Debt Collectors letter in somebody elses name!

I_Love_Shoes

About 2 months ago we got a letter through the post addressed to somebody who doesnt live here, my boyfriend has lived here for 13 years so I doubt they are previous tennants.
The letter was a bill from 3 mobile saying there was an outstanding balance of about £50 from november that hasnt been paid, then about a month later another letter came through threatening to send the details onto a debt collectors, so we rang 3 immediatly and said they had the wrong address and its nothing to do with us and they said they wouldnt contact us again.
Today a letter has dropped through the letterbox from a debt collectors saying that if the bill of £85 isnt paid within 7 days they will take the next stage, which im afraid might be the bailiffs.
What do we do? We are going to call the debt collectors but how ca we prove we have never heard of this woman!?
Im worried that we might get a black mark put on our property and will struggle to get a mortgage because of this random stranger, im not too sure how things like that work...
Any help would be appreciated as we are a bit worried!

DVardysShadow

Black marks have not gone against properties for years. There is a distinction between bailiffs and doorstep debt collectors. Bailiffs will only appear after a county court judgement [ccj]. Dorrstep debt collectors have no rights, so you can expect them to clear off once you instruct them. And you will start recieving court letters long before real bailiffs arrive.

I_Love_Shoes

So if this person the letter is addressed to keeps not paying this bill, what will happen to us?

joannaspanner

I_Love_Shoes wrote: »

So if this person the letter is addressed to keeps not paying this bill, what will happen to us?

Hiya

Does the person have similar names to you at all?

Have you checked your credit report?

I only say as I've been having the same for years, but this person has a similar name and same date of birth so I was linked to this person, so even though this person and the debts were nothing to do with me, my credit report said otherwise.

neilmcl

I_Love_Shoes wrote: »

So if this person the letter is addressed to keeps not paying this bill, what will happen to us?

Absolutely nothing, it's not your debt.

WhiteHorse

I have had this problem, big time.

Although you could ignore it, these things have a nasty habit of escalating.

Now ...

Even though it's nothing to do with you, they have got it into their pointy heads that their target lives at your address.

This means that is extremely likely that they will become increasingly aggressive.

They have been known to turn up in person (bear in mind that they are not bailiffs, despite what they may say), resulting in very unpleasant scenes. Intimidating your neighbours and spreading lies about you is a common trick.

So ...

Send the DCA a Recorded Delivery letter stating that you have received confidential correspondence intended for a X (retain the stuff you have received), that X does not reside there and has not done so for 13 years, and that their database is clearly incorrect. Make it clear that you expect that no further such correspondence is sent.

If you really want to be stroppy, you can tell them that should further correspondence addressed to X be sent, you will deal with at a cost to them of £25 per item, continued sending of said letters being deemed acceptance of the terms and conditions that you are now imposing.

If they ignore you and continue to send threats, they will be in breach of the Data Protection Act 1998, and possibly of the Protection from Harassment Act 1991 (depending on how much rope you give them). If they send you loads more letters, you will also have a case in the county court against them (that's for your £25 'admin charge').

Oh, and don't sign the letter with your usual signature ...

cardinalbiggles

If the mail is not addressed to you why are you even opening it, send it back to sender.

shaun_from_Africa

If the mail is not addressed to you why are you even opening it,

If I kept receiving official looking mail for someone else, I would also open it so I could find out who it was from.
This would enable me to write back to officially inform them that the person they were looking for did not live at the address they had on record.

Simply sending it back unopened wouldn't go any way to sorting the problem out or stopping the sender from believing that they had made a mistake, and there is nothing illegal in simply opening mail addressed to another person.

DVardysShadow

cardinalbiggles wrote: »

If the mail is not addressed to you why are you even opening it, send it back to sender.

No, perfectly legal to open it. Anything which comes through my letter box I will read and evaluate for myself. When it comes to persistent debt chasers, you need to know what is coming and whether you will need to head off court appointed bailiffs.

JulieElizabeth

It is illegal to open someone else's mail "without reasonable excuse" but I'm actually with you on this one. I think you are right to open it (ie you have a reasonable excuse).

It sounds to me like someone has ordered goods (in this case a Three mobile phone contract) and used your address and done a runner

DVardysShadow

JulieElizabeth wrote: »

It is illegal to open someone else's mail "without reasonable excuse" but I'm actually with you on this one. I think you are right to open it (ie you have a reasonable excuse).

Actually:

• “A person commits an offence if he, without reasonable excuse, intentionally delays or opens a postal packet in the course of its transmission by post, or intentionally opens a mail bag.”
• “A person commits an offence if intending to act to a person’s detriment and without reasonable excuse, he opens a postal packet which he knows or reasonably suspects has been incorrectly delivered to him.”

By the time it comes through your letter box, it is no longer in the course of transmission. So it is the second clause which applies "intending to act to a person’s detriment and without reasonable excuse".

So if you are only looking after yourself and not intending anything against anyone else, it is not an issue.