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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Council at my door...

120 replies

OnNaturesCourse · 22/03/2023 11:17

Had two people come to my door from my local council looking for someone I've never heard of today . They stated they are looking to speak to this person urgently.

I said never heard of the name or person and they went away no further questions.

I've just now received a letter (post man) addressed to this person with my address on it. I haven't opened the letter. But I am now concerned someone is using my address for council tax or benefits etc. Wondering if I should open the letter and, if it is council or other contactable organisation, give them a call to try and explain what's happening? Or is it unreasonable to open others mail? (I've actually heard it's illegal...)

How concerning could the situation of someone using my address be? I guess they could have genuinely used the wrong house number on a form etc but surely the council should have pretty accurate details. I mean I pay the council tax for my home so my name is recorded here.

OP posts:
Somethingneedstochange78 · 22/03/2023 13:57

They do I had someone from the council out at my last rental property just after I moved in. I had had a letter addressed to the occupier so opened it and forgot to take it to the letting agent with having so much to do moving in. It was for the time the property was empty so sent him to the letting agent to sort out.

I've also had someone else's passports sent here who lived on the same street. We live in a single number house. They had missed a number off.

TempyBrennan · 22/03/2023 14:00

You got a letter off the postman at the exact time the men who were looking for this person were outside? Bit of a coincidence?

anyways I’d ignore it, mark it as not at this address and stick it back in the box.

EvelynKatie · 22/03/2023 14:04

I had this exact same thing many years ago. A man who used to live in my flat was being chased for arreas from a different council. Had the person at the door and letters, exactly the same. After confirming to visit at door that person didn't live here they all stopped.

JuicyDrop · 22/03/2023 14:15

We moved into a new council property in October and turns out the previous tenants were quite dodgy.
we have had several debt collectors turn up at the house over the past few months, once at 5am in the morning, looking for these people. All from different companies too so I think they are in a lot of trouble. We have had to ring each separate company up and state the previous tenants no longer live here- some have asked for proof of our identity and then it’s been sorted.
I would ring the council and explain that this person know longer lives at your address.
We still receive serious looking letters daily for the previous tenants but we just put ‘not at this address’ and hand them back to the postman.

Mammajay · 22/03/2023 14:18

They could have been debt collectors. I would contact whoever sent the letter and explain that the person it is addressed to does not live there.

FlameGrilledSquirrel · 22/03/2023 14:36

From a recovery point of view, a letter being returned as "not at this address" with no other contact means very little. No one involved in the tracing process is going to cease recovery action based on something written on an envelope.

However, the council can and will continue to escalate the matter and don't want the next visit to be from the bailiffs.

Open the letter and telephone the relevant department ASAP and also put something in writing to them. A signed letter from the true resident carries a lot more weight process wise.

Finalstar · 22/03/2023 14:37

MissMaple82 · 22/03/2023 13:44

It's illegal to open other people's mail. Its likely the person who lived there previously. Mind your own

Interfering with the mail is only an offence if the person opening the mail does not have a reasonable excuse and/or, is planning to do something detrimental.

Part 5 of the Postal Services Act refers @MissMaple82

OP does have a good reason. "Minding your own" is all very well until you have someone else's debts incorrectly linked to your address, isn't it?

Comedycook · 22/03/2023 14:39

Even if it was illegal...what on earth do you think would happen?

shellyleppard · 22/03/2023 14:45

I had letters for the previous tenants at my house. I opened the letter and it was from debt collectors. I phoned them and explained i was the current tenant and the previous one had moved two years earlier. Sorted. However they still have a TV license for this address. I have phoned the TV licencing people but because I'm not the one named on the bill threy won't help

Conkersinautumn · 22/03/2023 14:55

I'd be very suspicious about a letter arriving at the same time as these 'bailiffs' I'm sure they will be happy to take the letter from you if they turn up again. They probably expected you to have taken delivery of it yesterday or such.

Justmeandthedog1 · 22/03/2023 15:00

Open the letter. I found previous owners of my house still used the address for car insurance ( no idea why) and even used it for a PPI claim. Only found out the extent after I opened letters instead of putting them back in the mail box and contacted the companies.

ShimmeringShirts · 22/03/2023 15:17

The only time I’ve ever had a council member turn up at my door was when I was a week late with rent and missed their two phone calls (no credit so couldn’t phone back, same reason I was late with the rent)! So they’re either rent officers attending due to unpaid rent arrears or they’re sheriff officers sent on behalf of the council due to unpaid council tax.

aviatorsrus · 22/03/2023 15:26

This has happened to me too. I have lived at my address for 4 years. I used to send them back as not known at this address.
Eventually I opened the letters and they were debt collectors from previous tenant. Who had left in a hurry.
However I had to draw the line when I had vigilantes banging on my door at 10.30 at night looking for him.
Turns out he was a paedophile, hence the vigilantes.
I called the police immediately.
But no OP the debt collection letters have not stopped

NorthernDrizzle · 22/03/2023 15:32

Our council send their own debt collection team round before they go for a CCJ (it isnt that for council tax but whatever the equivalent is). They only go for enforcement through the courts if you dont engaged with their staff and that is when the bailiffs/debt collection agency become involved.

So perfectly feasible to be council staff.

ThankYouVeryMuchGerry · 22/03/2023 15:37

I've had letters recently for two different names that I've never heard of before. The first letters I just put back with not known at this address. Then I got two more and could see from the window that they were from the council so I opened both.

Both were fines for dropping litter. They'd obviously both given a random address. Called council and explained situation and they said they'd sort it.

Last week, two more letters saying that as fines not paid it would be going to debt collection. Another call to council with me being a bit more "assertive" and they have now assured me they have taken the address off the case.

I'm furious that people can just give random addresses and will never be prosecuted!

DogInATent · 22/03/2023 16:03

TempyBrennan · 22/03/2023 14:00

You got a letter off the postman at the exact time the men who were looking for this person were outside? Bit of a coincidence?

anyways I’d ignore it, mark it as not at this address and stick it back in the box.

My thought too. Far too coincidental.

I'd be tempted to ring 101 and explain the situation including the coincidence.

I'll bet a chicken dinner that the men weren't council employees.

Noodles1234 · 22/03/2023 18:18

Open it (if you’re worried, think oops I thought that was mine to open).
see what’s going on, then when all finished with, seal it back up and “Return to Sender, Person Unknown at this address”

Original poster
OnNaturesCourse · 22/03/2023 20:24

TempyBrennan · 22/03/2023 14:00

You got a letter off the postman at the exact time the men who were looking for this person were outside? Bit of a coincidence?

anyways I’d ignore it, mark it as not at this address and stick it back in the box.

No.

I got it after they left.

I spoke to them. They left. Postman came and delivered my mail inc this letter and my own ones.

I don't see what's a coincidence.

OP posts:
Kerri44 · 22/03/2023 20:29

I work in housing and it's something that our debt recovery team would do, especially at the moment where all councils are broke! Some people would just use a random address as a forwarding address, even if you pay the council tax it wouldn't prove they don't live there, once you've said you don't know them they'd just record that info , some councils would ask a debt recovery agency to do the visits

Original poster
OnNaturesCourse · 22/03/2023 20:33

I contacted the council number on the letter.

They aren't able to do much, or tell me much, but have advised I hold on to the letter and any other letters.

Apparently as I am not the person on the letter they can not discuss the situation with me, and they can not be sure I'm not connected to the person so can not call off any collections etc. (despite me paying council tax for the property!) What they can do is note against my address what I have informed them of.

Will need to keep a close eye on the mail and the door to make sure this doesn't escalate.

OP posts:
Ducklips71 · 22/03/2023 20:38

You don't see the coincidence of random people knocking at your front door claiming to be from the council asking for a person who you've never heard of or received post for before and then on the same day, you get a letter addressed to that person? I'm not sure I've heard of anything more coincidental...and dodgy. You must live some weird and wonderful life if this seems non-coincidental to you, OP

MumOf2workOptions · 22/03/2023 20:47

We've had this in a previous rental property with bailiffs from British Gas, however the issue there was the person they were chasing had lived there years and years ago we were In the house in about 2014 and the debt was 5 years old then!!!!
They kept coming we told the lettings agents they said "they'll be lucky he lives in Australia" so then when they came back I said "we rent the house from xxxxx agents, here's their phone number please chase it up with them"

Ducklips71 · 22/03/2023 20:57

I've lived in same property for 20 years and every 18 months or so i get a Scottishpower bill for the same woman for an address hundreds of miles away. Every 18 months i have to contact SP and tell them again and again that i have my own account with you for this address, i don't live in the address hundreds of miles away, never have lived there, never heard of this person. They say yes, of course, and it stops for a while before it starts up again. Like a lovely little merry-go-round. So I'm not saying things like this don't happen. What I'm saying is in 20 years of this going on, I've never had a representative for SP or bailiffs knock at my door EVER, and certainly didn't get anyone knocking on my door asking for this person minutes before i received the first demand through the post. Like i say, coincidence beyond belief

stichguru · 22/03/2023 22:01

I have had letters like that and I would definitely open them and try to contact whoever is sending them out. While technically you shouldn't open other people's mail, it is totally reasonable to do so in order to get in touch with the sender if you think it might reflect poorly on you. If you don't think this is the case then just write "unknown at this address, please return to sender". We bought a house from a landlord who clearly rented the property out to multiple, fast changing occupants, and got as far as letters threatening him with bailiffs if he didn't show up. In this case the company felt it was reasonable for us to have opened the letters and rung them.

Original poster
OnNaturesCourse · 23/03/2023 11:31

I think it's just how things worked out.

We may have gotten post for this person before - its not just me that opens the post. I believe I'd recall the name however my DP can't be sure, he just bins letters that are addressed to an unknown name. (I tend to mark and return them)

At the moment I think I've done all I can do - opened the letter, contacted the number on it and advised of the situation, then kept the letter safe for any future reference if I need it.

I just don't like the idea of collections/bailiffs etc knocking on my door.

OP posts: