Harassment from debt collectors after previous tenants

Jellybeanx

Is there anything I can do to stop 2 years of harassment from debt collectors and bailiffs after the previous tenants of my council house?

I’ve sent post back “return to sender- not at this address since May 2017” for two years now and still it keeps coming.

Some are traffic offences and parking fines and I’ve contacted the DVLA who say they can’t do anything, tell the police, the police say they can’t do anything, tell the DVLA, the council must know they don’t live here, I have a council tenancy agreement and my council tax account with my name on it, yet letters are coming here for them from the council!

I’ve now had a hand delivered letter through the door saying if I do not contact them and pay immediately they will return to my property to remove goods and fees for doing so!

Why are these people not investigating the people that owe this money? All three people I have mail for haven’t lived here for two years and I’ve repeatedly told them this. I’ve proved I am not any of these people already and it still keeps happening.

This is causing a great deal of stress and I feel intimidated by this constant harassment. Is there anything I can do to stop this as returning post and phoning people clearly isn’t working. I was under the belief that these companies have a duty to find the people that owe them money and not constantly harass innocent people.

Is there anything I can do to stop this?

Sirrah67

Contact the debt collectors! It's not a harrassment anyway, they don't know you're not the debtor, if they do turn up at the door just show them your tenancy agreement and they'll leave you alone.

I had a debt collector walk into my house looking for someone I'd never heard of! I showed him a council tax bill, told him I'd been here 30 years, and that was that. Turned out to be a clerical error, wrong address.

grumiofoundation

Have you contacted the bailiffs themselves? As they are the ones responsible for chasing the debt they may be the people to speak to rather than the people the money was originally owned to.

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/debt-and-money/action-your-creditor-can-take/bailiffs/stopping-bailiffs/stopping-bailiffs-if-you-dont-owe-the-debt/

[Deleted User]

Just keep a tenancy agreement and council tax bill by the door.., you get a knock and its a bailiff, show it to them. Next question they will ask is do you know where tenant is, say no, ask the council and off they go.

Its not harrassment, reduced your irritation/panic by having documents to hand at the door and they will be gone in moments.

Jellybeanx

I’ve done this several times already, hasn’t made the slightest difference.

Jellybeanx

Yes I’ve done this. Everything I’ve been told to do I’ve done but still getting letters and visits. How many times do I have to prove my identity?

Jellybeanx

I’ve done this several times. It makes no difference.

LocoLoco

We have similar in our current home - I get more post for the previous tenant than I do for myself and it's all court orders, demands for payment and so on. I don't do anything else now other than bung it straight in the shredder. My rule of thumb when I move is that I send everything back 'Not at this address' for six months, and then contact people by email to say the person they've sent that to doesn't live at the address any more. Once I've done that I put anything else in the shredder. One solicitor I contacted told me that they have to send paperwork somewhere so unless they have an alternate address they will continue to send it to the one they hold, even if they've been told it's no longer the right one. It is irritating, but as far as I know there's nothing you can do beyond what you've already done. Bailiffs won't take anything from your home once you've shown them your ID and so on so the worst that will happen there is if they do turn up, you show your proof and they'll go again.


It's annoying but unfortunately just one of those things, in line with endlessly barking dogs, people banging doors half the night, bad parking, dumping rubbish in other people's gardens and all the other annoying things that people do. Sorry not to have a useful suggestion for you.

hb2

OP, is it the same companies coming back, or different ones each time?

letitbe90

You must be doing something wrong because once I satisfied the debt collectors the debtor no longer live there, they aren’t interested in wasting money visiting my property.

Generally after this they will use services to locate the new address of debtor and go on from there.

Norman_Castle

Jellybeanx wrote: »

Some are traffic offences and parking fines and I’ve contacted the DVLA who say they can’t do anything, tell the police, the police say they can’t do anything, tell the DVLA, the council must know they don’t live here, I have a council tenancy agreement and my council tax account with my name on it, yet letters are coming here for them from the council!

Are the fines originally from the council? Try contacting them directly.


There is no link between council traffic enforcement, council housing and council tax.


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