Receiving debt collection letters for previous owner

Heathela

Hi,
I bought my house 9 months ago. It was a quick sale as the previous owner had already moved out as 'an opportunity came up'. 
The letters for the previous owner started stacking up the moment I moved in, I assumed they hadn't redirected their post yet so contacted the estate agents, who got in touch with the previous owner. They sent a friend round to collect the letters.
The letters have continued to come. I write "not known at this address" on them and put them back in the post. Usually around 10 letters per week. 
In the summer what I assume was a bailiff turned up at my door looking for the previous owner, I showed proof of ownership and he assured I wouldn't be bothered by them again. 

More recently the letters have increased, I've continued to return to sender. I've searched the PO Box address on the back and they are all debt collection agencies. 
Two weeks ago an enforcement letter was posted through my door, stating if the debt wasn't paid they would enter the house and remove possessions - even if nobody was present at home. 
I phoned the number on the back and explained the situation. I was assured this was passed on to the high court. 

The letters have continued to come, including a letter from companies house 'on his majesty's service'. 

I don't know what to do to make this stop and I'm anxious they will enter my property while I am out. 

Is there any way to stop this for good? 

user1977

Only the passage of time will make them stop for good. Nobody's going to be entering your property. Bailiffs etc are used to the concept of debtors moving house.

Hoenir

Keep returning to sender as soon as the post is received. Will take some time for the mail to finally stop.

Jonboy_1984

We had all of this, it dried up around month 12.

Section62

Heathela said:

The letters have continued to come, including a letter from companies house 'on his majesty's service'. 

That suggests there may be a business registered at your address.  Do a business search for your postcode on the Companies House website, if you find your address being used for a company then you can inform them the information they hold is incorrect.  Or alternatively that a company director has moved away.

They are slightly more proactive at updating their records than the debt recovery companies.

TheJP

Hoenir said:

Keep returning to sender as soon as the post is received. Will take some time for the mail to finally stop.

No such thing as return to sender, Royal Mail just bin these. They can barely deliver letters as is. Nothing to worry about and yes its an annoyance but at some point they will flag the new correspondence for the previous owner.

GrumpyDil

TheJP said:

Hoenir said:

Keep returning to sender as soon as the post is received. Will take some time for the mail to finally stop.

No such thing as return to sender, Royal Mail just bin these. They can barely deliver letters as is. Nothing to worry about and yes its an annoyance but at some point they will flag the new correspondence for the previous owner.

Not true as we get quite large volumes of returned mail where I work. 

Keep_pedalling

I would not simply send anything official looking back without opening them. On the odd occasion that has happened to us I have contacted the sender directly. The last one we had was to a loan guarantor who had used our address so clearly fraud and I informed the loan company that their was no such person live in at our address.

Before anyone says it is illegal to open post addressed to other people, it is not it it addresses to your home, you have a right to open it to find out why it is being sent to your address.  

la531983

Heathela said:

Two weeks ago an enforcement letter was posted through my door, stating if the debt wasn't paid they would enter the house and remove possessions - even if nobody was present at home. 

Whoever told you this is lying through their teeth. 

Silvertabby

la531983 said:

Heathela said:

Two weeks ago an enforcement letter was posted through my door, stating if the debt wasn't paid they would enter the house and remove possessions - even if nobody was present at home. 

Whoever told you this is lying through their teeth. 

They are not allowed to break in, but seems they may enter through an unlocked door?

Some time ago, a friend lived at 9 * Ave at the same time that a family with serious debt problems lived at 9 * Close.  You can see where this is going... mail for them through her door, a couple of callers, all dealt with at the time.

Then, one afternoon, she popped next door leaving her own back door unlocked (safe area) and stayed for a cuppa and a chat.  Neighbour's husband and a few of his friends (all army, all dressed in combat gear) arrived for an after duty brew and commented on the 'new' truck on my friend's drive.

Army guys shot round, to find two bailiffs in the process of dismantling my friend's tv, etc, with boxes of other valuables ready to take out to the truck.

After an Army-type discussion on the importance of getting the right address, the guys made the bailiffs put everything back where they had found them, plus re-connect the tv etc.  They even made them hoover up the mud they had tracked in.

OP - make sure you keep your doors locked until this sorry saga runs its course.

silvercar

Keeping sending back with ‘not known at this address’. Eventually someone will add their name and your address to GAIN, the Gone away information network. That should reduce the flow considerably. We had the same, including pleading charity workers where the previous owners business had taken their money for goods before the business became insolvent and they went bankrupt.