Does debt go against the house or the person?

garyhopef2s

Hello,

I have recently bought a house and it looks like the previous owners have a lot of debt and have done a runner. We are getting debt collectors at the door and we want to know if you house will be blacklisted and will affect our credit rating.

The previous owner’s parents live next door and when the first debt collector knocked my fiancée directed them to the parents. The parents then knocked on our door and asked us not to refer anyone else to them as it’s not their problem.

We were giving the parents any post that came until we kept on getting npower letters through for the previous owners as well as our own so I contacted npower to tell them that they no longer lived there and was told to send back any letters for them. At this point we decided to return all letters addressed to the previous owner stating that the property was now owned by ourselves. We hoped that this would stop the debt collectors. Then the parents knocked on the door a week later complaining that we had sent back an important letter for a council house which they were waiting for. To keep the peace I told her that our solicitor told us to return all of the post because of the debt collectors, etc. She was not very happy, but to keep the peace we have started giving her any mail we receive.

After yet another intimidating bailiff and a scared fiancé I am sick of it and want it sorted out. I have managed to find out where they now live (they don’t know I know), but I am unsure whether or not to give that info to the debt collectors to stop them harassing us. I have heard that the previous owner was a bit of a dodgy character and am frightened of any backlash.

Any help or advice would really be appreciated.

Thanks

Gary

olly300

Debt goes against the person however if one or two of the previous occupants have run up a large bill with a company and disappeared, that company may require something like a large deposit to do business with you at that address.

The parents sound like they want their cake and eat it. They should not be using your address and if they want to they should be more co-operative. Unless you can work out all the names just send back all mail and say that you've not received any mail for them and don't talk to them. Alternatively you can open the mail and deal with it by ringing up every company and telling them they don't live their anymore and giving out some details that allow them to be chased.

Debt collectors can find people's current addresses by contacting the person's solicitor so I would tell the debt collectors the contact details of the solicitor the previous occupants used. That way they can be chased but you haven't given out any specific details.

It is not illegal for you to open other people's mail unless you are not doing it in good faith i.e. opening it to see what's in it then throwing it away. The best thing to do is open the mail, ring the company up, explain why you opened the mail, give them details so they can chase the previous occupants and ask them what they want you to do with the letter you have opened. 99% of them say you can bin it. (You may have to ring the company 2 or 3 times before someone gets the message that's the only way they can find the debtors.)

Also more importantly make sure your names are on the electoral roll and the previous occupants names have been removed. This won't stop the debt collectors but will stop the previous occupants running any more debts up against your address and stop the parents using your address.

myrnahaz

This happened to my son. Go onto the electoral roll website (I don't know how - I just googled 'electoral roll' and followed the most relevant link) and make sure that the only people listed are you and your partner.
Next - register on the 'mailing preference service' and 'telephone preference service' (again, just google MPS & TPS) - I think you can actually do something that ensures you only get mail intended for you, but you'll also stop any cold calling.
Next - I'm not sure if it's illegal to open someone elses mail, so I'm pretty sure that you shouln't pass the previous tenants' mail to their parents. If you get anything addressed to the last people, write 'not known at this address' on the front of the letter and put it back in the nearest post box.
If bailiffs etc turn up at your door, show them something like a rent book or your first electricity bill etc so they can see when you moved in, and driving licence/passport so you can prove you're not the other guy..
My actually son had a visit from policemen because the previous owner had missed a court date and they issued a warrant for his arrest - when DS explained what the situation was (and proved he was not the other guy) they left him alone, and told him they'd make a note that the other guy had skipped off.

olly300

myrnahaz wrote: »

Next - I'm not sure if it's illegal to open someone elses mail, so I'm pretty sure that you shouln't pass the previous tenants' mail to their parents. .

You are allowed to open someone elses mail if you do it in good faith and don't get any gain from doing so. You are not allowed to just dispose of the letters.

So for example I've had someone elses electricity bill sent to me in the past after forwarding it to them twice. I opened the electricity bill and telephoned the electricity company and gave them the person's new address. A few weeks later the I received another electricity bill for them so again I opened the bill I then wrote to the electricty company with the new person's address details enclosing the bill. I never received another bill in that person's name. (I left of my address.)

Another thing you can try and it sometimes works - is to put a sign on your door above your letter box stating " Please do NOT post mail for " and list the surnames of the people who don't live at your address. The advantage of this is that even if the postman doesn't follow your instructions the parents will think that you are not getting their mail.

adouglasmhor

It is not illegal to open mail addressed to someone else - unless it's for fraudulent purposes.

kitchen_buff

Debt goes against the person. If you are applying for credit etc and you have lived somewhere for less than three years they ask for previous addresses, The fact that they have just moved in will tell any finance people this when applyng for credit. It might be worthwhile getting their credit files from experian etc.. to show prospective lenders.

Stephb1986_2

i would pass on the address afterall its not your problem so they shouldn't be knocking on your door.

Steph x

garyhopef2s

Thanks for the advice. I have just rang Experian and they confirmed that debt is against the person and not the house, so I don't have to worry about it affecting my credit rating. I just need to stop the bailiffs and post now and I will be fine.