ex husband using my address

the_scary_one · 24 October 2012 at 11:51PM

my ex husband has used my address for credit cards and i get regular letters which i send back no longer at this address.

yesterday i received a letter from HMRC about the tax credits i claim for my daughter as i am a single parent.
They say that they have searched the credit reference agencies and found that my ex husband is registered as being at my address and given warnings that if i am commiting fraud they will want all money back plus penalties.
i understand they want proof, but other than the divorce decree and all the bills are in my name, what else can i do to prove he hasn't lived here since then?:(
please help

dancingfairy · 25 October 2012 at 12:51PM

Hi. I'm not sure what you can do. How annoying. One thing you can check is that he is no longer on the electoral role at your address which will make it harder for him to get new credit at your address. Sadly if that's the address he's given his creditors then there's not much you can really do apart from either send everything back as return to sender (which should set some sort of warning flags off) or phone the credit cards companies and explain the situation and give his newaddress (if you have it) but I'm not too sure on a) the legalities of opening someone's post and b) whether the credit card people would listen to you.
Can you write to HMRC and explain the situation as you have on here? Do you have his new address?
Best of Luck
df

the_scary_one · 25 October 2012 at 10:08PM

thanks for your response, HMRC seem to believe me when i tell them my situation. so this is not as urgent as i thought during my sleepless night.
however, i need to deal with these letters im getting from his creditors, ( i havent opened them). so i will make an appointment with my local CAB and see what they say.
thanks again

dancingfairy · 26 October 2012 at 1:23PM

Like I said, not much you can really do. Maybe write once to all his creditors, explain that he has moved out and his address is x (if you have it). After that ignore them. They can't take any action against you/your house. IF they manged to get a court order and IF they then appointed bailiffs then you should just talk through the letterbox to them/with door on chain and have a copy of your tenancy agreement etc in your name and send them off with a flea in their ear. Phone police if necessary/you feel threatened.
It is a horrid situation but there is not a massive amount you can really do (as far as I know

). They will catch up with him eventually.
Best of Luck
df

kloana · 26 October 2012 at 6:13PM

the_scary_one wrote: »

thanks for your response, HMRC seem to believe me when i tell them my situation. so this is not as urgent as i thought during my sleepless night.
however, i need to deal with these letters im getting from his creditors, ( i havent opened them). so i will make an appointment with my local CAB and see what they say.
thanks again

These letters are very common, OP, and during the past year or so, they've been sent to tens of thousands of single TC claimants. So it's not 'personal'. Last year, HMRC signed up to a deal with Experian, the main credit reference agency in the UK. Under this deal, HMRC use credit files to establish potentially false 'single' claims, by linking 'partners' at the same address, or with apparently shared finances, etc. In some cases, genuine friends who are definitely not partners (for example, man and woman living together, but man is gay) have been written to.

A really useful thing you can do is try to prove where he is living. Presumably he does have a place somewhere, where he might be registered for employment (or benefit) purposes, council tax purposes, utility bills, etc. If you do know where he might be, inform HMRC of this address.

HMRC do understand that life and relationships are complicated. It's not uncommon for ex partners to retain some kind of link on paper, even if they're genuinely not together.

Try not to panic, and good luck.

chesky · 27 October 2012 at 11:45AM

We had precisely the same problem at our bureau a couple of months ago - HMRC did eventually agree but it;s a lesson to be learned. Don't allow people to use your address for post - send back all letters marked 'moved away' or some such. Also, make sure he's not still on the electoral roll.

Valli · 27 October 2012 at 12:05PM

I believe you can contact the credit reference agencies and request to be disassociated from your ex-husband; you may also be able to get them to record that he no longer lives at that address...

*goes to check*

some information here (blue text is a link)

advice up the thread of making sure your husband is no longer on the electoral roll at your address is sound.

and here is Experian's own advice

so yes, you can contact credit reference agencies and have a notice of dissociation (also referred to as a notice of disassociation) put on your file!

re the mail-
There is no law to stop you opening correctly-delivered mail (ie mail that comes to your home, even if it's not addressed to you personally) so you can check exactly what he is being pursued for. So there is nothing to stop you sending a letter to the creditors stating you were divorced on (date) you have no liability for any debt contracted by him and that you request they cease contacting him at your address.

Debts contracted by him after the divorce was final are his and his alone - or they should be!

undaunted · 27 October 2012 at 12:21PM

You could post a notice in the local press "classifieds" if you wish

Either way write to your local Council electoral roll officer with appropriate evidence & asking them to remove his name from registration at your address

ex husband using my address

Comments

Categories

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free