Is this a bit weird? - I think someone is using my address

[RushieRoo]

A couple of months ago we received a letter addressed to someone not known us. Didn’t think much of it and assumed it must’ve been for a previous occupant.

Then DH took in a parcel delivery. He thought it was for me but once he had it inside he realised although the parcel had our address on it was for someone else - the same person we previously received mail for.

Later someone knocked on the door and said we had his parcel. As I handed it over I recognised him as someone I have seen a couple of times standing near my house in a dressing gown and slippers.

Then yesterday we saw the same guy stood outside our house. A car pulled up and gave the guy a takeaway. Do you think he ordered takeaway to our address then intercepted it? Why is he using our address?

Are you near a canal or river? Could be a boat owner? Or homeless/no fixed abode..... but very creepy.....

In all seriousness, this hanging about outside your house in various states of undress, whilst engaging in activities that anyone passing by would think were activities that the homeowner/resident would do, is concerning.

When the above is linked to deliveries, letters and parcels, it definitely warrants further investigation.

Is your village a fairly small place, where everyone knows everyone else?

If you had a photo of him and showed it at the Chinese takeaway, the pub, the church, would people perhaps recognise him or do you live in a small town, that used to be a village once? Would it be feasible to put his picture up around the place as someone engaging in unwanted and inappropriate behaviour in the vicinity of the village green?

When someone did it at MIL’s address it was because the person was running up debts and then moving on. This way they could see when the debt collectors started to knock on her door as they actually just lived along the row.

He could be living with someone nearby but that person is claiming single person benefits so he can't have stuff delivered there.

Report it to actionfraud.police.uk. I had a letter the other day with someone else's name on it, and it was from a debt collection agency; telling me/him that they'd bought his debt from Vodafone. I also told Vodafone.

Yes, if I investigate I could probably find out more information. It’s a large village but I expect someone knows who he is. I know his name or at least the name on the parcel

I had this from a neighbour. When you order something online and put your address once you put your postcode in there is sometimes a drop down for all the addresses with that postcode and he hadn't paid attention until he got the confirmation email but he came and explained and I WOULD HAVE ASKED when he came to pick it up. Ditto, I got a broadband engineer who asked for him and I explained his address is above mine on the auto form dropdown.

I'm afraid my first thought was drugs when you said that the parcel purported to contain whole foods. The whole situation is very fishy

Get a ring doorbell and then you can use his photo to find out who he is the next time he rings on the door.

This was the first thing I thought, seeing as hevis always in dressing gown and slippers!

I watched a film where a group (yes, a group) of hit men dressed as garbage collectors, even had a garbage truck, and gunned down a policeman who was in his paisley dressing gown and leatherette slippers (okay, I made the paisley bit up and I can’t remember the slippers, it was a long time ago, back in the 80’s) and the policeman was rushing because he had forgotten to put the bins out and they shot the policeman (which was a bit overkill, forgive the pun, because 5 hitmen to gun down one pyjama-clad policeman!!!) and somehow, they didn’t kill him!

The dressing gown and slippers is presumably to make it more plausible that he lives in your house, so that delivery people will hand parcels to him.

The sweeping is so that he looks like a homeowner and isn’t just loitering.

It’s fraud. Start photographing him when you see him, return parcels as not known at this address, ask him to make sure he’s using his information correctly not yours. You don’t have to be confrontational about it, act as though you think he’s made an honest mistake, but make it clear that you’re noticing his actions. He’ll move on and (sadly) do the same thing to a different house.

It could be he is a neighbour who has stolen someone's debit or credit card and is now using it to make purchases but obviously does not want it to be linked to his address so is using yours?

Perhaps he’s got dementia and used to live in your house.

Parcel not addressed to you but with your address
Letter(s) not addressed to you but with your address
Takeaways sent to your address - not ordered by you.

Surely, you ask for someone's proof of identity before handing anything over, tell them you need to know the sender's details so you can write and confirm the person does not live at your house, OR you deny all knowledge and return everything to the sender.

I might check the electoral register although I think that's tightened up now.

Can you put a lockable post box at your gate, so that you review all post before anyone else gets their hands on it. The postie would never give your post to anyone else if you have a box. Arrange for all your Amazon deliveries to be sent to Amazon locker so you can be sure that all Amazon deliveries are yours. Any random deliveries left, I'd take in and return to sender, denying all knowledge of them.

I wonder what he's had delivered and just taken from your garden/porch etc., without you knowing. Definitely get a ring doorbell.

Have you lived in your house a long time or could he be the previous owner who has forgotten to update his details?

Ive accidentally clicked my neighbours house number quite a few times when ordering online and have to knock doors to ask for my parcel. My sil ordered food to the completed wrong address as she was feeling harassed when ordering and didn’t double check. She then raced to the address to collect from the delivery guy. It might all be coincidences but if you see him outside again then you could question it.

Going off at a tangent, but this sounds like it could be the opening scene of Commando? One of my favourite movies growing up!

The amount of times they shot him though, and the one-liners were excellent back then! 🤣

Definitely drugs!!

Sounds like a scam.

Awkward situation tbh! I would just ask “how come you keep using our address?” You have every right to ask when he’s using YOUR address for his own personal gain, whatever that may be can only be found out by either asking him or reporting this to the company that is stated on the packaging/delivery company or Royal Mail to ask them to open up a fraud case, whilst he’s not using your name, he is using a false address and by the sounds of this it’s purposefully, fair enough we’ve had the odd takeaway come for someone else and just redirected the person to where they are..

same with letters, we’ve always posted them back stating “not at this address” on the envelope.

if anymore parcels turn up just say “oh sorry this person doesn’t live here” they’ll just take it back with them.

hoping you get to the bottom of it! I would find it creepy however just speak to him if you see him outside your house again or if anything else turns up x

Because his own is credit blacklisted due to his criminal history.

Is he living over a shop so can only get mail when the shop is open, and can't get parcels/food delivered as he can't hear the shop door, his door hasn't got a bell/proper entrance etc etc?

Just refuse parcels not in your name and return to sender anything put through your letterbox.

If he can hover outside op's house to take delivery of his takeaway, he could far more easily hover outside his own?

It could be that, post-delivery, he is claiming he never received the goods, ie driver delivered to the ‘wrong’ address, and claiming a refund.