Really Need help with Mail re-directing Service

BJV

Not sure if this is in the right section? But I have a problem with the previous owner of my house and if anyone can help,  I hope that you kind and knowledgeable folks can?

Long story short, we had a terrible time buying our house. ( genuinely not our fault the seller at the time ) I buy houses all the time in work and never have a problem so I know (sort of )what I am doing. We had nearly a year of sheer hell. But that was four years ago ( completed in feb 2016 ) and we thought that while the previous owners had wrecked the house just before we moved in it was all ours and that this horrible person was a distance memory. We are slowly budget willing creating our dream forever home . 

Last week I got a letter from Royal Mail informing us that the previous  owners had requested an extension to the mail re-direction service ????? I called to be told that for the last four years they had a mail re-direct from our address and that they had extenuating circumstances and wanted another four. 

I could not believe it. I am trying to be PC but theses people where horrible, nasty and just down right evil not only in the way in which they treated us but also other people. They owed a lot of money to a lot of not very nice people, and banks, who could still think that they live at our home address. ( we did not know any of this until it was too late. ) Background. Ripped a lot of people off, ripped a lot of banks off, not just pennies but mega money, PC way of putting it conned a lot of people out of money. Wreaked the house before we moved in , cut electric cables smashed sinks, a skip of rubbish in the garden, etc  Solicitor said we would win but that they did not have the money to pay so why bother. 

I was advised to email in with reasons as to why they should be able to use my address. I got an email back saying that as they had been able to provide forms of ID in my address that they had not upheld my compliant and had re-instated the re-direct. I called again to be told I have to go through the complaints procedure ??? It can take up to 3 months. In the meantime this horrible person is using my address for god knows what reasons. I honestly can not think of a legitimate reason as to why you would need mail forwarding from an old address for 4 years. So there system will mean that he will always have proofs of address registerd at my home so he will be able to hijak my address until when ever he chooses not too. 

I have made the compliant and already reported to OffCom. 

Any ideas of how I can get this sorted. It was not so bad when I did not know he was suing my address but now I do I am panicking. 

Massive thanks for any help you can offer. 




 

giraffe69

It may not help much but any debts are tied to the person not the property.

hollydays

The house wasn't repossessed? Were their activities criminal?

Pollycat

BJV said:

Not sure if this is in the right section? But I have a problem with the previous owner of my house and if anyone can help,  I hope that you kind and knowledgeable folks can?

Long story short, we had a terrible time buying our house. ( genuinely not our fault the seller at the time ) I buy houses all the time in work and never have a problem so I know (sort of )what I am doing. We had nearly a year of sheer hell. But that was four years ago ( completed in feb 2016 ) and we thought that while the previous owners had wrecked the house just before we moved in it was all ours and that this horrible person was a distance memory. We are slowly budget willing creating our dream forever home . 

Last week I got a letter from Royal Mail informing us that the previous  owners had requested an extension to the mail re-direction service ????? I called to be told that for the last four years they had a mail re-direct from our address and that they had extenuating circumstances and wanted another four. 

I could not believe it. I am trying to be PC but theses people where horrible, nasty and just down right evil not only in the way in which they treated us but also other people. They owed a lot of money to a lot of not very nice people, and banks, who could still think that they live at our home address. ( we did not know any of this until it was too late. ) Background. Ripped a lot of people off, ripped a lot of banks off, not just pennies but mega money, PC way of putting it conned a lot of people out of money. Wreaked the house before we moved in , cut electric cables smashed sinks, a skip of rubbish in the garden, etc  Solicitor said we would win but that they did not have the money to pay so why bother. 

I was advised to email in with reasons as to why they should be able to use my address. I got an email back saying that as they had been able to provide forms of ID in my address that they had not upheld my compliant and had re-instated the re-direct. I called again to be told I have to go through the complaints procedure ??? It can take up to 3 months. In the meantime this horrible person is using my address for god knows what reasons. I honestly can not think of a legitimate reason as to why you would need mail forwarding from an old address for 4 years. So there system will mean that he will always have proofs of address registerd at my home so he will be able to hijak my address until when ever he chooses not too. 

I have made the compliant and already reported to OffCom. 

Any ideas of how I can get this sorted. It was not so bad when I did not know he was suing my address but now I do I am panicking. 

Massive thanks for any help you can offer. 




 

Re the bit in bold:
That's bonkers!
Of course they were able to provide id at your address!
They've never changed their address!

I'm sure RM's redirection service wasn't intended to cover situations like this.
I 100% sympathise with you on this but I'm not how you take it forward.
I find it shocking that someone could continue to have mail delivered to an old address for 4 years and RM agree to a further 4 years.
I'll watch this thread with interest.

Silvertabby

Pollycat said:

BJV said:

Not sure if this is in the right section? But I have a problem with the previous owner of my house and if anyone can help,  I hope that you kind and knowledgeable folks can?

Long story short, we had a terrible time buying our house. ( genuinely not our fault the seller at the time ) I buy houses all the time in work and never have a problem so I know (sort of )what I am doing. We had nearly a year of sheer hell. But that was four years ago ( completed in feb 2016 ) and we thought that while the previous owners had wrecked the house just before we moved in it was all ours and that this horrible person was a distance memory. We are slowly budget willing creating our dream forever home . 

Last week I got a letter from Royal Mail informing us that the previous  owners had requested an extension to the mail re-direction service ????? I called to be told that for the last four years they had a mail re-direct from our address and that they had extenuating circumstances and wanted another four. 

I could not believe it. I am trying to be PC but theses people where horrible, nasty and just down right evil not only in the way in which they treated us but also other people. They owed a lot of money to a lot of not very nice people, and banks, who could still think that they live at our home address. ( we did not know any of this until it was too late. ) Background. Ripped a lot of people off, ripped a lot of banks off, not just pennies but mega money, PC way of putting it conned a lot of people out of money. Wreaked the house before we moved in , cut electric cables smashed sinks, a skip of rubbish in the garden, etc  Solicitor said we would win but that they did not have the money to pay so why bother. 

I was advised to email in with reasons as to why they should be able to use my address. I got an email back saying that as they had been able to provide forms of ID in my address that they had not upheld my compliant and had re-instated the re-direct. I called again to be told I have to go through the complaints procedure ??? It can take up to 3 months. In the meantime this horrible person is using my address for god knows what reasons. I honestly can not think of a legitimate reason as to why you would need mail forwarding from an old address for 4 years. So there system will mean that he will always have proofs of address registerd at my home so he will be able to hijak my address until when ever he chooses not too. 

I have made the compliant and already reported to OffCom. 

Any ideas of how I can get this sorted. It was not so bad when I did not know he was suing my address but now I do I am panicking. 

Massive thanks for any help you can offer. 




 

Re the bit in bold:
That's bonkers!
Of course they were able to provide id at your address!
They've never changed their address!

I'm sure RM's redirection service wasn't intended to cover situations like this.
I 100% sympathise with you on this but I'm not how you take it forward.
I find it shocking that someone could continue to have mail delivered to an old address for 4 years and RM agree to a further 4 years.
I'll watch this thread with interest.

Ditto.  According to their website, RM only offer this service for a maximum of 4 years - and that's usually for people who live/work abroad or are moving around a lot.  Even if you do manage to pursuade them to terminate the service, you won't be able to stop your ratbag vendor from continuing to use his old address- and if he is still local there is always the danger that he will try to collect his post from you if it isn't being forwarded.  
I would keep copies of the RM redirection service correspondence by the door to show to anyone who turns up looking for him.  And, as the service isn't 100% guaranteed, make sure that any mail that slips through is returned to sender marked 'left this address xx xx xx'.
ADD.  I don't want to put the wind up you, but I would also keep an eye on your land registry listing for your house - you can sign up for a service which alerts you to any activity, including a charge made against the property for, say, a secured loan.  

BJV

hollydays said:

The house wasn't repossessed? Were their activities criminal?

No it was not repossessed but they where forced to sell the house ( we had no idea at the time ) since buying we have found out as local people started to tell us. Criminals ???? in my mind yes. anyone who can swindle hard earned money out of people and think it is acceptable. They also owed lots of money to some very bad people. 

Thanks for your comments ref proof of address. I had already explained this to Royal Mail and they could not see the problem. Have to say I thougth it was me going a little mad being the only one to be able to see the flaw in their system . Totally agree it is not what the service was made for.

I have only seen them once since we moved in. I had always promised myself that if ever I saw them that I would walk up slap "her " across the face and give "him a piece of my mind. In the end I stood in the supermarket shaking burst into tears, left the trolley where it was and walked out. 

Strange as old, as battered and as much in need of TLC our house is it now our home. We have and saved saved and had a new roof put on this year. No more water coming in when it rains.  Electrics and plumbing now stored. Its not quiet all ours yet as the bank still ownes a little but we are getting there. Since I found out I am now putting the alarm on when we all go to sleep. I honestly wish I had never found out. Ignorance is bliss. 

One of my work colleagues suggested writing a letter to him address to my home address and asking them to stop. Not sure it would do any good and not sure I could trust myself .

Guess I just have to wait for Royal Mail complaints procedure.

Once again thank you for all your comments. 

Pollycat

Keep us informed, BJV.

I wonder if it is worth going to see Citizens Advice and asking if there is anything else you can do.

Or maybe drop a letter to your MP...?

BJV

Just got an this back from Royal Mail 
( I have taken out address and name bits )

Thank you for contacting us.

 

I understand that you have recently received notification that a redirection service has been renewed to forward mail from your address, and that you had subsequently contacted us to advise that you object to the service.

 

Once we received this information we checked the application details and found that the details we have used are correct. This means that the applicant has specified that they want to have their mail redirected from your address, and would also indicate that they have passed security checks to verify that they are permitted to use this service.

 

If you feel that this is incorrect, and still wish to object to the agreement, can you please write to the freepost address below, providing a signed letter that outlines the reasons why you feel we should refuse to provide the service, please include the date that you moved in. Once this is received we can enter into a process where we can challenge the applicant and request that they provide additional documentation showing their entitlement to use this service. If the applicant cannot do this then the agreement can be cancelled.

 

Royal Mail Redirection Centre
PO Box 944
STOKE-ON-TRENT
ST1 5DB

I apologise for any inconvenience this requirement may cause, but at present the service will continue unless we receive further written correspondence from you.

Absolutley Ridculous I have now raised another complaint. Can not believe in todays GDPR , anti fraud society this can happen!!!!  

I have already put a letter in the post. Just have to wait 14 days then if still not happy ( if they dont stop it ) I have to complain again. Looks like a waiting game all the while hopping there are no knocks on the door !!!!

 

Pollycat

Do you have any written evidence (not hearsay) about the wrongdoings of these people that you can safely provide to RM (without putting yourself in a compromised, 'wrong side of the law' position) e.g. newspaper reports of any legal proceedings against them to back up your reason for not wanting the redirection to continue?

shaun_from_Africa

Silvertabby said:

Ditto.  According to their website, RM only offer this service for a maximum of 4 years -

That's the route I would take and tell RM that the redirection has now reached the maximum time permitted by themselves.
https://www.royalmail.com/sites/default/files/royal-mail-redirection-consumer-and-special-circumstances-terms-conditions-march-2019-20436557.pdf

8.3 The maximum Redirection term is four years, including any extensions. This is reduced to 6 months for a Redirection where the old address is a PO Box. 

Silvertabby

There appear to be two questions here.  One is, is the applicant entitled to use this service? The answer seems to be yes, as it's between him and RM.  Question two, however, is the biggee - and that is is the applicant entitled to use OP's address for whatever purposes.  The answer to that is no, absolutely not.  OP's complaint should be on that basis - that the vendor does not, has never, nor ever will have OP's permission to use this address for any purpose.