WWYD - final demands

[newmomof1]

I wanted to put this into WWYD but couldn't find the topic so didn't know if it's been removed as a board.
If not, MNHQ please feel free to move the post!

We have been getting a lot of letters addressed to people who used to live in our house, around 6 years ago, as tenants.
It is now our family home (for just over 3 years).

I have been Returning to Sender, but they still keep being sent to us.
Yesterday we received an official looking letter, so I opened it (yes I know this is against the law but that's not the point of the thread so don't bother pointing it out!).

The intended recipient has a very large debt (in the tens of thousands) and was paying off £5 a month, which they have now defaulted on (how you default on £5 a month I'll never know but they were dicks when they lived here so I'm not surprised).

As the sender is ignoring the RTS's and the recipient has clearly not changed their address officially, and has no intention of paying off the debt, I'm concerned that at some point bailiffs might turn up at my door demanding money.

Obviously I can prove that these people no longer live here, but I don't have a forwarding address.

Would you contact the bank that the debt is with, or would this cause me grief for opening the letter?
Should I just keep returning the letters every time they come through the door?

I did this LOADS after we moved into our house. The old owners said they’d messed up their main redirection and asked us to RTS which I dutifully did for months. Then I got fed up of doing it so opened it all every time. It looked like they’d got the money from the sale of the house and they’d run off without paying the mortgage. The amount of debt they had was crazy. I occasionally get letters where small debts have been sold on but I just call and let them know we’ve brought the house 5 years ago and they did a bunk. I think there’s still a redirection in place on our address (I can’t work out if I’m allowed to check or how I check) because the other day a replacement credit card was sent to my house. I don’t want these people having anything to do with my house anymore!

My did actually did have bailiffs turning up, it was about someone who had either accidentally or deliberately registered their car at her address ( very long road, numbers jumbled) and then merrily parked all over the place causing hundreds of pounds of parking fines.

It took a lot of phone call to get rid of the bailiffs who were not all nice and helpful like the ones on the telly.

I have had bailiffs turn up to my door, even though I kept phoning to say the previous people no longer lived there.

Their car at least was still registered at the address and DVLA were rubbish at sorting it out.

In the end, I just kept my council tax bill and ID near the front door and showed them that everytime

I open all the post that comes to our house for previous owners and either reseal and return to sender or ring the company if I'm getting repeated letters after returning to sender (hence opening it in the first place so I know where it's coming from). It has stopped the mail now because I've dealt with it, just sending it back to sender did not stop them sending more letters.

The previous owners weren't too pleased when I sent their V5 document back to the DVLA because they hadn't put their correct address down (became more apparent when we had motoring fines come to our house and finally a bailiffs letter). They were really cross when they came to my door to ask for it and I told them I'd sent it back. I actually called the DVLA too to report that their car was registered to our address.

We've had nothing for a couple of years now.

We get letters for the old owner of our house (died five years ago, we bought through probate) about his savings accounts - he’s got about 230k in one, and get share updates too, another 50-odd thousand. Wrote to the banks in question notifying them that he died in 2014, but they still keep coming.

Christ knows what his solicitors were up to 🤷🏻‍♀️

I had this and the bailiff turned up - just like on the telly! I bought the house in Nov last year and ever since have had 4 letters a week fir previous tenants who rented the house. They owed thousands from phone contracts to gas bills to driving without a licence, court summons the lot. I opened lots of the letters / I phoned a few debt collection companies but often was kept holding so long I gave up. Spoke to one and told them. One day last week “can’t pay well take it away” type man turned up. Complete with what looked like a stab vest! I explained they were tenants and I had no idea where they were. Told him I’d phoned the debt collection people - he asked me for proof so I invited him in and showed him my gas bill! He looked so shocked to be invited in bless him! I hoped that would be it but the letters are still coming

After a previous incident with bailiffs trying to force their way into my rented flat to seize property to pay a debt related to the people who lived there before the previous tenants thankfully the neighbour across the hall was a lot more worldly and basically said if they wanted to get into our flat they better call the police, but if they kept insisting he would call them himself as we we're showing them more than enough proof we weren't the people they were after, I've taken to opening letters like this after a few attempts at returning to sender (adding not known at property for good measure) then calling the company. Most of the time the company just take my word for it, sometimes we've struggled but thankfully have never had bailiffs again.

as a landlord I had this - I rang the company & informed them that the tenant concerned had been evicted (told them court date etc) because I didn't want my next tenant to have issues. What happens with these debts is that they get sold on to new debt collectors companies & unless you do contact them it wont stop. I had no problems doing this with the people I rang so don't worry. Strictly, the letter of law is that you don't cause any disadvantage to the addressee- which opening in this case doesn't because I had no idea where they moved to - if you continually send them back - with longer & more detailed notes on envelope!- & they continue to send these letters what else can you do?

Yea I've had this in a rented property. I just called and said the date I moved in and I didn't have a forwarding address but told them the name of the lettings agent that rented me the house. Never heard from them again.

We had this in our old house. Previous owners were apparently moving to Ireland to be with her family but turned out they did a bunk leaving thousands of debt behind them. We started receiving threatening letters and when one arrived threatening bailiffs I phoned up to let them know the owners had gone and we now owned the house. He had a right go at me telling me i was breaking the law by opening other people mail etc. Wasn't very happy when I explained the actual law to him and that I didn't appreciate his attitude. the letters petered out over the years and we eventually moved house. When we occasionally get post for these previous owners (like DVLA) I simply write 'Not at this address since xx/xx/xx. Please return to sender'

I did this as an official letter arrived. They were about to send out bailiffs.I called and has no more communications about the person. I didn't want to have to eat with people coming to seize property and try to prove it belonged to me.

we had this - ha to open the letters.
rang up the debt chasing company to say they don't live here, sent in proof of ownership and gave estate agents details.

it stopped.

Our house was a short term let for about ten years before we bought it, so as you can imagine there was a large turnover of tenants.
For the first 6 months I returned everything as not known at this address but important stuff kept coming.

For the most part now I open them, find out if its anything that's going to affect me, then sellotape it back and return it.

I had one from O2 confirming my new mobile contract because a tenant from about 2014 decided my address was the one she wanted to use. Spoke to live chat and got that one sorted.
Then there are the endless Candis magazines for the old owner, again, a quick email sorted that.
HMRC are still chasing James for his business rates, again quick email to them stopped that when return to sender didn't.

Gradually the post is diminishing. I'm yet to be arrested

@thistimeofyear I’m surprised you found it hard to get through to debt companies. The only time I every had a problem was with NatWest and I phoned a LOT of companies and they were always quick to answer and engaged with me straight away.

NatWest... I got a row for opening the letter and she wouldn’t put me on to anyone more senior. I was genuinely concerned at the time or I’d never have bothered calling them, we just had such a volume of demands! Eventually they must have sold the debt on though because the debt companies IME have always been so easy to deal with.

I find that debt companies are generally speaking grateful for info.

Banks on the other hand...I got someone's very overdrawn statements from Barclays for the best part of two years. After a year of fruitless RTS, I made a number of calls where I was met with a "but we can't put a note on the account because data protection". Well, that data protection matters not one bit because despite me telling them I don't know this person they kept sending me his detailed finances! Took me threatening them with a harassment order to get them off my back.

My favourite was a letter from our MP addressed to a previous tenant, about one or two years after we bought the property. This tenant had committed benefit fraud and disputed it via the MP, who wrote back and confirmed that not notifying relevant benefits related authorities of her partner moving in did in fact constitute benefit fraud.

I kept that letter for a while just to read and chuckle at every so often

If it's a debt collection company they won't even be bailiffs they will be debt collectors who hold Ben less power than actual bailiffs.

If they turn up at your door they can't do anything. Just show them some ID.

Yeah. They are usually very happy to get info that the debtor moved so they can do new search.

I take your debt letters and raise you all a probation thing letter from a while ago. It came approx year after I moved in. It was giving them details of next appointment/check in. Called the station. They obviously couldn't say anything, but were happy they knew. I even asked the neighbours about the name on it. No one here ever heard of that person! Needless to say I have made sure since then that door and windows were properly locked...

I’ve had bailiffs here for previous tenant 3 times. Showing council tax bill in my name and my passport was all it took for them to accept previous tenant no longer lives here.
They were very nice about it and said it happens lots.

I had two different sets of baliffs turn up at my door some years ago when I moved in for the same reason - I gave them proof of ID and council tax bill and they went away and I never heard from them again. One of the first set told me it was imperative not to invite them in and to shut the door when going to get the ID (I didn't shut the door with him so he warned me that they could have come in and taken stuff!!). Don't know if he was telling the truth as was young, naive and clueless but I took his advice when the second lot turned up.

we had this too

lots of private creditors, Crown Court and bailiffs turned up.

One day two heavies spent a whole day in front of my house, and jumped out towards me as soon as I left the house... , acting very threateningly, saying they were looking for my husband.

They did not believe I was new owner (there for 2 years already!) and showed ID and they still did not believe me and tried catching me out by calling me Mrs previous-owners-surname.

I had to tell my kids to never open the door, in case it was bailiffs.

One day bailiffs started to take my car GRRRRRR

If I would not have been home and ID'ed myself, I guess they would have taken it?!

Bailiffs have too much power IMO

Nightmare stuff

I had the police turn up one day at my old address. The previous tenants teenage son had been in trouble and given his former address to them so his Mum wouldn’t find out . Luckily I had a forwarding address for her so his plan backfired...

Off topic, I know . I’d just contact the company and ask them to stop sending letters because they don’t live there and haven’t for a number of years.

MoreCuddlesForMummy I guess it depends on how big the company is? They seem to be different ones each month and some are quite hard to get through to - in my experience.
Also at the end of the day I guess they have to accept my word without proof.
Although because I have done nothing wrong and I have nothing to hide I am happy to show these people ID if they do come round.

We had this a few months after moving into a new build that was still only identified as a plot number and no address confirmed until months after we’d started the process of buying so no way anybody else could have previously used the address. After 2 or 3 demand letters were returned as never known at address, we phoned the company explaining the situation and never heard from them again.

I had bailiffs come to collect owed rent to the landlord .. When I sent them to the office they still came back. I ended up in tears in their office pleading with them to sort it and their reply was "we need our money".

The bailiffs wouldn't accept I wasn't this blokes wife and making excuses pretending he'd left.

The tenant did a runner middle of the night, owing various companies tens of thousands and had never paid rent.

They had been told it was for unpaid rent.
That the tenant had done a runner.

Not being totally stupid the tenant never registered at a new address. The bailiffs gave up and an officer of the court (I think they're called) turned up with official documents to get access/take away belongings. Had I not known him from other tenants doing the same thing he would have gone in and removed all the new tenants belongings, who as she was from Israel (I think) her English was horrendous and she had no idea how to deal with it. Thankfully he's a decent bloke and knew me from years back when he was my student. BUT it was then returned to court and the bailiffs came back, every sodding time it happens and has for years.

Total waste of everyone's time. No one is going to get their money. He's gone!!

Every sodding time the landlord complains they want their money so keep pursuing it.

Last time I opened the door, I asked who he was after (there's now a list!!) we went through the questions, had a quick chat and job done.

Some companies will let it go.
Some won't.

There ought to be a certificate of some sort of identity and the right you have ot be in your home there be it rented or owned to show to the Baliffs or debt chasers that you are who you say you are ands are not the person or persons they are after.

It ought to be issued free of charge or at a very small cost by the same high court or competent authority.

That would put right a lot of these injustices like some have experenced here!