Still getting letters for previous owners

BitterAndTwisted

No, opening mail addressed to another person but delivered to the correct address is not an offence. It's using that opened mail and acting to the detriment of the other person which could be. But the other prson would have to prove it first and if they are evading their creditors that's not terribly likely.

Werdnal

evoke wrote: »

I might just open them and call the companies as it is getting tiring. Would I be committing an offence if I did so?

No offence committed, but what makes you think the person on the end of the phone will believe you are not Mr or Mrs Bloggs who they are sending letters to?

Just bin them!

thesaint

Werdnal wrote: »

No offence committed, but what makes you think the person on the end of the phone will believe you are not Mr or Mrs Bloggs who they are sending letters to?

Just bin them!

Binning them ensures these letters come for the forseeable future.
Speaking to the person on the end of the phone may end them immediately.

Total cost ~20p

DRP

Werdnal wrote: »

No offence committed, but what makes you think the person on the end of the phone will believe you are not Mr or Mrs Bloggs who they are sending letters to?

Just bin them!

I've always binned or put them back in the post marked not at this address, but phoning seems to have worked for several people in this thread...

propertyman

1 Open letter extract name address and reference number

2 You write to them

I am Mr Smith who bought the house/rented the house on the xx, which they can verify on the electoral roll and credit dbs.

I was not provided with a forwarding address but understand they moved to (say) London or Cumbria.

Any future letters will be binned and I would appreciate it if you would cease writing to this address.

3 Insert letter into envelope seal and Mark Return To Sender.

:rotfl:In the case of one flat I owned I had a photo of the old owners grave to prove that he was dead and unlikely to reply to show to the collectors.:eek:

googler

My version of Propertyman's advice, when we were still, 12 years later, getting mail for previous owners & extended family;

Open mail, get address of sender

Type up letter

Dear Sender, I enclose your letter of dd/mm, which I regret I opened in error, not expecting any mail for an owner who moved away 12 years ago. Mr X and his family moved out from this address on dd/mm/yy, I have no forwarding address for them, but the solicitor firm who acted for them with regard to the sale of the property were XX Solicitors, of (address). They may be able to help you further. Please update your records .....

Send their letter back with this covering letter

moneyistooshorttomention

One of the lodgers I had in years ago turned out to be a thief. She had obviously cottoned-on about catalogue companies in this country sending out goods without full payment in advance (don't know if they still operate this way, as I don't use them myself). When the 2nd or 3rd turned up from the same catalogue company after she had moved out, I opened it and rang the number in it and explained that she had obviously been stealing from them (ie ordering goods with no intention of paying in full). That was the end of that and I never heard another peep from them. I did give this catalogue company the home address I had for her (ie back in her own country) and suggested they might like to try their luck with sending bills to her there.

It was obvious that I wasn't her...with my English name and English accent...whereas it was obvious from her name that she probably didn't actually live here long-term. So...maybe that helped...

I would always follow the policy of giving out whatever contact details/clues I had to anyone sending a letter like this...in the hopes that they would have to pay up what they owe/get punished for their attempted theft.

ragecake

To add, Im getting things that feel like certificates and stuff from schools from the tenants before me, it would seem they're still using my address for everything, Which is odd as all hell.

phoebe1989seb

This has happened to us at just about every house we've ever bought and eventually *returning them to sender* has worked, all except at our last house where (for the three and a half years we were there) we continually received letters from a Spanish bank to the (deceased) father of the PO. From what I remembered of conversations with the PO, his father had lived with them for a while in the annexe before passing away in about 2004/5. Having had no luck, I eventually opened a couple and found (with the aid of an online translator as all the text was in Spanish ) that the late father's bank account was severely overdrawn.....and appeared to be still being drawn upon :eek:

I wrote to the bank - in English - and explained the situation, but the letters kept on coming......the POs of our house had intimated they had severe money issues when they sold to us and the neighbour told us they had fled abroad after completion and no-one had a forwarding address. With the benefit of hindsight forwarding mail to the conveyancer used when they sold to us may have been our best bet. Curiously, we never received any correspondence from debt collectors concerning them though

After buying our current house we began receiving mail for the PO and IIRC I found something online where you could decline to receive mail for individuals whose names were known to you(can't remember where I found this though ) and since doing this the only stuff we've received has been for a tenant they had when they let the house out for a while.....

moneyistooshorttomention

....well....I guess a bit of light relief is due on that one by now....

Being what happens if PO has now "shuffled off this mortal coil" and letters are still coming through for them?

Ummm...as someone who is currently buying a probate house. Thankfully, I have the vendors address and they are a relative of the previous owner and I will just forward anything onto them....but am now wondering what happens when that isn't known....:A

Letters forwarded on to "Mr/Mrs X, c/o St Peter, The Pearly Gates, Cloud 9":rotfl: