Bailiffs and neighbours

[BrilliantBetty]

I hate posting on AIBU but here goes.

We bought & moved in to our house a few months ago. We had letters come through for a previous occupant. From what we could make out from the envelope they were repayment letters, final demand type things. We put back in the post box with 'return to sender. Addressee not at this address'.

In the last couple of weeks we've had dept collectors knocking for this person. Two separate companies, separate debts. Very early and it's been a bit unsettling. We have no idea of forwarding address and are worried this will continue. Have given details of estate agent who we used to purchase as we know nothing else about the previous occupiers.

AIBU to go and ask neighbouring houses if they have contact details for this person?
I don't want to spread details about them being in debt / trouble with collectors but ultimately just want to stop being hassled in my home.

What would you do.

If you open someone else's mail you are committing an offence.

No you are not unless you are doing for bad reasons. If you have reasonable reason, such as not wanting bailiffs at home, you can open it.

Tenant in my home before i bought it had various debts including debt collectors - i phoned or wrote to all and opened letters where i suspected debt collection mail. It all stopped pretty quick, the debt collectors did ask a lot of questions, including details of the previous owner (who was renting it out prior to my buying it) but i just said i didnt know.

@BrilliantBetty We had this in a house we moved into some 11-12 years ago.

A previous occupier had left £25-30K of debt, with a number of institutions. Payday loan companies, banks, stores, and credit cards. We got loads of letters and 'visitors' for the first few weeks we were there. It was quite scary!

However, 'just leaving it' and sending stuff back with 'not known at this address' does not work. It won't stop. The letters will keep coming, and so will the bailiffs and debt collectors. We found that out! So we contacted them all about 6 weeks after moving in, (as nothing stopped when we ignored it all.) Sending stuff back - return to sender - and ignoring it all, didn't work.

When we worked with them, and helped them, and provided what we needed to, to prove we had only just moved in, it all stopped quite quickly.

It is very un-nerving, but as a pp said, if you contact these people/ institutions/ bailiffs, and explain you are a new owner, and you have only just moved in; they will do their own investigation, (with a little info from you,) and then they will leave you alone.

As a pp said, it can sometimes take a little longer if the company has sold the debt on, but the new company will leave you alone too, once you contact them and prove who you are, and that you only just moved in. Shouldn't take more than a month to sort it all out. Depending on how many creditors the debtor had of course!

Debt collectors/bailiffs are a bit scary and intimidating, but they're not monsters, and they're mostly OK.

Just contact them all, and work with them, (the people calling at your house AND the people writing to you,) and this will all resolve itself.

Open the mail and write to everyone concerned. People will tell you this is not allowed but WTF else can you do?

Happened to me years ago, masses of post for former owner, who’d left no forwarding address with EA or solicitor, and who I was pretty sure had returned to his native country.

Became suspicious on moving in since the landline had been cut off for non payment.

He’d left owing everything from utilities to cc bills and more. ‘Return to sender - no longer at this address’ - did nothing to stem the tide of mail. So I started opening it and writing to everybody inc, debt collectors, - at least 12 letters - explaining the situation.
I had to send copies of my council tax bill, but they were all very reasonable and backed off.

What really pisses me off still, is that he could probably return to the U.K. tomorrow, and nothing whatever would happen to him re the around £25k he owed, having sold his right to buy council flat for massively more than he’d paid for it.
This was in London - how often this sort of thing must happen I dread to think.

@Sundaypolodog

If you open someone else's mail you are committing an offence.

Untrue.

Only if you open someone's mail, and use the information for nefarious reasons are you 'committing an offence.'

I had this some years ago in a previous place, I hadn't bought it but was renting...but same scenario.

I opened all the letters, wrote back enclosing their letter, always put "I opened this letter as the current occupant...." and then explained the situation. I didn't have a forwarding address but did know the previous occupant had been referred to the council, so I explained that too and gave the council address.

Slowly the letters stopped, some wrote back and thanked me for my help. Not once did I get into any "trouble" for opening the post. Just putting "Return to sender" doesn't stop anything because they just assume the actual person is pretending they don't live there any more.

We had bailiffs turn up at our door (partner's family has owned this house for over 30 years) chasing a debt that wasnt ours.
They wouldn't leave until we showed them deeds to the house, it was quite unnerving. The bailiff explained that the person had given our address so they had to chase it.
Ir doesnt sit well with me that someone has given our address as their own and may even have told the person they owe money too. What us some thugs turn up!

Yeah don’t open someone else’s mail your not suppose to do that. Would the estate agent you brought house through be any help or solicitor?

We gave both of the debt collectors the name and address of estate agent. Don't know if they have / will made contact.

I don't want 6am knocks on the door.

I think the people who lived here are well known in this small town. We are new so don't know them but it seems like most residents know / know of each other, hence wondering if neighbours could put us in touch so we can let them know this is happening. And hope they might sort it out.

I had the same in my current house. I found the court appointed bailiffs really helpful. There is a central system for CCJs and enforcement so once they had the information about the change of ownership they sorted it all out centrally. I believe there were a large number of open CCJs so that was particularly helpful. I showed them a copy of my completion documents (it was too soon for bills etc) and they verified in the land registry.

Private debt collectors were far more of a pain in the arse. They turned up multiple times for the same debt and trying to catch me out, even after I provided the change of ownership documents. They also knocked on my neighbours doors to verify that the previous occupants had moved. Not a brilliant way to meet my new neighbours, but certainly broke the ice! It all died down after about 6 weeks.

I still get a fair amount of post (4 years on). I hang onto it for a few months in case anyone turns up looking for them then bin it. I’m not their personal postal service.

I would keep a copy of my council tax bill with my address and name on and another form of I.D. handy. Answer the door show them the details and say goodbye, the bailiff don't want to waste time and its not your job to do their work for them in finding these people, added to which your new to the area and want to make friends with your new neighbours when its safe to do so not during a pandemic lockdown

Ignore people saying you're not allowed to open the letters. They are not the ones getting woken up by debt collectors hammering on the door, and furthermore they are simply wrong. These letters are coming through your door and you have every reason to find out where they are coming from. If you keep returning to sender they will eventually stop but it's much quicker if you give them a ring and explain the situation.

Solicitors won't involved.

Check Zoopla, your sale will show quite quickly.

Open every letter and phone the company and tell them the situation. Follow up with email and snail mail, tell them you have explained and expect them to stop sending letters, bailiffs to your address.

Don't panic and don't blame them for doing their jobs. Keep your ID to hand and stay calm. It's shit, but it will end.

wondering if neighbours could put us in touch so we can let them know this is happening. And hope they might sort it out.

there is a reason they didm't give their debtors their forwarding address, they don't want them to know where they live...

If you open someone else's mail you are committing an offence.

The police advised me to open my exes mail as he had ran up debt and told me its not an offence if you aren't doing it for malicious reasons.

You may need to check on that your address hasn't been blacklisted for debt on Experian

This is a myth - addresses don't become blacklisted with any credit agency. Credit records follow the person, not the address

OP with any debt collectors that turn up at your door - I experienced this three times, one of them even tried talking to my son through the living room window asking him to open the front door! I showed them my council tax bill to show them I lived alone, I then followed up with a recorded delivery letter to their office stating they didn't have permission to attend my property and should they turn up again I would consider it harassment. None of them came back ever again :)

wondering if neighbours could put us in touch so we can let them know this is happening. And hope they might sort

The bailiffs can ask the neighbours. You don't need to do it.

added to which your new to the area and want to make friends with your new neighbours when its safe to do so not during a pandemic lockdown

It isn't anything to do with making friends. I don't want to be repeatedly disturbed by debt collectors.

The Postal Services Act 2000 section 844_ states: "A person commits an offence if, without reasonable excuse, he - (a) intentionally delays or opens a postal packet in the course of its transmission by post, or (b) intentionally opens a mail-bag."

If anyone is knocking at stupid am, write a formal complaint to the company. If it reoccurs, report them for harassment.

This is a myth - addresses don't become blacklisted with any credit agency. Credit records follow the person, not the address

Exactly. And not the only myth around these things!

Also. I can't believe I said "reasonable reason"😂

I opened the letters & emailed the senders a one liner saying the guy had moved out, no forwarding address. That stopped the deluge of debt collection stuff & people knocking looking for him.

@Sundaypolodog

The Postal Services Act 2000 section 844_ states: "A person commits an offence if, without reasonable excuse, he - (a) intentionally delays or opens a postal packet in the course of its transmission by post, or (b) intentionally opens a mail-bag."

You've quoted the wrong bit there. These letters are not in the course of their transmission, neither are they mail bags. The bit you meant to quote was section 3:

A person commits an offence if, intending to act to a person’s detriment and without reasonable excuse, he opens a postal packet which he knows or reasonably suspects has been incorrectly delivered to him.

OP is not intending to act to anyone's detriment and has a very reasonable excuse to open the letters.

@Sundaypolodog

The Postal Services Act 2000 section 844_ states: "A person commits an offence if, without reasonable excuse, he - (a) intentionally delays or opens a postal packet in the course of its transmission by post, or (b) intentionally opens a mail-bag."

This is irrelevant as the letters are not in transit they have arrived at the address.

The relevant section is (3)A person commits an offence if, intending to act to a person’s detriment and without reasonable excuse, he opens a postal packet which he knows or reasonably suspects has been incorrectly delivered to him.

The OP has "reasonable excuse" to open them.

@Sundaypolodog incorrect - you are allowed to open letters the only provision is that you do not cause harm(basically taking their identity or using it to profit or commit crime -don't believe the Sun as a source!) if debt letters are repeatedly being sent you need to send them back but what happens is debt companies sell debt bulks on & that is why you will often get repeats.
We had this with a tenant with evicted (please note I allowed them to stay & try & fix their arrears for nearly 2 years but it got worse) I sent them back - but new kept appearing - eventually I googled the address/name on the back & told them they were evicted & when (I was worried about new tenants) they told me to open envelope so they could cancel account (they sent letter so where entitled) & told me to do this with others. (I had no idea where tenant moved to & I wouldn't have given them address anyway)

There was an article about opening letters on one of those money advice forums - exactly about this

Snap :)