Letters for dodgy tenant

sixgeese

Hi all
We moved into our flat 5 years ago, and quickly found out that the previous owner had been renting it out to an unsavoury character while the sale was taking a while to go through. During this brief period, the tenant had racked up thousands in debts to various suppliers, and we were stuck with the letters and occasional bailiffs. Fortunately, I also learned that this situation does not affect us or our own credit rating, it's only the individual at fault - but it was annoying and a little unsettling.

After a lengthy process of proving to the various companies that dodgy tenant was long gone, we stopped receiving letters chasing this man's debt. Until this week, when we received some more, from a company that seems to have bought his historical debts.

Is there anything we need to do at this stage, and is it a worry in itself that these letters - which had stopped years ago - are suddenly coming our way again? My concern I suppose is that he's continued to use our address, but I'm hoping it's just the same trail dating back to his brief sojourn in our property.

Also, is it actually worth my while ringing up these companies or would it actually be better to ignore them? I have had conflicting advice on the matter but have heard that they are more likely to leave you alone (guilty or otherwise) if you simply give no reply to the attempts at contact?

Many thanks

Marktheshark

Learn how credit works first.
Then bin them, not your name = not your problem unless you want a debt shark thinking you are really them lying.
Thats how they work.

sixgeese

I know that they won't affect our ratings, but would you want to live with the prospects of bailiffs rocking up at any time? Sure, I can rightfully tell them to go away, but it's a little unsettling.

Marktheshark

The worry and trouble has started already.
Opening other peoples letters is not going to do you any good, it will bring trouble and worry, like it is doing already, put them in the bin and move on.

Strummer22

Marktheshark wrote: »

The worry and trouble has started already.
Opening other peoples letters is not going to do you any good, it will bring trouble and worry, like it is doing already, put them in the bin and move on.

My advice is a little different. Cross out the address (leaving it legible to anyone who looks closely), and write 'not known at this address - return to sender' on the envelope. Put in the postbox.

With luck this will stop the flow of letters.

Marvel1

The problem is you are opening the letters, not liking the look of them and contacting the sender saying it's not you - this is how it looks to the sender.

I would do what Stu N has said, return them unopened.

pogofish

Stu_N_ wrote: »

My advice is a little different. Cross out the address (leaving it legible to anyone who looks closely), and write 'not known at this address - return to sender' on the envelope. Put in the postbox.

With luck this will stop the flow of letters.

This is what you need to do. It will take a while but the letters do stop coming.

Marktheshark

pogofish wrote: »

This is what you need to do. It will take a while but the letters do stop coming.

As they dont return them if they are one way franked mail without payment its urban myth, they stop arriving because they never get a reply.
They are sorted by an automatic sorting machine that pulls them out and they get shredded.
You can send them back by using another envelope and a stamp.

Strummer22

Obviously it does depend whether there's a return address on the envelope. Otherwise it can't be returned to the sender.

I hope the OP never gets hassled by a bailiff again. But you're not in the wrong, and could threaten to sue them for harassment if they do bother you.

ViolaLass

We had this when we moved into our current house. I opened the letters and contacted the companies to tell them that we were not the people named and I didn't know where they were (I would have happily shopped them if I had known anything).

I often see MSE posts saying that this doesn't work but it did for us. The people on the phone just asked when we had moved in and we never heard from them again.

chuckley

I'm struggling with how you came to the conclusion the tenant was dodgy....