Police letter received but not anyone at address

G-Man10

Hi all,

Puzzling situation really. A letter arrived to our home and I opened it without looking at who it was intended for because I just open all the post in our house. Anyway, the letter was a police accident/collision witness form asking the recipient to fill in the forms because she was "involved in an accident/collision where her vehicle was damaged and she was a witness".

From the accident, collision, camera, fines etc unit but addressed to a name that has never lived at our address nor do we recognise the name. No details of the vehicle. So this isn't a fine or speeding ticket etc and we've returned it as not known at this address but it's left me baffled as to how it arrived with our full address on but an unknown name. We've sold a couple of cars in the last few years and I'm wondering if there is a possibility that there has been an error with the DVLA where the car is still registered to this address but I doubt it. Just strikes me as really odd if someone has given our full address for this incident but their real name or/and the police have mixed up our address but I can't see how!

Anyone got any ideas?

Thanks

AndyMc.....

Human error.

wgl2014

Don't worry about it.

If you get further correspondence it may be worth contacting the sender to query it but I wouldn't bother at this stage.

pogofish

Return it to the police with a simple not known at this address - let them follow it up.

You could add "opened in error" if you want but TBH, actions against someone for opening mail not addressed to them are very rare indeed.

agrinnall

pogofish wrote: »

Return it to the police with a simple not known at this address - let them follow it up.

You could add "opened in error" if you want but TBH, actions against someone for opening mail not addressed to them are very rare indeed.

Too late, the letter's already gone back...

G-Man10 wrote: »

...we've returned it as not known at this address...

Alter_ego

pogofish wrote: »

You could add "opened in error" if you want but TBH, actions against someone for opening mail not addressed to them are very rare indeed.

That's true because it is not illegal!

G-Man10

Thanks guys.

I'm not too fussed to be honest. My grandfather was getting fines and speeding tickets to his address last year where someone obviously gave a false address or did something dodgy but a quick phone call to the police cleared it up and got his address removed.

I just found it weird and wondered how our address would be linked to the intended recipient. I've returned it anyway so should be the last of it!

photome

Alter_ego wrote: »

That's true because it is not illegal!

I thought it was , looks like 6 months is max sentence

Car_54

photome wrote: »

I thought it was , looks like 6 months is max sentence

"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." [Postal Services Act 2000, section 84(3)]

This clearly does not apply to the OP.

Nasqueron

photome wrote: »

I thought it was , looks like 6 months is max sentence

This is if you, for example, open post for the purposes of a crime such as stealing credit details to take out loans in someone's name. Simply opening post not addressed to you (unless there is no return address on the envelope), while dubious morally, is not illegal.

AndyMc.....

Nasqueron wrote: »

This is if you, for example, open post for the purposes of a crime such as stealing credit details to take out loans in someone's name. Simply opening post not addressed to you (unless there is no return address on the envelope), while dubious morally, is not illegal.

The only time it’s unlawful to open it and it not being to the addressees detriment is pre delivery.