, asking to come in (I have never let them across the doorstep), asking when he will be in, even though we have never heard of him.

I wouldn't have cared, except one day, after we had lived here for three years, we were applying for a mobile phone contract and it got refused. We were surprised and followed it up, and it turned out we were turned down because our address had bad credit history. So something that has nothing to do with us has affected our ability to get credit. This has happened on a couple of other occasions. One was a store card application which got turned down, and in that case it was because their records show a bad debt for our address ten years ago!

Sorry...but simply not true!
You can only be associated with a debtor, if you have a financial relationship with them.
Addresses are NOT blacklisted.