Debt collectors looking for someone who lived in my flat before me?

ispookie666

Hi
I had been in a similar situation. The previous tenants had humongous outstanding debts. All the letters were to the previous guys and I called up the letting agent who had absolutely no idea of their forwarding address.

But one was addressed to the Occupier - which i happened to open and it turned out to be debt collection agency. I called up the number given and stated the facts and gave the letting agents number to cross check.

I have not had anymore mails from anyone - other than the Spams and my own.
Hope this helps:)

loubel

We used to get a lot of debt collection letters for the previous owners of our house. We put them back in the post with 'not at this address' on the envelopes. Eventually they stopped sending them.

We did come home to a letter from a bailiff saying they had been round to collect unpaid council tax and would be back the next day to break in(!) We phoned them and told them the house had been sold and they were fine about it. They asked us to contact the council to confirm the details which we did and we never heard from them again.

thesaint

Yasmin25 wrote: »

The money is owed to British Gas/Scottish Gas.

In that case, I would call them direct.
Ask them why they have set their monkeys on you when they are fully aware that the debtor does not live at the address.

pmlindyloo

here is the relevant legislation as regards opening other people's mail:


Postal Services Act 2000
Under the Postal Services Act 2000:
“A person commits an offence if he, without reasonable excuse, intentionally delays or opens a postal packet in the course of its transmission by post, or intentionally opens a mail bag.”
“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.”
This, in essence, means that if you deliberately intercept, throw away or open somebody else’s post you are likely to be breaking the law.


It is very easy to open a letter addressed to someone else (especially at this time of the year!) In the circumstances outlined this was not a deliberate act to act to another person's detriment so no offence committed here.


As regards the options they have all been given here.


You will get conflicting advice according to people's experiences.


So you decide what to do.


1. Ignore and send any future mail unopened back saying 'no longer at this address.'
2. Telephone/email/write enclosing a copy of tenancy agreement/details of someone who can confirm you live there.
3. Ask your landlord/letting agent to deal with it.


If you do nothing you might have further letter/debt collectors turning up. You can prove you live there so, in theory, any debt collectors should back off as soon as you show your ID. The debts belong to the person not the address so there is no concern there.


Personally I would be pro active in this but that's just because I wouldn't want the hassle/take the risk of anyone knocking on my door early in the morning when I haven't got my make up on!

Dukesy

We bought our old house in 2006, and it had been empty for some considerable time prior to this (around 7 years). We had constant letters for a person who had been a tenant in the dim and distant past, all saying she owed large sums (sod the legalities, I gave up returning them to sender and used to look at them). Although irritating (and as I know nothing about debt collecting and how it works, it was slightly worrying for me, as some of the debts appeared to be fairly recent), the letters weren't an issue really - great firelighting material! The real problem came when we had a phone line installed in 2010 and somehow, the debt collection lot got hold of our number, despite it being in my name, which was completely different to the person they were chasing. The letters continued, but we were also bombarded with phone calls - and I'm talking five or six a day, it was that bad.

I DID correspond with the debt collectors, and eventually most of it stopped. I see no problem with this - if you are not the debtor, why should you not make an effort to stop this harrassment?

quidsy

It is illegal to open letters not addressed to you

facepalm...

Gwhiz

thesaint wrote: »

Get your boyfriend to call the company with the information he has.
Don't ignore it.

Forget about the letter opened in error. If asked, tell them your 3 year old nephew opened it.

You will get a lot of scaremongers in this thread. Ignore them, not the letters.

This.

I had these letters when I moved into my rental. Called the debt collectors and that was the last I heard form them.

bouicca21

I had debt collector letters addressed to both landlord and previous tenants at my old flat. Didn't need to open them - the return address on the envelope made it obvious.

And on one occasion bailiffs did turn up at the door. I simply told them I wasn't the person they were looking for and they went away.

BitterAndTwisted

Every time the debt is sold on, sometimes for pennies in the pound, another set of threatening-sounding letters will arrive. You are not obliged to respond to them or to tell them that the person/people they are seeking no longer lives at your address. Phoning or writing to them them is likely to have no effect whatsoever. Liars who are intent on avoiding to pay their debts know how to wield pen and paper as well as the telephone

All you need to do is keep copies of your photo ID and tenancy agreement to hand for when they show up at the door and never, EVER let them in.

Shelldean

the myth opening other people mail has been explained nicely by pmlindyloo, so nothing further to add on that.


In my experience, calling the company will stop the letters, although not always.
In out first flat the previous tenants had done a moonlight flit, so we had tons and tons of debt collectors letters.


Iused to tell them to call the housing assoc to verify I was the tenant now.


Worse one was when my sis was babysitting for me, and the bailiff turned up accompanied by the police. I was heavy pregnant with twins so sis so the police and panicked something had happened to me.

The letters did stop.
But just be aware it might be easier to prove who you are if they do knock, than to tell them to foxtrot Oscar, tho I believe you are within your right not to tell them??????