bank card & pin wrong address

beetlebug1

collected post from a holiday cottage today, its normally just junk mail so I open and bin

under separate post today came a bank card, pin number and a certificate of investment for a few thousand pounds.

there has been no one in the cottage by the named account holder for at least ten years.

if I contact the bank to let them know, will they inform the account holder of this mistake

dr_adidas01

Firstly by opening someones mail you have breached the:

Interfering with mail - Postal Services Act 2000 Section 84 and can face prosecution and also a prison sentence.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/26/contents

You should have crossed out the address and put on the envelope return to sender not known here. If you know where the person has moved to then you should have put their address on it and popped it back in the post.

In future don't open any mail or packets that are not addressed to you. Plus you also wouldn't like it if someone opened your mail and knew your own personal business.

stclair

Personally i would never open any mail sent to my address not addressed to yourself.

However I would just return it back to the sender "marked not known at this address" then the lender will trace them.

beetlebug1

after a bad case of credit card fraud committed at another cottage I look after I make a point of opening mail. as I said before it is usually junk with the occasional letter for the cottage owner

pqrdef

after a bad case of credit card fraud committed at another cottage

Exactly. Unoccupied property is sought after by people committing ID theft, who need to pick up mail at an address they can't be traced to. And with a holiday cottage you don't know where the key's been or who might have a copy.

Unexpected bank mail arrives, you want to know exactly what's going on.

Is anybody on the electoral roll at this address?

When renewing a debit card they don't normally send a PIN reminder. Card and PIN together suggests either new account or card reported stolen.

stclair

beetlebug1 wrote: »

after a bad case of credit card fraud committed at another cottage I look after I make a point of opening mail. as I said before it is usually junk with the occasional letter for the cottage owner

Unless it addressed to you just return it to the sender.

Unless the fraud is committed in your name it will no impact on you what so ever credit worthiness wise.

dr_adidas01

beetlebug1 wrote: »

after a bad case of credit card fraud committed at another cottage I look after I make a point of opening mail. as I said before it is usually junk with the occasional letter for the cottage owner

Opening someone else's mail is illegal you have no right to open it, despite any fraud that may have or may not have happened at a cottage before.

Always pop it back in the post with not known here and leave it at that. You have then done your legal duty and not interfered with the legal delivery of mail to a person or persons its addressed to.

Gromitt

beetlebug1 wrote: »

after a bad case of credit card fraud committed at another cottage I look after I make a point of opening mail. as I said before it is usually junk with the occasional letter for the cottage owner

Indeed, I don't care who its addressed to, if its got my address on it I'm opening it regardless of whose name is on it. If they don't want me to read it, they shouldn't have sent it to me! I want to know what people are using my address for. The only exception I make is if it was directed at the previous owners, then I just take it to the post office, but I wouldn't do that any more as they have said they just shred it!

I've seen it before where someone has attempted to open an account at my address - I took it down to the bank concerned and although they obviously couldn't discuss it, they thanked me for bringing it in rather than calling to police.

beetlebug1

not just card and pin also an isa account

I do not think anyone is on the electoral role

the cottage is not unoccupied for any length of time as it is let out

keys are in a key safe and the code is changed regulary

Ms_Chocaholic

the code on the keysafe might be changed regularly but any of the previous visitors could have got a key cut

System

I would say the OP has a 'reasonable excuse' to open this questionable mail. As such, they have not acted unlawfully.