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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU? Old tenant didn’t change their address

28 replies

GinDrinker00 · 19/02/2020 10:02

Lived at my house for 3 years now but constantly get debt letters for the old tenant who lives here. I’ve always returned to sender, however the debt letters still keep coming!
Yesterday my DH opened a letter by mistake addressed to the old tenant and it’s a court summons for council tax for their New property? Would it be unreasonable to phone the council and tell them they haven’t lived here for 3 years and to stop linking our address to them? or would we get into trouble for opening their post by mistake?
I have sent multiple council letters back to the sender for this person in the past but they keep sending them.
I’m worried I’m going to have bailiffs at the door for the old tenants now. Angry

OP posts:
Original poster
GinDrinker00 · 19/02/2020 10:03

*for the old tenant who DOESN’T live here. Sorry. 🤦🏻‍♀️

OP posts:
dementedpixie · 19/02/2020 10:04

I'd ring them

kelper · 19/02/2020 10:04

We occasionally get debt collector letters for a ex friend of Dh's who slept on our sofa for a week and used our address for all sorts of things.
I'm afraid I do open them, then ring which ever company its from and explain to them the issues, they're always fine with this.

Igotthemheavyboobs · 19/02/2020 10:05

I'd ring them too, just explain it was an error but now you are concerned.

AnyFucker · 19/02/2020 10:05

If you are getting council tax bills in your own name at that address why on earth are they still sending debt letters

Phone the council and tell them

Original poster
GinDrinker00 · 19/02/2020 10:06

Okay thank you I’ll give them a ring. Smile

OP posts:
Original poster
GinDrinker00 · 19/02/2020 10:08

If you are getting council tax bills in your own name at that address why on earth are they still sending debt letters

That’s what I’d like to know too. We get own council tax bills addressed to us. Litteratly makes no sense! Had bailiffs before for DVLA debts for them in the past and it so embrassing having them turn up on our doorstep whilst family were visiting.

OP posts:
Nifflernancy · 19/02/2020 10:14

Council departments don’t always talk to each other unfortunately! I would ring them up

Suze1621 · 19/02/2020 10:37

After third set of bailiffs relating to previous tenants turning up at my son's home in the last 2 years, all post is now opened. Any relating to bailiffs, fines and court dates (of which there have been many) are phoned direct to ensure records are updated. For the others the 'not known at this address' is written on the letter itself before being put in the envelope to return to sender as he suspects the envelopes are thrown away on opening so the message wasn't getting through. For anyone suggesting it is illegal to open post in these circumstances, it is not.

Gwilt160981 · 19/02/2020 10:40

We had a council bailiff turn up for an old tenant, we just showed them our tenancy agreement never heard from them again. Get council to contact your landlord if they want proof previous tenant doesn't live there

Enchiladas · 19/02/2020 10:40

So annoying. We've only been living here 6 months and we've not only received a steady flow of every type of mail for the previous tenants, but a LOT of mail addressed to so many random names I've lost count - these ones I don't think are even previous tenants, just people using our address to protect themselves from debt collectors probably.

Aureum · 19/02/2020 10:41

It’s been a few years, I’d open the post at this point. Phone and tell people they don’t live there.

Cherrysoup · 19/02/2020 10:43

My tenants had this and I phoned the debt agency to tell them I was the new owner and the old owners had moved. The wanker had loads of debt/unpaid fines etc. I referred the agencies to the estate agent who dealt with both sales and said they might give out the new address, no idea if they would but the letters stopped immediately.

AdobeWanKenobi · 19/02/2020 10:43

I get constant council tax letters here for the last owners for a property they owned in the neighbouring council.
Called them and understandably they weren't just going to take my word for it and couldn't do anything.
I spent eighteen months returning to sender. Now I just bin it. If you cant sort your shit out in that time it's not my problem.

Iwantacookie · 19/02/2020 10:44

I've had this for the last 10 years.
Including one company that wrote back and said theyve checked she does live here.
I dont even worry anymore. I have my tenancy agreement to show to anyone who thinks I'm lying and they go away.

mumwon · 19/02/2020 10:47

I checked it isn't illegal to open post (only if you use the information to your advantage basically)
I had tenant with same issue - I got so fed up I wrote on envelope when I had evicted them & date as well as saying not at this address & I rang (some organisations saying they couldn't talk to me because of privacy when I was trying to tell them information not asking for it! One of them told me open envelope so I could tell THEM the account number concerned ) I didn't want next tenant to have any problems so I had to do something!

slipperywhensparticus · 19/02/2020 10:49

I had this with HMRC they said they didnt believe I didn't know where he went I said they could ask the new landlord they refused and said they would send bailiffs over or I could tell them where he lived so I spoke to the village and the consensus was he was dead so I called them back told them he was deceased and gave them the housing association address as my new landlord for them to deal with it they were unimpressed and when they spoke to my housing association they were really really UNIMPRESSED

Villanelle92 · 19/02/2020 10:59

We have the same with our house, I sent them return to sender for so long and they kept coming (5 letters per day!) and I got so annoyed I opened a pile of them one day and they were all debt collection. I contacted all of the companies who said they would update their details but we still get a few letters per week now.

We had a bailiff at the door to “take control of goods” 5 days after we moved in the house. I had to show ID and our tenancy agreement to get him to leave empty handed.

FizzyIce · 19/02/2020 11:22

I got a bollocking from a debt agency for opening a bailiffs letter .
I’d had enough so opened it , got worried and then phoned them .
Just don’t open return to sender and if they send someone round just show them proof that you now live at the address and they don’t .

Aureum · 19/02/2020 11:28

Why would anyone know where the previous resident of their house went?! We didn’t even meet the people who rented our last house after us. And we don’t know where the previous owner of our house went because it was repossessed. Even if you did know, it’s not your problem.

They will tell you that they can’t stop sending letters unless they have another address to send them to, but it’s a lie. You can complain to the ombudsman and they will be told to stop harassing you.

Bibidy · 19/02/2020 11:29

Lived at my house for 3 years now but constantly get debt letters for the old tenant who lives here. I’ve always returned to sender, however the debt letters still keep coming!

Exactly the same for me, we've had letters from British Gas, the council, the DVLA...pretty much every agency you can think of.

Yesterday my DH opened a letter by mistake addressed to the old tenant and it’s a court summons for council tax for their New property? Would it be unreasonable to phone the council and tell them they haven’t lived here for 3 years and to stop linking our address to them?

If the summons was for their new property, why have they sent it to their old property?! Makes no sense!!

We have had letters slipped under our door from visiting bailiffs! It's annoying as every time I have to send proof of ownership again.

Stabbitha · 19/02/2020 11:36

My house's previous tenants applied for a load of loans one night... 3 years after they moved out.

They used my address and I got all the 'sign and return' paperwork in their name to my address in the post a couple of days later. About 4 different ones from different loan companies.

I made the police aware of the fraud.

Some people are right cheeky fuckers.

aWeaponCalledtheWord · 19/02/2020 11:53

i get loads of post for random people - opened one and it seems a group of people previously associated with this address are insuring cars then doing a financial vanishing act. had the bailiffs last week, proved my tenancy and all good.

i do usually ‘not at this address’ the letters and stick them back in the post, i opened one out of curiosity.

the last house i lived in was owned by my partner and the man he bought it from was leasing company vehicles from our address and we had invoices and parking tickets and bailiff letters and all sorts. so i looked him up on Companies House and we gave everyone his actual address. he was not impressed when i rang and told him. cheeky cunt.

katkit · 19/02/2020 12:07

yes, just ring them and it should be sorted!

Original poster
GinDrinker00 · 19/02/2020 12:08

Phoned them, they were just as confused as me. Hmm Hopefully that’ll be the end of it though, even though they said they can’t discuss the outcome with me even though it’s my address. 🤦🏻‍♀️
It’s ridiculous, you’d think people would change their address soon as they move. Some dodgy people about!

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