Ex-Tenant Fraud, Credit cards, Motor & More

landlard

New tenants have moved in.:)

Have opened previous tenants letters and there's over £21,000 debt from credit card companies, bank, mobile providers, insurance companies.:eek:
He never gave his forwarding address (hence opening his letters) but i have his personal details (passport details, car details, employer details etc).:(

New tenant doesn't want bailiffs etc turning on door step so do i phone companies involved and give them all the data i have (for some debts there are 3/4 companies chasing the same debt!).;)

Or has anyone got a better idea.:D

(Also hate the fact that someone can move from place to place with a lot of debt not paid of! especially £21k worth! :mad::mad::mad:)

also forgot to mention he has a business abroad so CAN pay HIS DEBTS but just wont.
Can i give the company this detail?
(do i have to give my details etc)

any help appreciated.

snozberry

write on the envelopes 'not at this address' and put them back into the post box. You really shouldn't be opening his post.

Werdnal

Writing or 'phoning the debt companies won't work - they have no proof of who you are and will just keep sending letters until they eventually turn up at the property to determine who lives there now.

Tell tenants there is nothing you can do, but they should keep a copy of their tenancy agreement and some proof of their ID handy to prove they are genuine tenants and not the debtor they are looking for.

In the meantime, they should not really be opening any post addressed to previous tenant. Either bin it or write "no longer at this address - moved out (date)" and drop back in nearest post box.

Debt collection companies are very tenacious, but will eventually stop when they have covered all avenues to prove the tenant no longer has a connection with your property. It is up to you if you want to contact them and pass on the info you have, but I do not think it will curtail the letters arriving at the property, or even possibly baillifs turning up. Tell the tenants it will not have any effect on their credit rating - it is the person who is blacklisted, not the property!

snozberry

Werdnal wrote: »

Writing or 'phoning the debt companies won't work - they have no proof of who you are and will just keep sending letters until they eventually turn up at the property to determine who lives there now.

They don't just turn up at all. The people who owned my house before me got themselves into a terrible pickle and thought that they could just leave their mess behind.

What happens is, you will be sent lots of letters from debt collection agencies. Ring them or return the letter to them. They will then put a note on file and sell the debt on and the cycle will start over again until it eventually stops. In the meantime, ensure that your new tenants remove the previous tenants from the electoral register and write 'return to sender' on subsequent letters.

Admittedly, it is a pain but there is very little that they can do. On the off chance that someone does come knocking on the door just say that Mr or Mrs Whoever no longer lives there. The debt collection agency will do their own checks to confirm this. I just wish that they did their checks before they post the blooming letters. I was a state when I first started to receive them! I was thinking allsorts of doom and gloom scenarios.

Werdnal

snozberry wrote: »

They don't just turn up at all. The people who owned my house before me got themselves into a terrible pickle and thought that they could just leave their mess behind.

What happens is, you will be sent lots of letters from debt collection agencies. Ring them or return the letter to them. They will then put a note on file and sell the debt on and the cycle will start over again until it eventually stops. In the meantime, ensure that your new tenants remove the previous tenants from the electoral register and write 'return to sender' on subsequent letters.

Admittedly, it is a pain but there is very little that they can do. On the off chance that someone does come knocking on the door just say that Mr or Mrs Whoever no longer lives there. The debt collection agency will do their own checks to confirm this. I just wish that they did their checks before they post the blooming letters. I was a state when I first started to receive them! I was thinking allsorts of doom and gloom scenarios.

Which is basically what I'd already said above, but written again in your words! :rotfl:

And yes, they do and will turn up on doorstep, takes some and they may drop it before it gets that far, but not always!

And OP, don't be surprised if you even start getting letters at your own address or 'phone calls direct to you from debt collection agencies. I had a couple calls asking to speak to my ex-tenant on my home number. The property I rented him is 15 miles away from my home, but when I told the caller I knew the person they were looking for, but he was my ex-tenant at a totally different address, they explained they were looking at every individual who had any connection with the ex-tenant's address, and as "owner" of that property, they had come across me in their investigations, so had to rule out my connection with the debt.

landlard

I Know not to open letter
but when it says 'open urgent' you have to don't you (could be a dying relative etc)

Also i think the viewers are missing my point.
Hes £21k in debt AND with business abroad AND moving from one property to next just building up debt AND then escaping.

Also letter found when clearing property - another debt to tune of £8k at his previous address.

its just not right is it?

Werdnal

No, it is not right and I do not agree with it. As I said in my earlier post, you can phone them and give the info you have, but often these people live their lives like this, and are always one step ahead of the game anyway - why else do you think he has business interests overseas ... tax fiddle would be my guess. Do you even have proof that the passport, employer info etc you have is genuine? Possibly even that is fake!

Ring them if you like, there is no harm in trying to help, but it will take some time for all the letters to stop. Reassure your tenants not to worry, as there is little else you can do.

BitterAndTwisted

You can open any of the letters you like: it's not illegal to open mail delivered to the correct address even if your own name is not on the envelope
What is illegal is to put that mail to fraudulent use.

It's pointless phoning the creditors as they are used to people lying about who they are and where they are or getting other people to lie for them. It might be worthwhile writing to them and enclosing a copy of their letter. There's a chance they may pay attention and stop writing but it's a slim one. And then the debt is sold to a debt-collection company and it starts all over again. Of one think you can be certain and that is there will be callers at the door eventually. That's when your tenants will need to have ID and a copy of their tenancy agreement close to hand.

DVardysShadow

snozberry wrote: »

.... You really shouldn't be opening his post.

What B&T says.

New tenant is rightly concerned about who may turn up on the doorstep and why. With £21000 of debt, there is a real chance of court authorised bailiffs - not just debt collectors. So anything which arrives which reeks even slightly of debt should be opened and the threat assessed. Bailiffs are known to be unpleasant and you need to work hard to convince them that they are about to ransack the wrong person's stuff.

If previous tenant was concerned to keep his business private, he would have had his post redirected.

david29dpo

I opened ALL my previous tenants mail and gave all the details i had to them when i rang, including what i thought was his new address.
I did here they did catch up with him. One down!

Wail

All the advice above is good apart from binning letters. Always Reseal and mark return to sender, not at this address since DATE on the letter and use any envelopes inside the letter.

Tell them to have ID available by the door and not to pay any debts even if the sods clamp their car or attempt to force entry.

I found a very big drop off of debtors letters once I started ringing them up/return to sender so it does help. Don't pay for 0845 numbers. Only ring if you have minutes available and there is no need to give any of your details. They would send bailiffs round on an anonymous tip off and not check it.