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

A property developer would most certainly know all this. A clever burglar might also. Im not saying it isnt intimidating but that is hiw they know. You can ask for your details to be redacted in the Land Registry under certain circs.

OP - unless they are renting, they got their names from the UK Land Registry. This is a public document. It is likely to say when the property was last sold which would give a clue to their ages. If one if them was a company director at some point, that would give their month and birth year. Lots if ways online you can find these things out, potentially.

This is really misinformed. These are just the ones that you see on TV and on those programmes about rogue landlords/tenants. They make up a tiny minority of HMOs.

The majority of HMOs are tenanted with students or young professionals trying to keep their housing costs low in order to save a deposit to buy. These people are all tax payers or students receiving student finance or assistance from parents. Not benefit claimants.

Your neighbours are elderly and have said they feel “upset and frightened” by the letter. Please report it to the police. Install a ring doorbell or some other form
of CCTV.

suggesting we should sell because we are old? No.

addressed to us and asking us if we want to sell, yes.

it’s a very high demand area.

I would ignore them if they turned up

This is just the sort of problem PCSO’s.are there to deal with.
You can request a visit from your local team.

I am not ageist (in my 70's myself) but every day less confident people are conned by fake roofers, drive pressure washer services and so on. This one has all the hallmarks of a scam. No one is expecting blues and twos and the Flying Squad but a call to the non urgent service is a good idea. As I have already said, police would rather know about such things BEFORE crime has occurred

Police. If there were contact details of an EA or other business on the letter then maybe trading standards but there is no evidence on the letter that its any kind of business.

It's easy to get their name off the electoral roll. Tell them not to answer the door. I would advise getting an intercom doorbell- you just tell anyone you don't want to talk to that you would'nt be interested and never actually go to the door- they are worth their weight TBH. You could tell the police, but this falls a long way short of harrassment, so I doubt they would be very interested.

I would make sure there’s someone tough there with them, who will tell whoever it is that the couple are NOT interested, so fuck off (maybe marginally more politely) and if they approach the couple again, or contact them in anyway, the police will be involved.

This is horrible for the couple. If i was their neighbour I'd do what I could to wfh that morning and be with the neighbours around 11am to see if anyone comes. If the nwihhbour can't do it then a driend or relative of the couple. If the writers of the letter do turn up, then whoever is there can photograph them and their vehicle and then let the police know.

A letter naming the recipients, implying their age and the occupational status of the property is known and trying to shame them into selling their property is more threatening than cheeky.
Leaving the property empty at the time of the 'appointment' would be a very unwise move.

I'm not convinced the police should be there to reassure people about an unwanted knock at the door at a given date and time (so easily avoided by being out or simply sending them away if/when they knock).

Honestly, the letter is cheeky but I don't see the threat or the danger. No crime has been committed and none threatened either.

Get a big red pen and write a huge NO across the letter and tape it to the front door on the day they say they are coming and then don’t answer the door.

they will have gotten the homeowners' names from the Land Registry, which is public.

Not all land is on the registry. A house unsold for 58 years may not be.

On the off chance that this is a genuine letter and not just someone trying to stir up tension in the neighbourhood (HMOs being very much the Big Bad Wolf of the moment, despite them often being rented by students and young professionals) if you insist on contacting the police, do it online, don't call them. You'll find the contact details on your local police force website. If you phone them they're likely to say it's a civil matter and no crime has been committed. I'd be absolutely stunned if they sent a PCSO as some have suggested they would. They just don't have the resources.

If the people who received the letter are concerned, can they not just go out at that time? If they are housebound is there no one in the community that could go and sit with them at that time? A Good Neighbour scheme, a friend or a family member? Do they have a day care centre that they could attend? Could they call the Silver Line at the time this person is meant to attend so that they are occupied at that time?

How about 'to protect the public by detecting and preventing crime' ?

And specifically the Derbyshire Police 'protect the most vulnerable from harm.'

The motto of the police is To Serve and Protect.

Not unless we're all trapped in an American cop show it's not.

It would be worth their while getting a Ring doorbell.

Chances are it’s poorly thought out and presumptuous business practice rather than an attempt at intimidation. I think I would report to Trading Standards rather than the police, at least initially. And be out at the time of the “appointment”, or have someone else there to tell. Mr Common Surname to go away.

However, if there is any sort of follow up or pressure (like mother letter), THEN I would escalate to police.

Do you really get letters addressed to you by name and suggesting as you are old and there are only two of you living in the house you should sell ?

Is it a police matter or something like trading standards?
Either way the person who has sent this letter seems to have done some research which is worrying.