Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Original poster

Someone is using my address. What can I do?

31 replies

Fuma · 06/10/2019 17:31

I'm a tenant, lived in my flat for two years. When I first moved in I used to get multiple letters addressed to multiple people with different surnames from credit card companies, the dwp and others. Sent them all back return to sender and they gradually went away. All good

Last week I got a letter with "final demand" in red all over it to a person unknown to me so I opened it and phoned the company up. They're a debt enforcement agency and said as far as they're concerned the person on the letter lives here and they will continue to pursue. Then yesterday I got another letter addressed to a person with a different name again and it was to reject an application for a credit card. I think someone is using my address. What can I do?

OP posts:
ClemDanFango · 06/10/2019 17:32

Just keep sending them back, if bailiffs come knocking show them your tenancy agreement.

Passthecherrycoke · 06/10/2019 17:33

Yes just keep sending them back. It’s the companies problem not yours

Original poster
Fuma · 06/10/2019 17:34

Ok thanks. But it's fraud isn't it, cheeky fuckers. I don't want this shit at my door.

OP posts:
Passthecherrycoke · 06/10/2019 17:36

Well fraud does happen, yes Grin they’re pretty used to it

Gustavo1 · 06/10/2019 17:38

Check the electoral role. Make sure anyone who doesn’t live at your address is removed.

Open any post for anyone other than yourself and contact the companies involved. Let them know that you have been sole tenant at x property since x date. You can also contact your landlord/letting agency as they may have forwarding details.

I have had this happen to me and it is annoying. Do not let the enforcement agency continue to correspond to your address. Call, tell them again that the person is no longer at your address and is not known to you. Tell them you will consider any further contact from them as harrasment and will contact the police.

Original poster
Fuma · 06/10/2019 17:38

Does this happen to lots of people then? I think it's the brass neck of starting to use my address again after a haitus that is pissing me off.

OP posts:
SavetheMinden6 · 06/10/2019 17:39

A friend of mine had this. He made a list of the names and typed them out as the following notice which he stuck on the front door:
"To whom it may concern. The following individuals do NOT live at this address and the occupant has no knowledge of their current whereabouts. All post will be returned to sender. [List of names].

It didn't make the problem go away but it flagged up to anyone who came knocking that he was being upfront about it and not making it upon the spur of the moment.

Original poster
Fuma · 06/10/2019 17:41

Thanks gustavo1 that's helpful. Would the police be interested though? It was really shitty talking to the debt enforcement woman who basically told me I was lying and could expect more demands and eventually bailiffs - this is nothing to do with me! Fuckers.

OP posts:
MoltonSilver · 06/10/2019 17:42

I thought it was illegal to open someone else's post.

Passthecherrycoke · 06/10/2019 17:43

They’re fcukers, ignore them. They get people to pay up by being aggressive bullies. They couldn’t care less whether it’s your debt or not. Just let them waste their time and money, there isn’t a thing they can do.

The police couldn’t care less but it’s worth threatening them with it

Passthecherrycoke · 06/10/2019 17:43

No Molton not in those circumstances

Original poster
Fuma · 06/10/2019 17:51

Thanks @passthecherrycoke. I do have a legitimate tenancy agreement where I'm sole tenant and it's HA so lifetime as well but I guess I'm just feeling a bit twitchy because prior to that we were privately renting and I think that feeling of transience never leaves you LOL. I'm worried that I'm going to be kicked out in all honesty. Stupid I know. It is just me on electoral roll because I had to do the return not long ago.

OP posts:
Passthecherrycoke · 06/10/2019 17:54

No way you’ll be fine!

Slappadabass · 06/10/2019 17:55

Be ready to prove yourself to a bailiff I had one come to my flat who was very forceful, put his foot in the door and roughly forced it open out of my hand because he didn't believe me when I said I wasn't the person they was chasing.
Had to show him several peices of ID and letters showing my name and the address to prove it was my flat, was a right nasty peice of work and still didn't want to believe me.
Not saying they are all like that, just be careful.

BarbaraofSeville · 06/10/2019 17:56

No need to open any post. Just write 'not at this address' on the outside of the envelope, scribble over your address and drop it back in the post.

The company will deal with it when it gets back to them. Checking the electoral roll, and your credit file, is a good idea though.

AdaColeman · 06/10/2019 17:59

It's only illegal to open another person's post if you are doing so for malicious reasons to cause them harm, which clearly wouldn't be the case in Fuma's situation.

MarianaMoatedGrange · 06/10/2019 18:22

I had this for years in a former HA property, including nasty, bullying bailiffs. They asked for Mrs Random then asked my name. I said "not your business, the person you're looking for doesn't live here and I have proof of my tenancy, come back with the police" - they never did.

ElizaPancakes · 06/10/2019 18:51

I had similar, funnily enough only when I lived in a flat. Several red reminders.

I just kept sending them back.

DelurkingAJ · 06/10/2019 18:55

Had this in London in DM’s flat...was a parking fine so rang DVLA and they said they’d deal with it.

MadisonAvenue · 06/10/2019 19:03

A couple of years ago we started to receive letters from HMRC for someone re self-assessment. We live in a new build and the site wasn't previously residential so it wasn't for a previous occupant, and we'd lived here for several years when the letters started to arrive.

I did a search for the person and could find no trace of them online (it was a very unusual name!). We know the names of our neighbours and it wasn't any of them who'd mistakenly given the wrong house number.

I contacted HMRC each time one arrived and they'd take the details. Eventually I got through to an advisor who said that there was a form that they could fill out before investigating so they took all details and the letters then stopped.

Gingaaarghpussy · 06/10/2019 19:26

I had quite a few different peoples letters come to my flat when I first moved in 10 years ago. I used to re address them and write not known at this address. At one point I got several letters at once from the same company to a person I didn't know, so I sent them all back. This had stopped for a while until I got a letter from Italy, twice I sent it back with not known at this address in Italian on it.
I then had bailiffs turn up at my door, I had to produce my tenancy agreement to prove I lived there alone.
Recently I've had a couple of letters for someone I don't know, so now I've got to summon the enthusiasm to send it back.
I also went to my local post office to let them know which surname is relevant to my flat, I don't get anything unless it's a new postie, I may have to wander back to query this.
It's also annoying that the positives don't always check my postcode, so I have been known to get post for a completely different village.
AND I've had to redirect several sainsbury's deliveries because someone who lived in a bunch of flats down the road from me failed to put the name of the building down as well, fortunately that was sorted by having a polite word with that person because I didn't want their delivery to turn up and not be delivered because I wasnt there.
Gosh, that was cathartic, thank you. Grin

Gingaaarghpussy · 06/10/2019 19:28

positives = postie

Crystal87 · 06/10/2019 19:31

It's because you opened it. They'll think it was you, I've had the same thing happen to me. Just keep writing not known at this address and don't open or respond to anything not addressed to you.

BringTheBounceBack · 06/10/2019 19:37

I have similar with my next door neighbour, it led to a huge mess with my utility bills as they managed to somehow mess up our supplier!!!

They’ve just attempted the same thing this month so I have more shit to clean up from them.

It’s infuriating

AdaColeman · 06/10/2019 20:05

I think that the problem with just marking post as "Not Known" and returning it to sender, is that if someone was in debt and was trying to avoid creditors, that is exactly what they would do.
Companies know this, so tend to ignore messages on envelopes.

Much more positive to engage with the company, and hopefully you will get to speak to someone who will take action on your behalf. Keep a detailed record of all post returned, company employees contacted (with their names) etc etc.