New neighbour using my address on their O2 account

Mort_Gage

Looking for some advice. Sorry for the long preamble but I thought some background might be useful.......

The property next door is rented and the new neighbours have opened an O2 account using their own name but our house number. This became apparent when post started arriving from O2 addressed to our house. We took the letters next door (unopened) and asked the neighbour to contact O2 and change the house number.

A week or so later a couple of parcels were delivered to our address from an online retailer (BuyMobilePhones.net). Again, we took them next door and again asked the neighbour to stop using our address. They claimed it was a mistake and that they'd sort it out.

Nothing else arrived for a few weeks but then a Tesco clubcard envelope was delivered, same issue, their name but our address. We took this around and told them that if anything else was sent to our address we'd mark it 'not known at this address, return to sender' and put it back in the post.

A few weeks after this a letter from a well known catalogue company arrived. By this stage I was really annoyed and as it had our address on it I opened it. It was an application for credit which had been turned down. I resealed the envelope and sent it back to the company saying the addressee was not known at the address on the letter.

Today we have received another O2 letter which states that the account is in arrears and that O2 have blocked the phone.

Do I need to contact O2 and inform them that the address they have is not correct ? Also, my wife has a mobile phone account with O2 and I am concerned that the use of our address will cause her problems with her legitimate O2 account.

Any advice or helpful suggestions as to how to proceed would be welcome. Thanks.

chanz4

sounds like they are doing fraud, http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=report%20fraud&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CFUQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.actionfraud.police.uk%2Freport_fraud&ei=ZL3sT6rYK8OR0AWgz5n6DA&usg=AFQjCNGI6Pcf0D1csdgki3-Wzhw87YhQOg

C_Mababejive

Why did/do you keep taking the stuff round for them? They are clearly bent and you are unwittingly colluding in their crimes.

jenniewb

I'd open the mail, see whats going on and then contact the companies and let them know its your address and someone is using it fraudulently. Once is a mistake, twice, three times? Thats dodgy! Stop it because if they default it will end up affecting your credit rating.

callum9999

I wouldn't open the mail as that would be a criminal offence (you'll most likely get away with it of course, but it's illegal none-the-less).

If you want to get actively involved then write to the relevant companies and give them the real address of your neighbours (no point calling customer services, they won't be able to do anything). If you don't want to do that just starting marking "not at this address" on the letters and post them back - or just throw them away.

SaLoGo

callum9999 wrote: »

I wouldn't open the mail as that would be a criminal offence (you'll most likely get away with it of course, but it's illegal none-the-less).

If you want to get actively involved then write to the relevant companies and give them the real address of your neighbours (no point calling customer services, they won't be able to do anything). If you don't want to do that just starting marking "not at this address" on the letters and post them back - or just throw them away.

It's not actually illegal

From the Postal Services Act-

(3)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.

I would say to stop fraud would be a reasonable excuse to open mail addressed to someone else!

ETA: OP I would stop taking their post round immediately, call each company to inform them (if it's of no cost to you!) and return each letter to sender with 'NOT KNOWN AT THIS ADDRESS' written on the front.

blossomhill_2

Why are you being so nice about it?

These are only the things you know about and it may haunt you for years if you dont get it stopped.

Ignore them totally, report to fraud line AND tell local community bobbies. Take any further letters into the police station and hand them over.

As soon as you gave them the first papers back they had official docs with their name and your address to use to open more accounts. Before long the postie will bypass you and put it through their door. Before long someone will assume that the scammer was actually YOU using their names falsely at your own address!

Don't wait for the big one! Wake up and smell the ...whatever

sillygoose

It may be too late, isn't bad credit linked to an address to catch people out using different names, the type of address your neighbour is (rented to dodgy types) has probably already been blacklisted so they couldn't order to their own.

I had something like this and it was a nightmare, when the phone company started threatening bailiffs to come to my address for a non existent person I had to go to the companies CEO to get it stopped! - before anyone says, I sent everything back, I phoned the companies to inform them, wrote to them - the lot.

jd87

Credit files are not linked to addresses, they are linked to people.

As long as they aren't using your name as well then there's nothing to worry about. They may still be dodgy, but it won't impact upon your credit.

Guys_Dad

I have a similar problem. I have a neighbour who seems to have financial problems.

I get letters from Debt collectors arriving at my door. I inadvertently opened one by mistake some time ago and got in touch with the debt collectors who told me that they got the address from a Credit Agency. I contacted the 2 big Credit Agencies with a view to getting their files updated.

Worse than dealing with a scripted off-shore call centre.

The postman knows where they live, but says he is not allowed to put the letter through their letter box as it has my house number on it!!

So I still keep getting letters addressed to the neighbour. I have tried posting the letters through their door and also returning letters "Not known at this address".

So far, no affect on my Credit record.

But consider this. If some databases have your neighbour incorrectly labelled as living at your address and if they become wanted for some large scale theft, what is to stop the police kicking in your door in some dawn raid trying to arrest them???

blossomhill_2

Also find out who landlord is and contact them to let them know their property is being used for fraudulant activities