Advice Please with ex lodgers debt

pelco

Hi Everybody,

This is my first post on here so please be gentle.

Can anybody offer any advice on the following matter please.

A couple of years ago we let a friend of ours stay with us for quite a few months whilst he sorted a few problems out.

After he left we started to get debt letters chasing him for payment, we originaly returned them no longer at this address and if it still persisted we rang the company up and explained the situation, in all everybody was ok with this and they stopped coming, until now.

Last week we recieved a letter from a company called DLC acting on behalf of Hillsden Securities chasing a substantial amount of money and stating that he is still living at our address, i rang these people up and tried to explain the situation but they insisted that he was still here and that we send payment within 7 days or they will send somebody out to visit the address.

Is there anything i can do about this or am i just going to get bombarded with threatening letters and the prospect of somebody turning up on my doorstep, surely there is a law about this.

Any help would be much apreiciated as my wife is worried sick.

Many thanks in advance.

Cleosmum

Can you provide your friends new address to them?

poppyg_2

Can you not just send the letters back with 'not known at this address' on them, maybe they'd get the message???? Surely they can't keep chasing you. Do you know where your ex lodger lives? If so, I'd provide this address to them as cleosmum suggests

terryw

It is not your debt and you can not be forced to pay. In fairness though, if it was dead easy to get rid of a debt by saying that someone had left an address, then no debts would ever be paid! (I am speaking generally here and certainly not about you). I fear that the firm will call to satisfy themselves that your friend is no longer there. They have no right of entry.

Your friend has not been very fair to you in leaving you with this worry. Have no loyalty qualms about assisting the firm in tracing your friend, as the friend has betrayed your humanitarian assistance.

terryw

pelco

Thanks for the quick replies,

Unfortunatley all we know is he moved to London, i have tried telling them this but all they say is that Expearian shows he is still living here, what ever that means.

Of course the other thing is we dont want our address to be blacklisted with his bad debt.

Thanks

terryw

pelco wrote: »

Thanks for the quick replies,

Unfortunatley all we know is he moved to London, i have tried telling them this but all they say is that Expearian shows he is still living here, what ever that means.

Of course the other thing is we dont want our address to be blacklisted with his bad debt.

Thanks

In theory credit references should be on the person not the address, so again, in theory you should not be blacklisted.

terryw

















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chevalier

Experien is one of the credit reference agencies that credit companies use to check if a person has out standing debts, or defaults etc. It apparently shows that your friend is still showing your address as his address. Do you know his parents so you can remonstrate with them to get their son to get their act together?

Really unfair of him to do this to you.

You can also put a letter of disassociation on your credit score saying your friend does not live at you address. But other than that you can only keep on telling the same thing. And don't let them in if anyone does call.

regards
chev

beanielou

Get your ex lodger taken off the electoral roll at your address.

pelco

beanielou wrote: »

Get your ex lodger taken off the electoral roll at your address.

Hi,

He is not on and never has been on the electral roll just myself and my wife, if i knew where he was i would not hesitate to pass on his address.

Larumbelle

I would send a letter along these lines:

Dear DLC / Hillesdon / Whoever

I refer to your correspondence dated xxxxxx regarding xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx. As per our telephone conversation, I am informing you in writing that xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx does not live at this address. I am unable to provide you with any information as to their current whereabouts.

I respectfully remind you that persuing third parties not liable for a debt or disclosing details of debt to an occupier whom you are not certain to be the debtor is against OFT guidelines on debt collection. It is also against OFT guidelines to fail to take proper action to investigate a disputed debt or fail to stop action while you investigate that debt.

As a third party with no relation to the debtor I therefore demand that you halt all activity linking this debt to my address. Failure to do so will result in complaints to the OFT and trading standards, where I will present your behaviour as evidence that you are unfit to hold a consumer credit license. Any further contact, via mail, phone or in person will be considered harrassment and may result in civil action under 40(i) of the Administration of Justice Act.

Your etc...

Sorry if the wording isn't quite right, but you get the general idea. Hope this helps.

pelco

silvercharming wrote: »

I would send a letter along these lines:

Dear DLC / Hillesdon / Whoever

I refer to your correspondence dated xxxxxx regarding xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx. As per our telephone conversation, I am informing you in writing that xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx does not live at this address. I am unable to provide you with any information as to their current whereabouts.

I respectfully remind you that persuing third parties not liable for a debt or disclosing details of debt to an occupier whom you are not certain to be the debtor is against OFT guidelines on debt collection. It is also against OFT guidelines to fail to take proper action to investigate a disputed debt or fail to stop action while you investigate that debt.

As a third party with no relation to the debtor I therefore demand that you halt all activity linking this debt to my address. Failure to do so will result in complaints to the OFT and trading standards, where I will present your behaviour as evidence that you are unfit to hold a consumer credit license. Any further contact, via mail, phone or in person will be considered harrassment and may result in civil action under 40(i) of the Administration of Justice Act.

Your etc...

Sorry if the wording isn't quite right, but you get the general idea. Hope this helps.

Thanks for that,

I will get that sent off to them and see what happens.

Pelco