Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Flip

1 2 3

Original poster

Buyers have already given out our address!

68 replies

ChickadeeChick · 30/09/2015 20:42

Not sure if I am being unreasonable or not, would like opinions please! I'm a regular lurker and poster but recent NC.

We had a card today addressed to "Emma Smith" (not real name, obvs). We opened it to see if there was a return address inside as there was no return address on the envelope, thinking it was for the previous owner - also called Emma who ran away from mountains of debt and for whom we still receive a lot of post for. Maybe she got married, we thought. Anyway, turns out if was a New Home card for the partner of the person who is buying our house (her name doesn't appear on any of the paperwork). We've not even exchanged yet! Is this not a little presumptuous? Stuff could still fall through? I wouldn't dream of giving out my new address to anyone yet.

OP posts:

FruSirkaOla · 01/10/2015 10:27

I used to work for an EA. This happened to one of our vendors, they started getting all sorts of post for the purchasers - prior to Exchange. The day she had a delivery driver from John Lewis on her doorstep with a baby's cot was the final straw!

JawannaDrink · 01/10/2015 10:51

A card! How terrible for you. Are you quite over the shock yet?

Londonista123 · 01/10/2015 11:18

To the PP who was delivered of a Nationwide homebuyers' pack -

A few days after I'd moved in to my (previously empty) flat, one of the neighbours popped by with a "Welcome Pack" from Halifax - they hadn't waited until completion to send me an (admittedly lovely) box of wine, biscuits and screwdrivers.

So if the bloody lenders are at it, I guess anything goes!

Samiam123 · 01/10/2015 11:30

We once had a buyer who sent out cards to all their friends with not just their new future address on it (we had exchanged so this was fine) but also our phone number - which we had already arranged to port to the new address! She even phoned BT to cancel our number transfer - luckily she let slip that she'd done this so we managed to get it reinstated. Cheeky cow! We did get a few phone calls for them at the new address and just said "sorry, wrong number!" We still have the same number, 15 years and 3 houses later

Meandyouandyouandme · 01/10/2015 11:30

Yes Londonista, the mortgage company should have a pretty good idea when completion is! Had I have known there was wine and biscuits in the box I might have been tempted to open it My buyers were nice, though their daughter's name was the same as our dog's so that was a bit awkward, when they saw my DS disappearing down the drive with the dog when they were doing a viewing. What a lovely dog they exclaimed, what's it's name? It's a shortened version of a very old fashioned name that is now very trendy. Though our dog is 10 so we named her before it was trendy. Or is it on trend

Littlef00t · 01/10/2015 11:35

Those of you saying put the card back in the post - there was no return address, that would have been pointless.

TheCountessofFitzdotterel · 01/10/2015 11:45

My buyer nearly managed to cancel my internet but I'm not convinced it was her fault - I think she told them the right date and the company ignored it and did it from receipt of her phone call.

I really wouldn't stress about a card!

lostInTheWash · 01/10/2015 12:00

Had this few weeks before exchange which was week before move.

It looked like were working on their original timetable for exchange and move in dates. Except no one told us the sale was going through super fast so we were working on 12 weeks. Only estate agents ringing up to let us timetable alerted us - and then had to delay a few weeks as couldn't find removal firm to do it in the timescale. So just put them to one side and gave them when we moved.

It's the other end I find annoying when the person leaving doesn't do re-directs and you get post up to 12 months later or one property years later.

Had it twice on other end - both cases sellers moved out a few weeks earlier to us owning property - despite us wanting in a soon as possible there were delays to sale. In both cases meter reading made no sense - clearly trying to go down - and they tried to tell utility companies to bill us for those weeks we didn't own property.

One unity company got outraged on our behalf - but other British Gas despite explanation from us and our proof send debt collator letter address to occupier for the empty date to the address. It took forever to stop them getting sent to our house.

diddl · 01/10/2015 12:23

I think if it wasn't addressed to the buyer, then he may not have been the one who gave it out!

Seems odd to me to have stuff sent before you have a moving date, let alone exchanged.

Hope it all goes well, OP.

QueenStromba · 01/10/2015 12:27

British Gas love setting the debt collectors on people who don't even owe them money. They've done it to me twice. The second time I wasn't even the account holder (because I refused to deal with BG after the first time). I could have helped them by putting them in touch with the lettings agent for the property but I wasn't feeling particularly charitable towards them. They also love to keep taking direct debits after you've moved and taking months on end to give it back.

Cel982 · 01/10/2015 12:42

This wouldn't bother me. In their excitement at finding a home they may have sent friends a link to the house listing on RightMove or whatever, or simply told people the address when they asked - it doesn't necessarily mean they were soliciting post.

OurBlanche · 01/10/2015 13:02

But there is at least one piece of paperwork that MUST go to the new owners prior to them moving in - buildings insurance.

We bought our house last year and were told to get insurance to start at exchange date, before completion, as we had a financial interest in the house from that date.

So we did and the company told us to tell the current owners to expect the paperwork to arrive a their house in our name. So we did and all was well.

So it isn't always bare faced cheek or being over excited

tibbawyrots · 01/10/2015 13:16

We found out by a letter sent to our buyer before exchange that we were selling to someone who worked at our estate agents and it hadn't been disclosed. We suspect that it was the guy who had made repeated phone calls chasing an offer to get us to make an instant decision on a Sunday morning.

Notified our solicitor and he dealt with it all (was a few years ago now, can't remember the details) but upshot was we suddenly received a higher offer from someone else and sold to them instead.

Snossidge · 01/10/2015 13:20

So she's told someone they're buying a house at 10 Acacia Avenue, friend has got a bit ahead of themselves and sent a new home card - not actually seeing the problem?

CointreauVersial · 01/10/2015 13:29

It's a good sign - they've mentally moved in already, so less likely to do the dirty on you.

ForalltheSaints · 01/10/2015 13:38

Sounds like another reason to reform house purchase so it is easier and quicker.

KoalaDownUnder · 01/10/2015 13:46

So she's told someone they're buying a house at 10 Acacia Avenue, friend has got a bit ahead of themselves and sent a new home card - not actually seeing the problem?

Agreed! Not something j could get worked up about at all.

ShatnersBassoon · 01/10/2015 13:52

I too think it's the sender of the card that's got ahead of themselves, not the new owner or his girlfriend. So they've told people where they're moving. That's hardly unusual behaviour.

horsewalksintoabar · 01/10/2015 13:58

Talk about optimistic!! I would never dare have post sent to me until I am well and truly moved into a place... even then I take my time (out of laziness!).

BlueThursday · 01/10/2015 13:59

DFS tried to deliver my new sofa to my new house 3 times before I moved in, literally was receiving the call saying "we're on our way"

blooming idiots

m0therofdragons · 01/10/2015 14:33

It's a bit odd. The man we bought from didn't tell his mum he'd moved so after 3 months here she called to ask if he'd like john lewis vouchers for his birthday. She sounded lovely (presumably there's more to it) but I felt dreadful being the one to tell her her 40 year old son had split from his partner and moved!

Littleallovertheshop · 02/10/2015 22:45

Blue, when I got my sofa from DFS I was told it was expected to be 16 weeks for delivery and I had 24 hours from it being in store to get it delivered or I lost it. So they're not bloody idiots - it's how they work, they don't take your dates or availability into account at all.

OP- I'm forever getting post for the old owners of my flat. Just hope this is the one time you get the wrong mail!

Littleallovertheshop · 02/10/2015 22:47

Whoops- blooming not bloody. My bad!

BoldFox · 02/10/2015 22:50

I wouldn't read too much in to it. I think it's more likely they said where they were moving to, which is different to saying ''here's a new address card!''.

Before, I've had friends and I've known where they were moving to but been uncertain about the moving date. I haven't sent a card until I've known but I could imagine if it dragged on long enough and I was uncertain and the friend was being very vague, it could happen purely in error!

CrispyFB · 02/10/2015 23:20

It's bonkers to do it before exchange. Haven't people heard of counting chickens?

That said, when we bought our current place, just after exchange I set up Virgin cable for the new address. Reason being we couldn't be without Internet due to working from home etc etc, and when we moved last time we were burned with a 10 WEEK wait time for BT as we'd been overly cautious and done nothing until moving day.

We set the install date for a few days post completion to be on the safe side. So imagine our utter mortification when Virgin showed up a few days after I'd arranged the install (and a few weeks before completion) with a van and started poking around the outside of the house! The vendor was onto the EA right away, thinking they were trying to do a full install and we had a phone call and I was so embarrassed.

I got hold of Virgin and they denied they were even there(!) but once the dust had settled it transpired (this is what the vendor told us eventually) they just wanted to see if there was an existing install so they knew what to bring with them for the Big Day. There had been no mention of this anywhere in the sign up, and it would have been clear from the fact I'd ticked a "moving house" box and our current address was different that I didn't have rights/access to the property until the install day anyway.

This was just the first thing in a long line of Virgin incompetence, but just wanted to offer up that sometimes, just sometimes, maybe it's not entirely the buyer's fault with these companies! A card is a different matter of course.

Flip

1 2 3