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?

It’s only illegal if you are doing it to deprive the person it was intended for.

Open every letter ring every debt collector if it make you feel better say your child got to the post before you.

Explain yes they once lived here but (lie here if you need to) you kicked them out 4 years ago because they owed you money. You don’t know where they now reside / their new address is xyz.

We got so many debt letters for old tenants abs this has worked. I fact I even had to ring a solicitor because someone only 3 years ago used my address as their home address to the courts for a crime they committed. All fine and dandy after a quick call to say sorry I opened it but this person hasn’t lived here for at least X years.

Forward the letters to her OR return to agencies as address unknown.

If you give the agencies her address it’ll cause upset in the family. If they want to find her they can - but not through you.

In my experience they send out demands first, ask questions later. They pick up the debts from phone companies etc who sell them on.

What they make over and above what they paid for the debt is profit.

It took me ages to get rid of a debt that a collection agency thought/knew was mine. It wasn’t but they were like a dog with a bone.

I think she may need some practical help rather than dobbing into the collection agencies. Perhaps point her in the direction of CAB etc?

Only without a reasonable excuse under the Postal Act. OP has a reason to open the post 🤷🏼‍♀️ so it’s not illegal.

Stop opening the letters! It's illegal.

Send them back to sender marked no longer at this address.

Do not shop her, it is sure to cause a family rift.

To quote “ Opening someone else's mail is allowed in certain circumstances under the Postal Services Act 2000. It is only an offence if you open someone else's mail 'without reasonable excuse' or if you 'intend to act to another's detriment'”

Screw the Postal Act. 😂

I had this with a previous tenant at my current address. I crossed out and 'Returned to sender' over a hundred times before I lost my patience, opened a letter, called them and told them to STOP.

Please be aware this may also affect your credit rating.

I haven't called them myself because as people have highlighted here they'll be used to people lying to deter them and no amount of phone calls will stop the letters, she claims to have spoken to them already

This just isn't true and you're relying on other people's word when you need to take charge of this situation. As a landlord I have had hundreds of these letters for past tenants. All you need to do is email the company stating "x left my property on - date" that is all that's required, they will email you back and say they have removed your address from their database and that's the last you will hear from them. I don't see that as a huge task, the email takes 30 seconds. Make a note of which agencies you've contacted if there are multiple.

Of course you don't have to do this, you could give them her forwarding address or her mum's but that will be the same amount of work and time for you.

I know which I'd rather do...

@ProfessorPootle

It’s against the law to open post addressed to someone else, return it to sender. It’s not your problem to sort out.

Only if it's to the person's detriment -

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. (Postal Services Act 2000)

I think you could argue that it would be better for her to receive the letters say, to stop the debts spiralling.

www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/26/part/V/crossheading/offences-of-interfering-with-the-mail#:~:text=84%20Interfering%20with%20the%20mail,U.K.&text=(3)A%20person%20commits%20an,been%20incorrectly%20delivered%20to%20him.

Instead of calling you up and having a go at you her mum should be focusing her attention on getting her daughter to tackle her debts head on. Citizens advice bureau are great they really helped me with mine. Step change are also meant to be very good at helping people. But only if those people actually contact them. And she needs to. I actually think you’d be doing her favour telling them her current address. And that’s coming from someone who’s been in a very similar position as your relative previously: homeless single mum due to DV and in a crazy amount of debt due to abusive ex.

@GreenFingersWouldBeHandy it will not affect ops credit rating.

I wouldn't think twice about this. We worked hard to make a good credit rating. I'd give them her address. It's not your debt.

@Seadragonusgiganticusmaximus

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

If you do it to deliberately deprive or disadvantage them I think. Other than that you can open it

@CherryPieface

This could cause you serious issues in the future - share her address and I hope that the debt companies leave you alone. Good luck.

How? Debt is not connected to an address any more

OP can sign up to any of the credit check sites to reassure herself that it is not connected. And if there is something she can apply a correction. Would take about 10 minutes.

Don't open the letters. Anything addressed to her just write 'Return to Sender - Does Not Live Here, remove address' and pop in the letter box. You'll need to do it a few times before they get the message.

I was receiving these soon after moving into a new flat. I diligently returned everything over 12 months and they dropped close to zero.

Just send any letters back unknown at this address or bin them! There's absolutely no stress involved they're not addressed to you so ignore them.
Why would you want your cousin who is the victim to get more stress healed on her? Why is ignoring some post addressed to someone else so hard.

I bought my house 15 years ago. I'm still getting debt collector letters for the previous owners. Writing "return to sender" achieves nothing, in my experience.

@TristantheTyrannosaurus

I wouldn't think twice about this. We worked hard to make a good credit rating. I'd give them her address. It's not your debt.

Exactly not The ops debt. Dobing her niece in won’t up her credit rating! I also love the “we work hard brigade”- we know little of the nieces life, from what we do know it sounds tough enough!

@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.

This is what I would do.

No longer at your address - end of sory.

I’m really surprised they are still chasing you. I’ve lived in two different households where debt chasing letters were send, and each time I returned the letters and that was the end of it.

You need to stop opening her letters. You address doesn’t make it right. If you really can’t stop lenders contacted you forward every single letter to your niece until she gets it - but no, don’t forward her address. You need to be clear about disassociating yourself and you do that by repeating THIS PERSON DOES NOT LIVE HERE!

Yes I can choose not to open them or just pass them on to her but that doesn't stop them coming here either
Actually opening her letters is illegal as they are addressed to her regardless of where she now resides.
Either post them back return to sender or write to them using the return address on the envelopes sternly stating that any further letters will result in legal action for harassment as she no longer resides at that address

Give them her Mum's address. She can deal with it.

Literally cannot believe the replies on here. Just return to sender stating she doesnt live there. Also unrelated but in response to the op having been in abusive relationship it's not something you just get over, you are literally a different person during and after forever. And you'll never who you would have been if it hadn't of happened

I just don't understand why, after 4 years of this, you STILL have not rung the companies concerned (and are saying 'why should I ring them?') and yet you are complaining on here!!

Why WOULDN'T you ring them?? You've already opened the letters! It's just such an obvious and simple solution! They absolutely would stop sending them once you had rung...they have to!

Stop making excuses and either give them her address, send the letters back with 'no longer at this address' written across the envelope, or ring them and tell them!! Your cousin and her mum quite obviously are not going to do anything...so it's down to you (and no, you can't use the old 'why should I do it?' whinge...because you know that they won't, so you're just going to have to!)

The inertia on here is sometimes ridiculous.

@katy1213

This is probably affecting your credit rating. Give them both addresses and let them sort it out themselves.

This is incorrect- Credit ratings are based on the person and not the address- that is a myth. The credit rating OP has would only be affected if they shared financial accounts such as banks or loans