Welcome Finance /IND - Summons To Court

Merchantj

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rdwarr

You should return all correspondence unopened to the sender. Do not admit to opening any mail whatsoever.
Where you say

but i needed to know what this was all about

, you didn't. The matter had nothing to do with you and the best way to distance yourself from it is by not putting yourself in the frame by opening other people's mail (in itself, an offence). Keep well clear and you'll be fine.

DCFC79

Maybe write a LBA saying you will charge x amount for your time to send these letters back, didnt someone do this recently (or was it something else) and the letter stopped.

fermi

Merchantj wrote: »

This has not worked as now i have a Summons which has come through the door for him. I have not opened the letter, but can see a court stamp on it and in the address it says defendant and my old tenants name. I have returned this letter to the sender or should i also write to the court explaining the situation?

As odd as it may seem, the company is doing the correct thing by sending the summons to the person's last known address. Unless they have an up to date address for the person, that is what the court rules say they should do. Court papers have to go somewhere if the company is to obtain a CCJ in this person's absence.

You have done the right thing in returning them.

Important thing to remember is that any CCJ issued (as it's likely there will be) is against the name of this person and not the property or you.

The only concern you should have about it is that your house may be the first port of call in the unlikely event that bailiffs are instructed. If that happens then you do not let them in and give them proof that you now reside there and not this person. It would be county court bailiffs who are reasonable and civilised, unlike the cowboy private bailiffs that you often hear about in the media. If it's not you debt or CCJ they are easy to deal with.

cos_2

Don't worry about opening the mail. It would have to be proven that you did so with the purpose of "intending to act to the person's detriment". Clearly not applicable here.

Merchantj

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Treadmill

It's not illegal to open somebody's post unless you "intend to act to their detriment" postal services act 2000 apparently.

Merchantj

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gb12345

Unfortunately, courts etc will ignore letters that are returned "gone away" until they have proof that really is the case.

It's a hassle to you, but think about it from their point of view. They have someone who owes a large amount of money and are writing to that person's last know address and getting returned letters. Their immediate thought will be the debtor is trying to pull a fast one and pretending to have moved out.

Merchantj

Thanks gb12345,

so its probably best to write to the court, explaining and providing proof then ?

gb12345

Merchantj wrote: »

Thanks gb12345,

so its probably best to write to the court, explaining and providing proof then ?

Yes, but the problem is what proof to provide.

Do you have new tenants in the property now? If so you could let the court have a copy of the tenancy agreement.

If you haven't got tenants then you might have to rely on something like council tax records to prove the property is empty.