to get annoyed about post for previous owners coming to my house?

[izchaz]

We moved in nearly two months ago and are still receiving 8-10 letters a day (many of which are clearly sucker-list "win big money" scams, not that this is relevant, but I sort of look at this as junk mail) for the previous owners of our house.
They have family nearby who pop round once or twice a week to pick up the letters (and numerous parcels) and apologise for the hassle. The family members have always been very apologetic and polite about inconveniencing us with more mail per day than I receive in a month, but I have had one very grumpy conversation from the previous occupant who (I felt) was accusing me of holding on to a parcel of his because of its value (I had never received this parcel, have no idea as to the value of his mail and was a bit affronted by his roundabout accusation).
Today I wasn't quick enough getting to the door when the postman came, and the dog "opened" one of these letters for me - it's a notification for successful finance on a new phone contract. Taken out last week. This means that they're taking credit in their name at our address. I went a little mental, rang the company providing the credit, explained and insisted they contact the relevant people, which they have promised to to.

So, to my AIBU: would it be unreasonable to take an absolutely hardline policy and either open everything that comes through our door for them in case there's more of this credit fraud going on? Or should I return all to sender? Or should I give them more time to get set up at a new address?

Secondarily: was I unreasonable to ring up the credit company?

Credit rating is certainly attached to address, and would worry me.

Other than that - TBH I think you were a bit hasty. Two months is not terribly long. Just put 'return to sender' and pop it in the post.

We never stopped getting mail for previous tenants in our last place and we were there from 2008 until earlier this year. It's annoying but I think OTT to assume after two months that it must be them being dishonest.

If you want cheeky, my current LL who is out of the country just told us that we'll be getting his mail as he won't be redirecting it, and we should just bag it up and send it to the LA every few weeks. He gets something most days. It hadn't occurred to me to mind especially, but I'm guessing you'd be through the roof.

I put anything straight in the recycling. If they can't be bothered to set up a redirect, not my problem!

I return it all saying moved away on the front. This stops all this being sent to our house.

Recently though DWP have been sending letters to the very first owner of this house from 1953. But she moved in the 1960's! So no idea what that is all about.

I still get letters for the previous owner of my house 10 years on!!

I tried writing no longer at this address in big letters and returning it,but I still continue to get stuff for them. I recycle bin them now, too.

I can probably shed light on the dwp letters. most likely they are from an old pension that has never been paid out and they are doing the first steps of tracing the policyholder which is writing to the address they had when the pension was started way back when.

Ah thanks Silk. A neighbour who's been here since the houses were built did say she'd tell her that there were letters coming for her. I only knew who she was as when we signed for the house, it was them who were on the original deeds.

It isn't illegal to open post not addressed to you, so long as you don't intend to commit fraud with it.

The phone thing may not be purposeful fraud if they've just updated to a new contract with their existing supplier.
I understand the dog thing because mine used to rip things. But you have no right to open their mail. Just send everything back marked not at this address.

Make sure they're not still on the electoral role as at your address too.

And yes,all post back in the post box with 'not at this address'.it works surprisingly quickly.

Return to sender

It's unlikely to stop junk mail but reputable companies should take notice

The company I work for stops sending mail out once we've had it returned, but it can take months for some things to get back to us. We would also investigate if someone signed up and then immediately we had mail returned and it wasnt down to an error on our part (missing or incorrect house numbers usually).

Also ignore nancy66. Nobody else's credit rating can impact on yours unless you're financially linked ie joint mortgage, loan, etc. It's a personal rating, nothing to do with your address. Hasn't been for over 20 years.
I do wish people wouldn't post such obviously incorrect rubbish on public forums. It's not that difficult to actually find out its incorrect.

Our house was let out for 6-8mths before we bought it. The owners came across as really scatty and obviously had no intention of redirecting post, they collected from their tenants once a month. When we bought the house they obviously expected the same set up but we knew nothing about this. Once a month they would text DH to agree a mutual time to collect post. They were a large family and got lots of post but particularly sad that some of it were bank statements for their little kids, what looked like hospital letters, and even birthday cards! After four mths DH replied to their text with a link to the RM redirection service and the fact that all mail would be returned or binned. They still used to call round after that but after being told several times that there was no post for them, eventually gave up.

Don't put up with it!

Been living here with DH for 6 years now and still get his ex's post. The vet also thinks I am her and calls me by her name and I have been too embarrassed to tell him!

onesleep - sorry, I can see you're very cross about this, but I was told just a couple of years ago that the likely reason DH and I couldn't get credit for something was to do with our address. Will the bank simply have been lying, or just ignorant?

I am quite cross because I assumed they would know and it didn't occur to me to second-guess.

Properties are no longer blacklisted, only people. This has been the case for years. I work in debt collection so I know this is correct. Also, it is NOT illegal to open someone's post, as long as there is nicole malicious intent. Opening it to ring the sender to say they don't live here is acceptable as it is NOT malicious.

No* not nicole!

LRD (not typing your whole name ) you bank told you that? It's wrong. I would chase them up on that, it sounds like a rogue assistant. Totally incorrect. Yep, it does wind me up when people post stuff that's incorrect like that. It's not as if it's only just changed, either.

Thank you!

Of course it winds you up, it would.

I should know better than trust banks - it's the same bank (though not the same person) who thought it was 'illegal' not to change your name when you got married, so the clearly have staff who just go for the 'make up what you think the law says' approach.

I'm sorry for perpetuating a myth.

Blimey Onesleep - why so angry? It certainly used to affect your credit rating. It seems it doesn't any more.

have a camomile tea dear.

Totally agree, onesleep. How can someone working for a bank be so misinformed? It's actually very disturbing. What other crap are they advising people?

Pissed off because you're giving out 'dodgy' advice on the Internet. Yes, I do need camomile tea. Off work after an op and stir crazy.

It might not be 'blacklisted' any more, but it will still be a linked adress on the credit reports. Debt collection agencies may try and chase them up through your address, if they ignore correspondance or don't have a current address.

You are providing quite a service there in accepting their parcels
I'd say give them fair warning that you will only do this for say a week longer. Then ruthlessly don't accept parcels and return all mail to sender.
They're taking the piss because its easy.

Tallulah I can tell you from experience exactly how someone working in a bank can be so misinformed. Staff training can be more or less non existent, that's how! Arrive on your first day, get plonked on the floor and told to get on with it and work stuff out for yourself. At least that's how it was in the one I worked in for many years. Some staff went out of their way to find out the correct answers to things, some were bullshitters, and a significant number just panicked and told customers anything at all to make them go away.

Or, you asked a more senior member of staff a question and assumed they had told you the correct answer, so you thought you were being all helpful and knowledgeable when actually you weren't.