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

@Nevernotmaybe They told her (not suggested) that the house ois too big for her, and that she must sell it (not consider doing so) at lower than the market price. They gave her (not asked her) a time and day for the meeting. Now, consider how a person who is elderly and frail would take these 'instructions'.

It was last week.

Seriously though, it’s obvious and has been explained multiple times on the thread.. They gave her a time that they were going to arrive at the house. I know plenty of older people that would be intimidated by this. Probably even a few younger. It doesn’t take much more than basic empathy to figure this out.

Take three photocopies and give 2 to trusted friends, and tell the Police to turn up on Thursday, and be on leave if you can. This is a threat. And the sender is also a thief who wants to cheat them out of megabucks.

Are you going to actually give the intimidating part for us to hear? Instead of just a general letter part of someone who is giving a pitch to buy a house and make an offer, that they can say no to and that's the end of it?

Unless you’re involved in the allocation of PCSO resources in the community, you know sod all more than the rest of us. Several posters have looked at the websites for their local force which encourages people to report the potential abuse of the elderly to them because it’s one of their priorities. Reporting it several days beforehand would have given them a chance to allocate a PCSO to attend on the day, rather than wait to see if anyone criminally minded turns up, only to find that there’s none available because they’ve been sent to deal with loitering kids the other side of town.

Do you understand now? Or do you still believe that because you have a passing association with the police, you’re privy to their staffing levels and priorities as a force?

Well if you know what PCSOs are, then why on EARTH are you saying that they would not be able to help people who are vulnerable in the community, and being targetted by scammers and bullies? 😂

THIS IS LITERALLY THEIR JOB! TO LOOK AFTER THE COMMUNITY!

Oh dear.......... 😬 #awkward

😂

Well given I work closely with the police, usually in respect of missing children, grooming and exploitation and of their parents' criminal activities I think I know what they aer.

Of course this could easily happen! That's what PCSOs are for! Do you even know what a PCSO is? What it stands for...... (Clearly not. So I will tell you......)

PSCO stands for POLICE COMMUNITY SUPPORT OFFICER.

Now that do you imagine they DO? 🙃

Hope this helps......

From THE COLLEGE OF POLICING.

Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) in the UK are uniformed members of police staff who work alongside regular police officers in neighbourhood policing teams to provide a visible, accessible presence in the community. Their primary focus is on crime prevention, public reassurance, and tackling local issues like anti-social behaviour, and elderly and vulnerable people being targetted by scammers, thieves, and fraudsters.

Roles and Responsibilities

PCSOs serve as the vital link between local communities and the police force. Their daily duties typically include:

High-visibility patrolling of neighborhoods.

Gathering intelligence and acting as the "eyes and ears" of the police.

Engaging with the public through face-to-face events, resident visits, and local businesses.

Supporting vulnerable people and providing reassurance after incidents.

Tackling anti-social behaviour (ASB) and assisting frontline officers.

.

Thing is, it's only YOUR posts that are sounding 'ridiculous' @likelysuspect

You really need to educate yourself on what PCSOs actually are!!!

You think it shows critical thinking to think that the police will 'sort something out' and have a PSCO on hand for the visit?

That was the point of my post to show how ridiculous it is to think the police have any resources or indeed inclination to respond to something like this.

This. ^ There's a serious lack of critical thinking (from some) on this thread. 🙄

Because people automatically assume it's asylum seeker/refugee accommodation thanks to the right wing media. I live in a city and I've seen a lot of HMOs of a very high standard and lived in several myself in my 20s. Still friends with some of the housemates now 15 years later

You think thats going to happen? What planet are you on?

Given I have a law degree and was a conveyancer for 20 years I'd say I do know what I'm talking about, yes. Unlike you though I'm not rude and patronising. Also, if you're asking a question it should end with a question mark. I guess the hard study of punctuation isn't for everyone either.

People wonder why lawyers are seen as unlikeable 🙄, perfect example right here (if you even are one)

I was thinking more along the lines of arranging their limited resources so that a PCSO could pop along to their house on the morning this man was due to call, but sure, if you want to show off how sharp and witty you think you are, then yeah, a posse 🙄 Fucking tedious.

Ownership info for a property is a matter of public record and easily obtainable from HM Land Registry.

Seriously ? Have you read the thread ? Or know what you are talking about.

Either would be nice.

Edited to say: I give up. I guess the hard study for the law isn't for everyone. But I bet a lot of posters here would whine about having to pay legal fees.

So the police have time to sort something out

Like what?

A posse?

I hadn’t realised this - so if you and your family of six children are allocated a large house by the council and the children move out, the remaining parent can still live in the large house. The council takes no account of changed circumstances? That’s absolutely ridiculous.

It’s pretty clear that social housing has a lot of systemic flaws - here is yet another one.

Of course, some HMOs are OK, and they do have their place, and their uses. (And it's a load of nonsense that HMOs are funded by the taxpayer as many people in them do work. This nonsense is very likely coming from someone who thinks social housing is funded 'at the taxpayers expense,' and everyone in it is on benefits!) 🙄

But to try to bully and coerce an elderly couple into giving up their 5-bed home 'so it can be turned into an HMO' is ludicrous. Utterly batshit behaviour. As I said, go and look on the market for a 5-bed house that's actually FOR SALE, instead of trying to bully people out of theirs. I strongly suspect that the people who dropped this letter through the letterbox - or posted it - would have given them waaaaay less than the house is worth.

A slightly similar thing happened to a neighbour of mine (in her late 60s,) several years ago. She has a 2-bed, end of the row, social housing bungalow with a big garden, not overlooked, and elevated, and in a lovely position. Her one DC left home 3-4 years ago in her late 20s, and moved some 15 miles away. (Her DH died about 10 years ago.)

Within about a month, 2 people from a house down the road (2 minutes walk,) came knocking at her door saying she needs to give up the property now as she is under-occupied. And the garden is way to big for her anyway, and her sister and partner and 2 kids 'could do with this place.'

They were on the social housing list, but they're a bit dim because it doesn't work like that, you can't just 'have someone's social housing property!' There's a system, and the next person on the list would be offered it if she left. Also, where was she meant to go?

If she had had a big 3-bed house, and they had been in a small 2 bed, (and had both of them had been in social housing) then a mutual exchange could have been arranged, but only if both parties wanted it. But they were in a private let property 2 bed flat....

And there's no way in hell she is ever leaving that bungalow. She said to them 'sorry no, I'm not leaving.' They contacted the social housing landlord and complained, and they laughed and said 'you can't just tell people to move because you fancy having their property, even if you're in social housing too.' As I said, the sister of these people was living in a 2 bed private let flat, and I think they genuinely wanted my neighbour to swap with them! 😆

I don't know if they had badgered other people, but my neighbour's home is very appealing because the plot is huge, not overlooked, and elevated.

Cheek of them! 😆

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Not all HMOs are 'funded by the taxpayer'. The ones in my street are almost entirely inhabited by young, working people. Don't generalise!

Many years ago I lived in a shared house in South West London, 5 professionals living together, shared kitchen, living room and bathroom, when somebody moved out there was always another friend willing to move in. The house was owned by a rather benevolent landlady who had inherited it and trusted us to look after it and post the cheques for the rent every month. Now that would be classed as an HMO, and need to be licenced.

We got a couple of letters a bit like this when we lived in a huge house in a a road where many had been made multi occupancy. Just ignored them.
Ironically when we came to sell back in peak 2022 we had masses and masses of interest from developers and large extended families but ended up selling to a single woman who just fancied a lot of space.

Neighbours were there but no one showed. Cameras have been installed.

Go to 'see all' on the OPs post and scroll to the end for the most recent update.