Threatening letter from company we never used!

davehills

Today we received what I'd described as a "Threatening letter" from a 5-a-side football company regarding unpaid pitch fees of over £400. The letter states that if we don't settle then they'll start legal proceedings!

However, we have never used the company in question and the letter is addressed to a bloke we have never heard of. The address is not entirely correct, either. The pitches are located in a City some 25 miles away. My guess is someone has booked the pitches using a false name and address.

My wife has phoned the company to explain and whilst they have taken her comments on board have stated that further letters may arrive (Presumably from debt collection agencies) but just to "ignore them".

Now this concerns me somewhat! What if, for example, we ignore any further letters and the agencies arrive at the door demanding money? I have seen their "robust" approach to customers on various TV programmes and don't want the wife/kids to be subject to this.

In addition, if someone has been using our address to book football pitches, perhaps they have used our address for other purposes? Do I report this to the Police or just ignore unless something else occurs?

pinkshoes

THe best thing to do is to pop the letter back in the post with "not known at this address, return to sender" written on it.

halibut2209

And if debt collectors do turn up (remember, they have no powers), just tell them that that person does not live there and has never lived there and to report back to their client

arcon5

Note op, your address is not you. What matters is who is named on it. We regularly receive letters for other people... after returning them for a few weeks, we now opt for the bin.

spacey2012

davehills wrote: »

My wife has phoned the company to explain and whilst they have taken her comments on board have stated that further letters may arrive (Presumably from debt collection agencies) but just to "ignore them".

Big mistake contacting them.

Write no contract across it and put it back in the post box
Without a credit or service agreement there is no debt to chase.

As she has contacted them, inform them that any further correspondence will incur a £45 per letter admin charge in writing back to them and they are responsible for actions of any agent they employ.

comeandgo

I cant understand why you opened and dealt with a letter "addressed to a bloke we have never heard of" "and the address is not entirely correct either". Next time return to sender, not at this address.

frugal_mike

comeandgo wrote: »

I cant understand why you opened and dealt with a letter "addressed to a bloke we have never heard of" "and the address is not entirely correct either". Next time return to sender, not at this address.

Well it's easy enough to open a letter without reading the front, especially if it's in a pile of other letters. Perhaps it was opened by mistake?

shaun_from_Africa

comeandgo wrote: »

I cant understand why you opened and dealt with a letter "addressed to a bloke we have never heard of" "and the address is not entirely correct either". Next time return to sender, not at this address.

I'm sure that debt collection agencies get plenty of letters returned "not at this address", and the chances of them simply believing it to be true and to cease sending further correspondance will be next to zero.
If that was all it took to stop debt due letters from arriving, anyone who had a genuine outstanding bill would do it.

Opening mail addressed to another person is not illegal provided that there is a reason to open it and you are not doing so with the intention of causing loss to the addressee, and if there is even the slightest possibility of debt collectors turning up, I would say that is more than a good enough reason to open the letter and reply to it.

comeandgo

I never suggested that what the OP did was illegal, just could not understand it - I get the postoffice to return any mail that has been delivered and not addressed to anyone living at my address. I have never seen anything using the same name being repeated.