Neighbours keep using my address!

<sebb>

Got some new neighbours in the flat above me recently, and despite my repeated requests they keep using my address instead of their own.

Its a converted house and I am number 10, they are 10a. We have a shared front door, then a communal porch area, then our own individual doors to the flat, so the post gets delivered to a communal area.

They've already cancelled all of my utility accounts once (gas, water and electricity) because they phoned up and said I'd moved out and they moved in. All sorted now but annoying, especially since I didn't find out about the water until they'd thrown the final demand in the bin! They realised it was for the wrong address and instead of telling me, they just chucked the letters!

Anyway,for about the 4th time, I had to clear out my recycle wheelie bin because they'd put their ordinary waste in there and on the top was a notice of debt recovery for one of them but at MY address!

I'm going to call up the agency and tell them their error but I'm getting a bit sick of it! Especially as if I hadn't of found that letter, I'd have the baillifs at MY door!

Any advice on how to get them to stop it? If I get to the mail before they do, I return it to sender as "not at this address" but I don't always get to the mail before them.

Annisele

<sebb> wrote: »

If I get to the mail before they do, I return it to sender as "not at this address" but I don't always get to the mail before them.

Are you saying that if you get mail with their names on it but addressed to number '10', you return it to sender rather than giving it to them? If that's the case, no wonder neighbourly relations are poor!

Are you sure Royal Mail knows that there are two separate flats? (Go here, type in your postcode, and see if '10' and '10a' both show up). If Royal Mail doesn't know that there are two addresses, then there will be quite a few business that have bought Royal Mail's database who can't enter '10a' into their systems.

<sebb>

Annisele wrote: »

Are you saying that if you get mail with their names on it but addressed to number '10', you return it to sender rather than giving it to them? If that's the case, no wonder neighbourly relations are poor!

Yes I do. After the third time I asked them to stop and they didn't and then didn't bother to pass final demands for my utilities I told them this is what I would start doing. They said that was fine. Everytime I've asked them to stop they apologise and say they will but never do.

I have been more than friendly before that - letting them sit in my house for hours til the other one comes home when they lock themselves out (3 times!), let them use my broadband for 3 weeks till they got theirs, never complain about their constant loud music etc. When it first started happening I returned the mail by accident not realising it was theirs (they are actually using multiple names so at first I didn't know it was theirs - either that or there are about 10 people living up there in a two bed flat).

And yes it is registered at 2 separate addresses with royal mail.

Catblue

Sounds to me like they are using your address deliberately, especially in the case of the debt collectors. Also, the using the multiple names thing is ringing huge alarm bells.

Can you put up a little lockable mail box for number 10 in the porch area, and tell the postie to use that? This way all the mail to number 10 will get to your mailbox and you can control things better. Since the letters will be addressed to number 10, you can open them and call up the debt collectors and tell them that the correct address for the tenants is 10a. You shouldn't have to be doing this, but it will get the debt collectors off your back and hopefully the tenants will stop using your address.

And definitely complain to the letting agency and tell them about the multiple names and the debt collectors' letters.

C_Mababejive

I agree. They are doing it deliberately and most likely for nefarious purposes.

Can you get a purpose made post box with a lock which you could affix outside/wherever and put your flat number clearly marked on it? Also maybe have a quiet word with the postie?

Until then,make sure you get to the post before them and check what is coming,i.e feel the envelopes for credit cards and similar.

Barneysmom

You could ask the p.o not to send your mail for a few weeks, and you'll pick it up form the local p.o instead till you can come up with a proper plan of action?

C_Mababejive

Barneysmom wrote: »

You could ask the p.o not to send your mail for a few weeks, and you'll pick it up form the local p.o instead till you can come up with a proper plan of action?

Great idea or set up an official redirection to a friends/family members house for a short period so that you can assess whats going on??
http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/product1?mediaId=600008&catId=5200021

G_M

Multiple names sounds like fraud - a police matter. Whether you want to go down that road, and whether the police would be interested is another matter though.

<sebb>

C_Mababejive wrote: »

I agree. They are doing it deliberately and most likely for nefarious purposes.

Can you get a purpose made post box with a lock which you could affix outside/wherever and put your flat number clearly marked on it? Also maybe have a quiet word with the postie?

Until then,make sure you get to the post before them and check what is coming,i.e feel the envelopes for credit cards and similar.

This is a good idea about the box. I'm going to look into this. I never particularly liked having my mail go into a communal area but the previous tenants were very nice.

I've had my suspicions for a while that it was dodgy. Some of the stuff that comes in looks very official. They set up bank accounts at my address too - the last A&L letter that came in you could see the title of the letter "welcome to your new bank account" and letters come in from HMRC alot.

I'm cant work out if it's deliberate or not. Taking over my utility accounts suggest it's not? Unless the purpose of that was to provide a recently utility bill as proof of address for something else? Although about half of their mail IS correctly addressed.

Catblue

<sebb> wrote: »

I'm cant work out if it's deliberate or not. Taking over my utility accounts suggest it's not? Unless the purpose of that was to provide a recently utility bill as proof of address for something else? Although about half of their mail IS correctly addressed.

It is deliberate. The more you say, the more incriminating it sounds.

The 10a address is given to friends, family and their legitimate business dealings.

The 10 address is given to debt collectors and to establish new credit.

You need to act now or you'll be getting letters for years after they have done a moonlight flit from the flat (and I've a feeling that they will).

Don't speak to them about it (they'll just deny it anyway) - just make sure that all mail for number 10 gets to you and then you can deal with it accordingly.

jonewer

G_M wrote: »

Multiple names sounds like fraud - a police matter. Whether you want to go down that road, and whether the police would be interested is another matter though.

You could report it, but as theres no evidence of crime, there wont be any kind of investigation.

OP, I'd set up a credit monitoring service like equifax so you can see if they're applying for credit using your name or address.