Monzo Have Sent Me Someone Else's Debit Card

subjecttocontract

If I was in the OPs position, I would do exactly what GeoffTF is suggesting. I'd write not at this address and stick it back in the post without a thought about any fraudulent use of my address. If I was feeling particularly annoyed I might cut it up and put it in the bin. I'd have far more important things to concern myself with, i really don't see this as a problem for the OP.

Chief_of_Staffy

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82075513#Comment_82075513

Then you take the risk of repeated debt collection phone calls, even bailiffs at your door demanding you provide ID, and potentially having the name of a fraudster linked to your address.

The OP has made the right decision in opting for 30 minutes of inconvenience vs an albeit small risk of months of significant problems.

Maegi

Monzo was quite popular with various non-EU people as they used to open accounts based upon a valid Passport alone (even if that Passport wasn't UK/Irish) and therefore didn't have implied UK residence rights. They also appeared to use the safe receipt of a physical debit as evidence that person was resident at the address given.

Something along those lines would be my guess here.

inspectorperez

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82075606#Comment_82075606

Thank you. That is exactly my take on the scenario.

I will await any form of response from Monzo and post an update on this thread in due course.

eskbanker

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82075606#Comment_82075606

Not sure that sending the card back unopened with 'not known here' would necessarily have a significantly different end result from opening it and talking to Monzo about it - either way round Monzo will be able to identify whether it's a mistake at their end (the most likely explanation IMHO) or a precursor to attempted fraud?

Chief_of_Staffy

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82075624#Comment_82075624

It may not, but being proactive at least gives the OP the best chance of communicating the issue to Monzo rather than it just being tagged with 'wrong address' and forgotten about. "Get it done properly," as Partridge from Equilibrium might put it.

And by getting a reference from Action Fraud, that's useful evidence in the admittedly unlikely scenario that a debt, or other form of criminality, is registered against a (non-) person at that address.

subjecttocontract

I had a large portfolio of rental properties for over 20+ years and often, during void periods, received letters of all kinds addressed to people who were not and had never been tenants. Some were from banks/ finance/ debt collection etc. They all ended up either in the bin or returned to sender not known at this address. I don't recall ever phoning any of the senders.

eskbanker

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82075637#Comment_82075637

Each to their own, and OP clearly sees this as a serious matter, but it's vanishingly unlikely that any report to Report Fraud (formerly Action Fraud before 'action' was recognised as a misnomer) would offer any meaningful support in the scenario you paint, and likewise I'm unconvinced that anything beyond simply returning the card to Monzo would actually achieve anything tangible either - they'll have set processes to follow, so even if it's possible to find someone who'd listen to "no, you really need to pay attention to this", that doesn't signify that anything would be done any more 'properly'.

Chief_of_Staffy

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82075652#Comment_82075652

It doesn't much matter what they do, the point is that if at a later date a debt collection agency starts phoning you three times a day or there is some other repercussion regarding your address being linked to fraud, possessing documentation of your report plus an official reference number is better than constantly saying, "It's not me, mate, honest."

GeoffTF

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82075606#Comment_82075606

You can prevent repeated debt collection calls for someone else's debt and deal with bailiffs trying to collect someone else's debt:

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

Why should I care if a bank wants to associate a fraudster with my address?

It is very unlikely that you will get problems as a result of simply returning other people's letters to banks, with "not known at this address". It is not worth spending any more effort than that for a very low probability event that could be dealt with easily anyway.

Chasing the bank is likely to be futile. The bank has to protect the confidentiality of its customer, and is not likely to tell you about any mistakes that it has made. You cannot complain to the FOS unless you are a customer.

In my case, I live in number 1. Perhaps someone missed of a second digit. Perhaps they had poor eye sight, had bad handwriting on a printed form or checked their typing carelessly.