Advice on Wescot Credit Services & Credit Security Ltd please

jenkinsj

I moved into my house about 10 years ago. I'm the third owner and I have details of all the previous owners.

About three months ago I started receiving letters marked "Private & Confidential" to my address but not in my name. They always arrived in pairs at about weekly intervals. I thought that perhaps the letters were supposed to be for someone else in my street and I could pop them into their letterbox. I know most of my neighbours but the name they are writing to is neither anyone I know nor anyone my neighbours know. So, each time they arrived, I marked the envelopes "Not Known at this address" and put them back in the post.

Last week another pair arrived addressed to the same person (still not me) but not marked "Private & Confidential". Thinking that the returned mail was not arriving back at the sender (by this time I must have returned about twelve previous letters) I opened one of the envelopes to see if there was a different return address inside.

The letter (and, therefore, I assume all the previous ones) were about a debt apparently owed to Hutchinson 3G by the person they are writing to. The language was very "assertive" and even threatening. It said that because they had not had any response they were either going to send a "doorstep agent" round or go to court for repayment. This letter said it was from Credit Security Limited but was on behalf of Westcot Credit Services Ltd. I checked the address inside the letter with the return address on the outside and they were the same so I marked the other envelope "Not known at this address" and put it back in the post. At the same time I wrote to both Westcot and Hutchinson quoting all the details on the letter (including the "Account No") and explaining that the person they were writing to didn't live, and as far as I knew never had lived, at this address.

I've had no response from any of them but this morning another pair of letters have arrived - this time pink - from Credit Security Limited. Again, I've opened one of the pair and it says that because I haven't responded they are about to send someone to my house to collect the debt but if the person they are writing to pays them a smaller amount (75% of the original) by next week then they'll take that "partial payment in full and final settlement and your Credit Reference file will be amended accordingly".

There is a telephone number to call on the letterhead. I tried calling it but it is a premium rate number and after holding in a queue for about ten minutes I decided not to waste any more money by waiting any longer.

I'm not now sure what to do. I've tried telling them, at my expense, that they are writing to the wrong address but they don't seem to take any notice and my attempt to call them has cost me yet more money I can't afford and I still couldn't get through. I'm scared now that not only is someone is going to come to my house to make threats on the doorstep (I live alone) but my "Credit Reference file" (whatever that might be) will be affected as well.

I'm hoping someone here will know who these people are or have had a similar experience and might be able to offer me some advice. So, does anyone know what's going on here and what I can do to get these companies to understand that they've made a mistake?

I'm very worried,

James

rog2

Hi James - You have absolutely NO obligation to contact these 'people'.
It is sufficient to do what you have been doing, i.e. to return the letters marked 'Not known at this address'.
It may be worth noting the dates that you send them back.
You CAN, if the letters are causing you distress, write to WESTCOT/CREDIT SECURITY and demand that they stop sending these letters to your address.
IF anyone turns up, simply tell them that you are NOT the person that they are looking for, and you do not know this person or his whereabouts. Then ask them to leave.
You are under NO obligation to prove your own identity, and should they get nasty you would be well within your rights to threaten them with the police.

PixiePie

The credit reference file I imagine they are referring to is the credit 'scoring' held on you by Expirian etc. These will in no way affect you if the name of the person is different from yours as they are now done on the person's name and property address, not just the property address.

After you have written by recorded delivery letting them know not to contact you at that address again as you are not the person they are seeking, if they contact you again, contact your local trading standards and they will look into it (I think - I know they do if a dca is harassing you when it's your debt, so I guess the same applies here).

However, do not open any more mail that is not addressed to you, as this is naughty (offical term there :P ).

DO NOT consider giving them a penny - you have done nothing wrong you owe nothing and I totally and utterly hate the fact these totally evil people are more interested than making a quick buck than actually doing the legally and moral correct thing and realise that it's nothing to do with you.
Grrr.

BWZN93

I agree with the above. I have had the same problem in the past however, and after 3 months, I eventually returned a final letter but had written on the envelope along the lines of 'any further letters will be treated as harrassment and will be forwarded to a police station with a complaint which I will take as far as possible', this person has never been known at this address blah blah'. Never had another letter so it must have worked!

Jo x

Jo x