Scary knock at door

PasturesNew

Any chance it was a delivery driver? Coming up to Xmas they only get paid when they deliver the parcels - the Home Delivery lot use local people with their own cars to deliver the goods..... and some delivery drivers do try doors just because they're rude/dippy and have no idea how inappropriate that is. Some people have reported walking into their living room/kitchen to discover a parcel's been delivered.... rare, but it happens.

kirsty100000

PasturesNew wrote: »

Any chance it was a delivery driver? Coming up to Xmas they only get paid when they deliver the parcels - the Home Delivery lot use local people with their own cars to deliver the goods..... and some delivery drivers do try doors just because they're rude/dippy and have no idea how inappropriate that is. Some people have reported walking into their living room/kitchen to discover a parcel's been delivered.... rare, but it happens.

I hope you're right but he didn't leave any note or anything saying he attempted a delivery and I couldn't see anything in his hands except something that looked like a strip of paper.

timbo58

I did hear it wasn't illegal to open mail not personally addressed to you BUT at an address you own IF you had legitimate concerns about debts that might be lodged against the address?

I certainly did so recently after getting obvious DCA letters for the last 3 years and returning them properly marked as I lost patience and rang the DCA myself.

arcon5

hallowitch wrote: »

I don't want to worry you but personally I don't think it was a bailiff I cant see a bailiff turning up at someone's door at 10.30 on a Sunday night


as for the mail whether its legal or not to open someone's mail after 2 yrs of living there I would be opening it if it was me

Only illegal if you are doing so to act to their detriment.

arcon5

We've lived in our current property about 8 months, about 2 letters per day, RTS for about 4 months, then started binning them. We opened a few recently and inside it said 'our recent investigations have determined that you still live at this address' - so probably got the RTS letters and clearly haven't done any investigating. These continue to go in the bin and will continue to do so. So one day I suspect a field agent will knock on the door and I suspect this may be happening with you.

Do you have a chain on your door? So you can open it slightly and engage in conversation?

peachyprice

Or it could just have been a takeaway delivery going to the wrong address, not as dramatic but far more probable than a bailiff at 10.30 on a Sunday night.

Why didn't you just put your head out of an upstairs window and ask who they were?

I think your letting your imagination get carried away itself with all these thief and bailiff scenarios when it's far more likely that it was a simple wrong address. I'm actually surprised that the police took anything down TBH.

ValHaller

I doubt it was a debt collector or a bailiff, but I would think it was definitely connected with the previous residents, possibly to do with some kind of 'unofficial' debt. In your position, I would be asking the person through the door

• Who are you?
• State your business!

I'm surprised you did not do this - at least now, we would not be speculating about what this is about and we could give some more concrete suggestions to deal with it.

Geodark

Have to say I have opened post addressed to someone that used to rent a room from my wife before we married (she left about 8 years ago) and a few of them were debt chasing letters - so I just rang the companies involved and informed them that she didnt live here any more. All of them were fine and have removed our details from their systems. If I was still getting letters two years after moving in I would be opening them - but that might just be me!

shaun_from_Africa

timbo58 wrote: »

I did hear it wasn't illegal to open mail not personally addressed to you BUT at an address you own IF you had legitimate concerns about debts that might be lodged against the address?

This is correct.
It is not illegal to open any mail addressed to other people provided that you have a reasonable reason and by doing it, you are not intending to cause loss or distress to the intended recipient.

kirsty100000

I didn't ask anything because I'm a young female living alone and was scared about what might happen. I couldn't look out a window as I live in a flat and the only window that would have given me any view is the one he was knocking at. I will definitely be opening the previous owners post though from now on. Hopefully it was a wrong address and he doesn't come back.

Thanks for all you're advice