AIBU to think this intimidating house buying letter should be reported to police?

Cheeky bastard.
That letter doesnt read like asking, it reads like telling!
I can see how that would feel intimidating.

Your friend should stress they have no obligation to answer the door.

Maybe suggest they write no in big red letters across the letter and tape it to their front door on Thursday.

This 💯

I think definitely make the police aware of this as they’re vulnerable, plus it was addressed to them by name which is very creepy. Maybe help them get cctv/camera or a camera doorbell like Ring to help identify the letter writer if they try again at their home or nearby, and also for their personal safety.
YANBU, OP.

Agree 100%

Gangs cuckooing vulnerable people to live in/ work from or purchase their homes is a big problem. I would definitely report it. The reason for doing so is that even though initially the police will just log the details- should anything intimidating happen and 999 need to be called, the police will already have the details and are more likely to take it seriously and attend.

I am not saying it isn't. I am saying you don't, however, have to be Inspector Clueso to get the information. It is very easily accessible if you are prepared to pay 7 quid.

I'd call the police that's terrible!

Asked and answered 😄

you know you don't have to give the ACTUAL MMN don't you? Provided you keep a note of what you said, you can use any word you like to answer any of those security questions. In many circumstances, you can even give different answers on different websites to the same security question.

Mr Wossname is perfectly entitled to find out the names of any property owners by paying a small fee to the Land Registry to find out whose name is on the Deeds. This is publicly available knowledge.

Not all ownership details are on the :Land Registry. Especially if ownership has not changed in the 58 years we have been told the owners have lived there.

that's fine. I could certainly tell them to fuck the fuck off, tell them they were on camera and deal with them without breaking sweat. However as I said upthread, there are loads of people my age or younger who, for various reasons, would not be able to do this. If there was not, roof/drive/window/car valet scammers would not exist.

PS people are entitled to own and live in houses even if they cannot afford the upkeep!

They should ignore it and if Mr Wossname ever does knock, just say they are not interested and any further contact will be illegal harrassment.

Mr Wossname is perfectly entitled to find out the names of any property owners by paying a small fee to the Land Registry to find out whose name is on the Deeds. This is publicly available knowledge.

Your friends are perfectly entitled to own a house of any size that they can afford the upkeep of. My parents consider a 4 bedroom house to be the minimum that 2 people can get by in, with a guest room and each of them having a workroom/study - and yes it could easily be a 5 bedroom HMO with one of the 2 reception rooms being a bedroom, but no one has the right to force them to downsize if that isn't their choice.

It can be, but it's still a shitty thing to do because it's directly "targeting" old people who feel vulnerable. Even if they're sending the letter to everyone the people it will fit are the people most likely to be unsettled. There are about 3 options, none of them reflect well on the letter writers

1. It's a letter sent out to lots of homeowners hoping to hit their mark. Shitty
2. It's specifically directed to the individual homeowners because someone has identified them as 2 older people living alone (either through the land reg or observation). Shitty
3. It's someone trying to shit stir/fear monegwr for the fun if it. Shitty

I already posted earlier, but on the reference to HMOs made me think because normally someone trying to buy a house in these circumstances would emphasize it could ba a lovely family home for a new family (and then convert it to be an HMO). It's easier to pull on the heartstrings and persuade people to sell that wayz than specifically mentioning you intendnto turn it into a HMO as.those are unpopular. So it could be a sort of prank. But a really horrible one because it's focused on winding up/potentially scaring vulnerable people.

Thousands of the same letters can be sent out and now and again enough of them hit the right kind of people.

I guess if you use the name Smith ?

I think you need to read the thread.

Thousands of the same letters can be sent out and now and again enough of them hit the right kind of people. It’s just like a message you may get on your phone saying that you’re due for a tax bait or something.

Don't underestimate the amount of free information that's out there with very little effort. Even if data protection were taken seriously there would be a lot.

I'm a bit baffled by the "shrugging off" attitude of some posters.

In what world is it acceptable to cast moral value judgements on average elderly citizens and use it as a tactic for financial gain? Whether their home, which they own, is underoccupied or not, is no-one's business but their own.

The personal targeting is very unsettling, and the promise of a visit at a specified time is nothing but intimidating.

HMOs have their place, lived in one as a student, but they are ripe for exploitation by the unscrupulous. And if the person wishing to turn this house into one is using these tactics, I doubt they'll be providing fluffy towels and a chocolate on the pillow to potential tenants.

The objectionable person who sent this should be educated and told in no uncertain terms that even if this is a misguided marketing strategy of some sort, it's not acceptable. Whether that falls to the police or some other official body requires some guidance.

Honestly I'm gobsmacked on the daily about how low the bar is for supporting vulnerable members of the community.

And if this is any sort of stirring around politically contentious housing issues such as those mentioned up thread, it's just fuelling a fire that needs to be put out.

If its an EA behaving in this way they that definitely needs to be reported to the police as harassment. I doubt its a council swap as the letter talks about turning it into an HMO.
I'd definitely say this falls under either harassment or fraud/scam and therefore the police themselves want you to report it https://www.police.uk/pu/contact-us/

If they own their own home then it is possibly just an estate agent trying to tout for business albeit in the most underhanded disgusting way. If it is a council house then it could be someone looking for a bigger house in that area and has found the names and details out and that would be dodgy. I am not sure the police would take it seriously as dont they normally wait for a crime to be commited to even bother getting involved.

And do those letters have NO contact details for the person who wrote the letter and state a date and time when they will be coming to your house?

That’s a lot of personalised research though and the implication they should sell because it’s just the two of them is definitely disturbing.

So isn't the usual type of letter many of us have experienced then.

I feel like people are still minimising what is actually the most problematic part: that they 'will visit them on Thursday at 11am'.
I'm not elderly or otherwise vulnerable, but I still find that threatening and intimidating.