Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To write to her school?

152 replies

triplesalco · 24/09/2017 07:34

My NDN moved in two years ago.

Friendly, chatty and generally lovely.
Their daughter is at a local high school and I know this because all letters for them from the school (in headed envelopes) have my door number on them.

The first few times I'd just drop them through their door. Then the next few times made sure to knock and hand it over with a "didn't know you'd moved into mine!?"
Now yesterday, another one arrived.

My great nephew (2) was visiting and got and opened the post before I did. I got the post was ready to apologise and be all PA about if they'd changed door number etc, then I read it. School is threatening court action and debt recovery.
Now as the parents have not changed the address, should I anonymously contact school with a please amend you details of this student?

OP posts:
RolandRat · 25/09/2017 19:24

www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/experts/article-1706875/Can-your-address-be-credit-blacklisted.html

Unless you enter into a relationship with your neighbor m

Bubblebubblepop · 25/09/2017 19:29

shona52 as per rolandrats post debt is not attached to an address and your address can't be blacklisted. Urban myth

Someonessnackbitch · 25/09/2017 19:41

YES

Sparklyglitter · 25/09/2017 20:23

Defo contact school as this is not ok! Shock

pollymere · 25/09/2017 20:23

Ring the school and explain that this is your address. You don't want bailiffs at your door!

maxrayeseth123 · 25/09/2017 20:31

Of course, I would have contacted the school long ago to change the house number, particularly if the NDN ingnored every 'hint' to make the amendment - how rude of them! You are not their personal postie! Failing that, return to sender 'not at this adress' and let them figure it out! :)

SunshineLollipopsRainbows25 · 25/09/2017 21:01

I'd personally go into the school and make sure it was changed there and then

hks · 25/09/2017 21:08

just call the school and tell them you are recieving mail for a family who live in same street and give them the correct details

MuddlingMackem · 25/09/2017 21:19

marcopront Sun 24-Sep-17 15:17:32

Unless you have lived in a house where a serial debtor used to live it is hard to understand how it feels to get a letter every week threatening you with bailiffs.

Debtors will send letters back saying "not known at this address" so that is not the easy solution. Did you know most debt collection agencies use the same return address? There is a central office in Warrington - I am not sure what they do with them.

Calling can work but not always - again debtors might do that. I was the bailiffs never came and then I moved.

When I moved into a house where the previous occupant was still being sent letters chasing debts I was told to open them, insert a copy of my council tax bill and return to sender. This worked.

annfield62 · 26/09/2017 07:38

The company a friend of mine works for will continue to send debt recovery letters until at least 3 are returned with "not at this address" written on the envelope then they will investigate. She said sometimes people ring irate because they are fed up with getting mail at their address for someone else however, if the mail is not returned the assumption is that the debtor is ignoring the demand for payment.

RobotGoat · 26/09/2017 07:47

Your credit won't be affected as debts are attached to people and not properties, as other posters have said. Don't make a big deal of it; just call the school and tell them you've been receiving post for her, and give them her correct address. You don't have to admit you've read the letter, to either the school or your neighbour. If you're worried about bailiffs showing up, keep some ID close to hand. Show them your ID when they arrive and they should go away. Don't let them in.

MrsPicklesonSmythe · 26/09/2017 07:53

I've had debt collectors at my door for a previous tenant before. I just showed them my ID and that was that. Nothing scary happened.
Also caught the police seconds away from battering my door down looking for someone with a similar sounding name to mine once, God knows what she'd done but again just showed ID. All fine.
Just ring the school, tell them to amend and if it goes further it's fine too. It's not your problem.

ittakes2 · 26/09/2017 10:14

Definately ring the school and give them the correct address.

flowergrrl77 · 26/09/2017 11:09

Hopefully you've rung the school by now, after 2 years where I am now, I stopped returning post as not known at this address when it was for the previous owners mate who was staying on her sofa...

I started opening and phoning companies as the envelope clearly stated gambling account and pay day loans, I have had to call and tell them to check the land registry to verify house sold by and to neither of whom were the person named on the letter!

I am glad I called because my house had started getting CCJ's registered against it! (I know, cause I saw the credit blocks due to my occupation)

So I really do hope you just call and say that they've got the wrong address, :)

RaspberryOverload · 26/09/2017 11:21

School will not change the address on the day so of the op, the only thing they will do will be to make a note.

I had this sort of thing for a previous occupier of my house. The school in that case carried on sending stuff because the student themselves hadn't changed it.

I rang again and complained, it was a lot of mail. Finally I suggested they do a school wide thing to get students to update addresses, that way they'd a) not single out one student and b) maybe catch others who hadn't updated.

"Oh, I didn't think of that." This was the comment I got back. Must have done something because I stopped getting the mail.

flowergrrl77 · 26/09/2017 13:22

Well a BANK will mark an address as invalid, ofc they won't change it, but they'll be able to know it's not right and start sending for CCJ's against an incorrect address, the address for the family won't be amended no. But if a bank can mark a customer as gone away, I'm pretty sure a school can too

Bubblebubblepop · 26/09/2017 19:46

There is no way the CCJ was awarded against your property flowergirl77. Court judgements are against people or companies, not bricks

flowergrrl77 · 26/09/2017 21:10

And yet I could see the black marks on the credit file... ok so yes it's against a name not the actual house... but that can affect those living at the address should they try to get credit, steps need to be taken to remove the credit file notes.

There were bailiff letters sent to my house too! Sure, it is all fixable but I really didn't want to get to the point where some bailiff actually knocked on my door wanting evidence that nobody of that name lives here now.

The sooner someone having a debt falsely run up at their address piped up and gets the company to investigate the better and the less the trouble later when it IS into the courts/bailiffs area. It's more of a tangle than people realise

Bubblebubblepop · 27/09/2017 07:35

What do you mean? Your house doesn't have a credit file. Only you do. And they don't have black marks on them. Just words

manicmij · 27/09/2017 08:26

Definitely contact school. I would put your concern in writing, just stating you are constantly receiving mail for your neighbour who first seem to be bothered to gave mistake corrected. Your credit score will be damaged with bad debts listed against your house though agency has to also check name which will cause confusion and may delay any application for credit. Give school proof of your address e.g. copy council tax, energy bill. Neighbours or school may have madegenuine mistake but it needs sorting.

greendale17 · 27/09/2017 08:29

Ring the school and tell them

flowergrrl77 · 27/09/2017 09:21

@bubblebubblepop well had I not phoned, it would have been my door the bailiffs knocked on, me that would have to speak to them, sure it would all be resolved, but no way would I want to have my autistic son terrified by such an instance! If you re-read what I said, I said yes true, the house itself doesn't have a credit file, but people listed on their credit file as living there do show and it could (but not necessarily) affect in the short term any credit a resident might have needed. How do I know this? My job. People sometimes need to correct errors on the file 'no such person at this residence' and I have seen how someone who wanted a loan couldn't until the issue was resolved, no long term biggie, but a short term annoyance/frustration. I use the term black mark as a colloquialism only. Using my financial terminology I'd use at work might not be understood by all.

Ofc she doesn't NEED to call, but there is a chance a bailiff might end up knocking on the door, I am pretty sure most people would rather not deal with a face to face situation regarding someone else's debt. Why not pip it at the post?

Bubblebubblepop · 27/09/2017 11:08

All she needs to do is call and it'll be resolved, and that's been said a number of times

But I do have to correct your point. Which I know through my job Wink

If Mr Smith at 1 the terrace had a CCJ against them the CCJ would be against MR smith. His address isn't utterly irrelevant to that process- it's up to the creditors to find Mr Smith and get their money.

The creditors will find an address of 1 the terrace and will visit that property. To find MR smith. 1 the terrace is nothing more than a known location- the house has no credit data whatsoever against it.

When Mrs Jones moves into 1 the terrace and applies for a credit card the company search for Mrs Jones' credit history to make a decision. Mrs jones at previous address and previous names. Her current address is tagged to NOTHING- that's all Mr Smiths problem.

Do you really think creditors are stupid enough to decide Mrs jones is a high credit risk because someone with a CCJ used to live in her house?!

The only time this could be an issue is a company who doesn't know that a previous occupier has moved. Ie, if the gas and electric was cut off for non payment the new occupier might stuggle to get it reconnected without proving they are unconnected to the previous occupiers. However that is not credit- that is gas and electric.

None of this changes the fact is horrible, for anyone, to have baliffs at their door looking for someone who no longer lives there. That's why there has been advice to call the police when they arrive and refuse to engage until the police are present.

Ontheboardwalk · 27/09/2017 12:04

NDN aren't doing a very good job at hiding though are they?

Surely if OP got the baliffs knocking on her door she'd just show them some ID and say 'you need to try next door mate' As people have said the CCJ is on the person not the address.

Has OP actually been back recently?

HidingUnderARock · 27/09/2017 16:04

I might be over invested in this, but I would love to hear back from OP what she did and how it went.