cc money owed by previous tenant

patrick_bs15

Hi
I am owner occupier of a property (lived here for just over 2 years)
Over the past few months several 'private and confidential - to be opened by addressee only' letters have been sent to an unknown woman who I assume used to live here. I have 'returned to sender' them all but today I opened one and, as expected, it's to do with an outstanding credit card balance (creditor acting on behalf of a well known credit card company).

So, have I done wrong by opening mail that is not in my name? Or is that perfectly ok? Would it be wise to phone up the creditor and get them to contact the local council tax office (or similar) to prove that the woman has not lived here (if at all) for over 2 years? Or should I just ignore it?

Obviously, am keen to avoid getting blacklisted through no fault of my own...

ilikewatch

You'll probably get 10 different answers from 10 different posters ranging from "you have every right to open any post sent to your address" to "you'll probably end up in jail"
In reality, if you opened it without any malicious intent you'll be fine.

DevCoder

As the mail has been "delivered" to its correct address you are ok with opening it as long as you' don't intentionally withhold it to the detriment of the original recipient

Credit is linked to people not addresses so you can't get blacklisted for someone else debt.

Id just re-seal it and put no longer at this address on the envelope and post it.

user1168934

Keep returning the mail, write "Note known at this address" on the envelopes. Do NOT get in touch with the lenders and do NOT pay a single penny to debt collectors because I have sometimes seen that people pay a very small like £1 token payment for debts which are not their own simply to gain time to sort the problem out - don't do that because that will count as an acknowledgement of the loan and you might have to pay the entire sum.

agrinnall

patrick_bs15 wrote: »

Obviously, am keen to avoid getting blacklisted through no fault of my own...

It's not your debt, and the letters are not addressed to you, so how do you think you would be "blacklisted"? People are responsible for debts not addresses. It really doesn't matter what you do with the mail, burn it, shred it, bin it, open it, return it, none of it will have any impact on your credit rating.

Sharon87

Don't worry about it, it's their problem. They are not linked to you. If debt collectors do come round just explain to them you have no idea the person is and if necessary show them your tenancy agreement to show them they don't live there if they're persistent.

I have in the past phoned up the company on the letter and explained I have no idea who it is and they don't live at my address, I never gave them my name or any personal details. The letters stopped after that.

patrick_bs15

Thanks for advice.
Was not entirely sure about whether debts were 100% linked to individuals or not.
Am just going to put 'not known at this address, return to sender' then pop in post as usual and not worry about it

worried_jim

Just put them in the bin, not your problem or remotely to do with you. Keep enjoying your life.

System

Not a good suggestion.

If they are returned to the sender then they will eventually get the message that the person doesn't live there.

Putting them all in the bin will mean that they will keep coming as they don't know they've moved on and just assume the person is ignoring them.

worried_jim wrote: »

Just put them in the bin, not your problem or remotely to do with you. Keep enjoying your life.

[Deleted User]

user1168934 wrote: »

don't do that because that will count as an acknowledgement of the loan and you might have to pay the entire sum.

This is incorrect. A debt which is not yours, is not yours, and cannot become yours, merely because you make a payment.

Marktheshark

You will find plenty of posts where "nosey parkers" have been subject to relentless and sustained harassment by debt collectors after opening other peoples mail and acting on the contents.
A hit is a hit to these people .
Go ahead and do it if you doubt the good advice above to bin it !