Suspicious Post

Robbiez66

Hi, sorry if this is in the wrong forum but just after some advice really.

I rent a flat.

I started getting post to my address in a name of a lady who has never lived here. All from Churchill. Lots of it. I RTS'd it. Went as far as my broadband provider contacting me about me leaving when I never requested to change providers. That thankfully then died off.

However, in the last week I've had post for Hare and Hounds for my address from a financial company and today for a gentleman who has never lived here from Prudential.

Does anyone have any idea why this is happening and whether I should be worried please? It's a hassle at the moment but worried it's some sort of scam. And no idea how to stop it happening. 

I've been returning to sender 'not at this address' everything as I know it's illegal to open someone else's post. 

Thanks

Rob

DE_612183

How long have you rented the flat?

Have you asked the landlord / agency if it could be for a previous tenant?

maya85

Keep returning them and do not open the post. has nothing to do with you. 

prettyandfluffy

You could also write "not known at this address",

Robbiez66

DE_612183 said:

How long have you rented the flat?

Have you asked the landlord / agency if it could be for a previous tenant?

4 years. They're not previous tenants. Or not in the last 10 years anyway!

user1977

Robbiez66 said:

I know it's illegal to open someone else's post. 

It isn't illegal to open post addressed to your address.

Okell

Robbiez66 said:

... I've been returning to sender 'not at this address' everything as I know it's illegal to open someone else's post. 

Thanks

Rob

maya85 said:

Keep returning them and do not open the post. has nothing to do with you. 

It's not necesssarily a criminal offence to open someone else's post - and I'd suggest it has everything to do with the OP.

Rob - so long as mail has been correctly delivered to your address (rather than to a named person) then you are entitled to open it if you intend no detriment to the addressee and you have reason a reasonable excuse to do so.  And in these days of widespread identity fraud I'd say you have every reason to open mail addressed to someone you've never heard of at your address.

So if your name is Rob Smith and you live at 46 Acacia Avenue, Toytown, TY2 TN3, you are entitled to open mail addressed to anyone else at that same address* - so long as you intend them no detriment and you have reason a reasonable excuse to do so.  [Edit:  to clarify - I mean anyone else at that address who you don't know or have never heard of.  If Tom Clarke also lives there you can't open his mail...]

I've done it loads of times to find out why someone I've never heard of is using my address.  And of course it reduces the chances of possible problems further down the line with debt collectors etc

The law is at s84(3) here:  Postal Services Act 2000 (legislation.gov.uk)

"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"

I'd say you have reasonable excuse.  [Edit:  I've edited the above to make this clearer]


*I'd say the only two exceptions are where you have multiple occupancy at a single address or where the OP has just moved in and mail is addressed to people who are previous tenants.

Robbiez66

Okell said:

Robbiez66 said:

... I've been returning to sender 'not at this address' everything as I know it's illegal to open someone else's post. 

Thanks

Rob

maya85 said:

Keep returning them and do not open the post. has nothing to do with you. 

It's not necesssarily a criminal offence to open someone else's post - and I'd suggest it has everything to do with the OP.

Rob - so long as mail has been correctly delivered to your address (rather than to a named person) then you are entitled to open it if you intend no detriment to the addressee and you have reason to do so.  And in these days of widespread identity fraud I'd say you have every reason to open mail addressed to someone you've never heard of at your address.

So if your name is Rob Smith and you live at 46 Acacia Avenue, Toytown, TY2 TN3, you are entitled to open mail addressed to anyone else at that same address* - so long as you intend them no detriment and you have reason to do so.  [Edit:  to clarify - I mean anyone else at that address who you don't know or have never heard of.  If Tom Clarke also lives there you can't open his mail...]

I've done it loads of times to find out why someone I've never heard of is using my address.  And of course it reduces the chances of possible problems further down the line with debt collectors etc

The law is at s84(3) here:  

"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"

I'd say you have reasonable excuse.


*I'd say the only two exceptions are where you have multiple occupancy at a single address or where the OP has just moved in and mail is addressed to people who are previous tenants.

Thanks for taking the time to respond with so much detail. These are the first times with both names this time around so will return and open if they continue. 

MCT56

Had a similar experience a couple of years ago where a finance company sent more than one letter to my elderly relatives address in a small rural village. It was addressed to someone we had never heard of - unusual uncommon name. No one of that name had ever lived at my relatives address or in the small community.  I wrote to the sender - a credit company - and told them the situation and to stop sending mail to my relative as they were most anxious about it. To be honest the company were not very helpful as they probably deal with chancers all the time and don’t appreciate the stress this nonsense can cause the elderly. It was apparent that someone had used the address to take out some kind of credit agreement. How they picked the address is a mystery because the company won’t tell you anything due to data protection which is very frustrating. To my mind protection of the elderly in more important than protecting the data of some scammer.

Okell

Robbiez66 said:

Okell said:

Robbiez66 said:

... I've been returning to sender 'not at this address' everything as I know it's illegal to open someone else's post. 

Thanks

Rob

maya85 said:

Keep returning them and do not open the post. has nothing to do with you. 

It's not necesssarily a criminal offence to open someone else's post - and I'd suggest it has everything to do with the OP.

Rob - so long as mail has been correctly delivered to your address (rather than to a named person) then you are entitled to open it if you intend no detriment to the addressee and you have reason to do so.  And in these days of widespread identity fraud I'd say you have every reason to open mail addressed to someone you've never heard of at your address.

So if your name is Rob Smith and you live at 46 Acacia Avenue, Toytown, TY2 TN3, you are entitled to open mail addressed to anyone else at that same address* - so long as you intend them no detriment and you have reason to do so.  [Edit:  to clarify - I mean anyone else at that address who you don't know or have never heard of.  If Tom Clarke also lives there you can't open his mail...]

I've done it loads of times to find out why someone I've never heard of is using my address.  And of course it reduces the chances of possible problems further down the line with debt collectors etc

The law is at s84(3) here:  

"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"

I'd say you have reasonable excuse.


*I'd say the only two exceptions are where you have multiple occupancy at a single address or where the OP has just moved in and mail is addressed to people who are previous tenants.

Thanks for taking the time to respond with so much detail. These are the first times with both names this time around so will return and open if they continue. 

Note that I've since edited my reply to make my meaning clearer (I hope!).

I think it's a good idea in the first instance to return mail as "Not known at this address".  But if you keep getting stuff addressed to the same person and you don't know who they are, I'd open it to find out what is going on.  If you're getting letters from a debt collection company addressed to someone you don't know, you don't want to wait until the bailiffs are knocking on the door to try and sort it out.  If it reaches that stage it's just a lot of hassle that could have been avoided.

The real point of my reply - like @user1977's post - was to correct the widespread but mistaken belief that it's necessarily an offence to open mail addressed to someone else.  It isn't necessarily an offence.  Depends on the circumstances...

Keep_pedalling

I would not hesitate to open them and find out what you are actually receiving. Every time this comes up someone gives duff info about it being illegal when it isn't.