How to stop letters going to old address (running debts to SB, abroad, using UK Postbox)

kevoxshockwave

Hi all — hoping for some advice and to sanity check my plan.

I have several old debts (mainly credit cards and loans — Cabot, PRA, Barclays/Barclaycard). They all defaulted in June 2022, so I’m halfway to them going statute barred (England).

I’ve made no payments or written acknowledgements since default — I’m deliberately running them to SB and have no intention of paying.

Here’s the issue:

Some of these agencies are now sending letters to my Dad’s house — I do NOT want this happening.

However, I am also now living abroad and will not be moving back to the UK. I do not want to “reset the clock” by wording things badly.

Current setup:
✅ I have a paid UK Postbox service (gives me a proper UK street address — mail is opened/scanned).
✅ I live outside the UK (currently Indonesia but moving again soon).

My plan:

• Send them a letter that says:

  • I am resident outside the UK with no plans to return.

  • Please update their records to send correspondence to my UK Postbox address.

  • Please stop writing to my Dad’s address.

  • Explicitly state this is not an acknowledgement of any debt.

Questions:
1️⃣ Is it wise to tell them I live abroad, but NOT give them an overseas address (just keep using the UK Postbox)?
2️⃣ Is it better to send this by email, post, or both?
3️⃣ Is this wording safe and does not risk resetting the SB clock?

Draft wording I’m thinking of sending:

Dear Sir/Madam,

I note that correspondence regarding an alleged account in my name has been sent to [Dad’s address].

Please be advised that I am currently resident outside the United Kingdom and have no plans to return.

For correspondence purposes only, please update your records to the following postal address:
[My UK Postbox address]

Please ensure that no further correspondence is sent to [Dad’s address].

For the avoidance of doubt, this letter is not an acknowledgement of any debt, nor should it be construed as such.

Yours faithfully,
[My Name]

---

Thanks for any advice — want to get this right as I’m playing the long game here.

fatbelly

Hi. If you get comments that are unhelpful, don't quote or respond. It just makes it more difficult for the mods to clean up the thread.

Your letter is ok in that it does not acknowledge the debt. But I think it may be ignored.

Is it really that bad having letters going to your Dad's address?

He can of course say that you do not live there. In the unlikely event of a court claim or letter before action, you do want to know that one has been sent.

la531983

Not sure why you think they have to have a UK address. Give them your current address abroad and tell them you have no plans to return? 

sourcrates

How have they associated Dads address with you?

I assume that was your old address prior to leaving the country?

What you could do, if you have access to these accounts online, is update them all with your current address in Indonesia, they won`t write to an address outside the UK, its the easiest option.

Or can`t Dad just bin the letters???

kevoxshockwave

fatbelly said:

Hi. If you get comments that are unhelpful, don't quote or respond. It just makes it more difficult for the mods to clean up the thread.

Your letter is ok in that it does not acknowledge the debt. But I think it may be ignored.

Is it really that bad having letters going to your Dad's address?

He can of course say that you do not live there. In the unlikely event of a court claim or letter before action, you do want to know that one has been sent.

Thanks @fatbelly for the response. Can i ask, why do you think it will be ignored?

kevoxshockwave

sourcrates said:

How have they associated Dads address with you?

I assume that was your old address prior to leaving the country?

What you could do, if you have access to these accounts online, is update them all with your current address in Indonesia, they won`t write to an address outside the UK, its the easiest option.

Or can`t Dad just bin the letters???

Yes it was my old address before I left the UK .

I have the UK Postbox address so I can monitor mail being sent to me, for example of a Letter Before Action was sent. If I give them my Indonesian address then I won't get these. I'm very transient here and don't stay In the same address for longer than 6 months.

My thinking is, if they know I live overseas and am not coming back to the UK, they're less likely to waste time and money pursuing?

fatbelly

I don't think they will like a PO Box address when they already have a standard address to write to, and visit if necessary

I agree with the others. If you give then an Indonesia address I suspect that will be the end of it. But Dad does have to return letters marked not at this address

kevoxshockwave

fatbelly said:

I don't think they will like a PO Box address when they already have a standard address to write to, and visit if necessary

I agree with the others. If you give then an Indonesia address I suspect that will be the end of it. But Dad does have to return letters marked not at this address

Appreciate your expertise on this. Thank you for your time. One final question - my Dad is leaving the address within the next 12-18 months, so after that, there's no association to said address at all. How does this aid (or hinder!) my situation?

la531983

kevoxshockwave said:

fatbelly said:

I don't think they will like a PO Box address when they already have a standard address to write to, and visit if necessary

I agree with the others. If you give then an Indonesia address I suspect that will be the end of it. But Dad does have to return letters marked not at this address

Appreciate your expertise on this. Thank you for your time. One final question - my Dad is leaving the address within the next 12-18 months, so after that, there's no association to said address at all. How does this aid (or hinder!) my situation?

Suspect it wont matter at all, you are still abroad regardless.

sourcrates

Bottom line is consumer debts are just not chased outside of the UK, they send letters etc to a last known UK address, and that`s it, makes no difference if action is taken through the courts or not, and if Dad moves, the letters will still go that address, I`m guessing.

In time it just all goes away, defaults go after 6 years, judgements become unenforceable, debts will otherwise become statute barred, debt collectors move on to easier targets, its all a numbers game to them.

Whatever happens, it only affects your UK credit file, it won`t affect you in a foreign country. 

kevoxshockwave

sourcrates said:

Bottom line is consumer debts are just not chased outside of the UK, they send letters etc to a last known UK address, and that`s it, makes no difference if action is taken through the courts or not, and if Dad moves, the letters will still go that address, I`m guessing.

In time it just all goes away, defaults go after 6 years, judgements become unenforceable, debts will otherwise become statute barred, debt collectors move on to easier targets, its all a numbers game to them.

Whatever happens, it only affects your UK credit file, it won`t affect you in a foreign country. 

Thanks @sou@sourcrates. I just want to relieve my Dad of the hassle of receiving mail that is not for him, so even if they 'ignore' my letter, at least I have tried. If they want to get hold of me, I will give them both my UK Postbox address and my Indonesia address. If they continue to send mail to my Dad's, then that's their look out. 

One more thing -  I often see on here advice from you ( @sourcrates) and also @fatbelly, that all correspondance should be ignored, unless it is a LETTER BEFORE ACTION. 

In my case, with me living abroad and not ever coming back to the UK, is a LETTER BEFORE ACTION still a big deal, or not? Should i also ignore and LBA or should i deal with it, and if so, in what way?