To think someone is doing a scam using our address?

[Allisgood1]

Sorry, putting here for traffic

Over the past 6 weeks or so we've had post (in about 6 different names) all from Aviva. At first thought it was a mistake but more kept arriving and in more names. We've lived here nearly 5 years and the couple who lived here before us moved in in 2003. We've never had post for anyone other than them since we've lived here.

Anyway, as my suspicions grew I opened the post and they are all "you canceled your direct debit" letters. Fine, I ignored. Today a new one came from tesco in a different name. It says "we understand you had an accident with X, please contact us". Is this some sort of scam? Will it be messing up our credit? I'm going to contact both Aviva and tesco. I am absolutely certain these people have never lived in this house. Is this something anyone has heard of/happened to them?

I would contact them and say no one of that name lives here.

I had a random letter addressed to another name and gave it back to the postie. I then had another letter for the same name and it pricked my suspicious side. When I opened it, it was for someone trying (and failing) to open a Halifax account at my address.

I'm not sure about the Aviva letters but it certainly sounds as though someone has been involved in an RTA & given your address as their own!

I suppose there is some chance that Aviva have had a spectacular computer fuck up - but the Tesco one on top would really make me think something's going on.

Have you checked your credit report?

We are up to 8 different names now what in the hell is going on?!

No u haven't checked credit report recently. I have a noodle account. Is that specific enough or do I need to try the big ones?

*i

The National Hunter website might be worth checking. They have a lot of info about ID fraud. www.nhunter.co.uk

I've come to lurk, because we had a letter from Tesco's credit card arm, addressed to someone we've never heard of a few months ago, and saying thank you for opening an account with us. We rang Tesco and they said they'd look into it, and we never heard anything more about it.

For all I know, there are dozens of credit card fraudulently taken out at our address.

Pay 2x£2 to get your Experian and equifax reports. If your address has been used for this purpose you can get a notice put on your account to dissociate yourselves from the scammer names. You can also ask for your address to flag up additional ID requirements for credit (this will mean you'll need to show 3 or 4 items yourself but will make it more difficult for theives).

Don't hand incorrect post back to the postie, especially not if on a different day to the delivery - a temporary postal worker taken on over Christmas could possibly be the scammer.

Yes contact Aviva and Tesco ASAP.

The Noddle one will be OK to check and see what activity there is connected with your address, you can request that they are disconnected - there is a button for that.

It worked well for me, but had it been slow I would have then gone to the big 2 to be sure.

Send everything back in a new envelope with a covering letter, keep a log of them.

Surely the Experian and Equifax report only give you information about your own credit record - not information about that of anyone else who is living (or claims to be living) at that address?

Don't hand incorrect post back to the postie, especially not if on a different day to the delivery - a temporary postal worker taken on over Christmas could possibly be the scammer.

Yes cause ALL posties are potential scammers

It won't have any impact on your credit score. credit reports don't work that way. You could have ten people using the same address and they wouldn't have an impact on each other's score unless they had joint accounts/credit.

Contact Aviva and Tesco tell them you are getting large amounts of post for people not known at your address and you are worried about potential fraud using your address.

Equifax & Experian don't give you the credit ratings of other people, but do give you a list of other people with financial links to that address. My report shows my husband's name as he has accounts at this address. If there's other people trying to take out loans at your address their names will be there.

oldraver I didn't say that ALL posties are potential scammers. What a stupid misreading of what I typed. 99.9% of posties could be completely honest and it could still be true that a scammer could be taken on as a temporary postal worker over Christmas.

If it were just sales letters I would assume that they had purchased a really old database but "cancelled your first direct debit" indicates that an account has been opened - is your mail delivered through your door or to a mail box outside?

It shouldn't impact your score credit wise but I would want to avoid having to deal with collections agencies - even though they have no right to do anything to you they are persistent and having to deal with that is a pita!

Agree - get your credit file and contact the companies.