To give debt collectors my relatives address?

[Famproblems1]

NC, I'll try to keep it short.

5 years ago I let a younger relative come and stay with me temporarily when she was leaving domestic violence in another part of the country, she stayed with me for approx 12 months before moving on into a place of her own with her small children.

During the course of that relationship alot of debt was accumulated before she left age 20..she says the majority of this was due to the partner taking out contract phones and payday loans using her details and that she had no control of her finances.

Despite the fact she doesn't live here anymore and hasn't for almost 4 years I'm still getting letters here addressed to her from debt collectors asking for money and to be honest I'm tired of it and want no part of it.

Obviously I've mentioned this to her a number of times and she claims she has contacted the companies and told them not to send anything else to my address as she doesn't live here. If that's true, which is debatable, then they clearly haven't listened.

I'm aware that she's paying a token sum to a couple of different companies on a monthly basis so she she says she's doing what she can but claims to be out of her depth and can only work part time. She has refused to give her address to these people citing that she's vulnerable with MH problems and has her disabled child there.

I received another letter through the door for her this morning after a peaceful couple of months, low and behold a debt collection company demanding £300 odd and I've reached the end of my rope.

We spoke over the phone which ended in something of a heated discussion because I said I'm going to give them her new address as I'm sick of the letters coming here and don't want debt collectors turning up here trying to take control of my property.

She then spoke to her mother who called me and implied I was being cruel.

So WIBU to do exactly that?

Give them both address.

I’m not exactly a bleeding heart liberal, but I really cannot fathom why you would give debt collectors her address. All you need to do is tell them she doesn’t live there anymore, anything else is spiteful. I currently receive regular debt collection letters for someone that rented my house out whilst I was working overseas. It is mildly annoying but it really doesn’t hurt me, I genuinely don’t know where these people are, but nevertheless I send them back with “not at this address” and don’t give it much more thought.

Ok so they find her- let them find her, don’t give out someone’s add
Nope sorry, i wouldn't have debt collectors at my door for someone else.
Her debts her mess.
Give them her address and your sisters, zee how sympathetic your sister us then!
Tell them if you get any more letters you sill be reporting it as fraudulent and advise the debtors the same.

@FatAnneTheDealer

Just write on every letter “not at this address” and put it back in the post. Don’t open, don’t engage and definitely don’t shop your own niece!

but OP and the Niece share the same Surname... so they believe she is there. 🌸

I'm actually quite concerned that they won't believe any attempt from me telling them she doesn't live here anymore and that they'll take control of my belongings.

No matter how many times she or my sister says that won't happen it doesn't take away from the stress that it just might.

It was the fact that every letter that came here addressed to her filled me with dread that lead to me opening them in the first place.

I wouldn't open the letters if they didn't come to my address. I'm not the bad one here.

Seriously, check the law on this. They may have come to your address, but they are not yours, are they? You should not be opening someone else’s private correspondence.

@Seadragonusgiganticusmaximus

I wouldn't open the letters if they didn't come to my address. I'm not the bad one here.

Seriously, check the law on this. They may have come to your address, but they are not yours, are they? You should not be opening someone else’s private correspondence.

Screw the Law

you are being hounded by Debt Collectors.

So what's the penalty for opening post addressed to somebody else then?

@Famproblems1

I'm actually quite concerned that they won't believe any attempt from me telling them she doesn't live here anymore and that they'll take control of my belongings.

No matter how many times she or my sister says that won't happen it doesn't take away from the stress that it just might.

It was the fact that every letter that came here addressed to her filled me with dread that lead to me opening them in the first place.

But as easy as you could give them her address you could give them a copy of your council tax bill proving she’s not there- it’s not your debt. Not even sure you can give her address out under gdpr.

From a quick google, £5,000 fine or up to 6 months imprisonment!

Just because the debt collector was polite to you doesn’t mean they won’t barge into your nieces home & start shouting. I was originally all for giving them your niece’s address but actually I think your being a bit cruel & short sighted. It will cause serious ructions in your family if you do it.

@Famproblems1

So what's the penalty for opening post addressed to somebody else then?

Honestly... who's gonna report you ?

there's a pandemic on, nobody cares OP.

just say you opened it by accident as you SHARE A SURNAME right 😏

@shouldistop

I don't understand why you would do that. Contact the companies and tell them she doesn't live there and to stop writing to you.

They won’t stop sending the letters until they have a different address for her.

@Disneyforever1974

Just because the debt collector was polite to you doesn’t mean they won’t barge into your nieces home & start shouting. I was originally all for giving them your niece’s address but actually I think your being a bit cruel & short sighted. It will cause serious ructions in your family if you do it.

and this is OP's problem How ?

It will not help putting rrturn to sender, not at this address. This is exactly what people who are actually avoiding debt collectors at their own address do. Either give them her address, or her mother's. People reneging on their debts put the prices up to those of us who actually do pay as it is factored into the costs.

@Famproblems1

So what's the penalty for opening post addressed to somebody else then?

Most likely a fine

WetWeekends if the OP sends an email with a copy of her council tax bill, entitled “Letter before action”- saying that any further correspondence sent to her will be deemed as harassment etc- then they will stop.
These people/ companies are bullies!!!

I suspect that any prosecution at all is very unlikely. But that won’t help if you are the unlucky one who gets reported on a slow day at the police station and they decide to take it further.

@shouldistop

It’s not that simple, people lie to the debt collectors, they don’t give up that easily

From my experience it's easily sorted. We used to get letters, sheriffs officers, court summons for the previous owner. I just opened every letter, called the number and told them what date we had lived there from and that he hadn't lived here since at least then.

That’s different to saying a relative has moved out.

Just write on every letter “not at this address” and put it back in the post. Don’t open, don’t engage and definitely don’t shop your own niece!

I have had the exact same problem as you, OP. No matter how many times I returned the letters as "not at this address" - and I did this maybe several dozen times over several years - and did not engage also over several years. Then when I realised this was not going to work no matter how many times I telephoned, no matter how many promises the companies made that they would not send any more, the letters kept coming and coming.....until the day I gave them the relative's current address. Nothing else made a difference at all and after many years of this I am glad I did. And actually it was the right thing because nothing dreadful happened to my relative, and they too had MH problems (which was obvious once the companies engaged with them).

OP only You can stop this now.

you know what to do lady 🌸

From experience, writing ‘Return to sender - no longer at this address’ just doesn’t work.

I eventually had around 12 different debt collectors trying to contact the bloke I’d bought the flat from (he’d left no forwarding address) - the mail just kept coming.

In the end I had no option but to open it all and contact everyone, explaining the situation. I had to send them all copies of my CT bill - they all then backed off.
The bloke had evidently fled the country, leaving around £20k of debt.

OP, you need to send proof that you’re not the debtor trying to fob them off - they’re not to know that you’re not the debtor pretending to be someone else.

To be completely honest I fail to see what MH problems or a disabled child has to do with any of it.

Then you are very lucky. There is a proven link between poor MH and debt. Your niece will probably find it all insurmountable based on the backstory (I know it is stressful for you to get the letters through your door too, I’m not minimising that)

Would you be willing to help her access some financial help within a timeframe of a few weeks? If she doesn’t engage then start giving her address to the debt collectors if that’s what you want to do?

Some agencies are:

Christians Against Poverty - capuk.org/
National Debtline - www.nationaldebtline.org/
Stepchange - www.stepchange.org/

Just send them your ID. Show them you aren't the debtor.

It really isn't as difficult as some are making it out to be.

It doesn’t make the slightest difference to your credit rating op. Return to sender , don’t give the address, in two more years the debt will be written off.