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?

Not just your credit files
check all your accounts for even small debits or credits you don’t remember what they’re for. Do meticulous accounting from now on
change all your passwords now . Use a new email address for all your banking and HMRC , government logins which is different from “normal” email address used for other things. Ideally use auto generated random email addresses that you’re being prompted to use whenever possible for non banking/gov stuff.
if you won your home, go onto the land registry site and pull up your house details and then sign up to be notified of any activity on your land registry details. You can do this yourself on line for free. It will send you an email if anyone requests a copy of your deeds or any other activivty

id be really suspicious this is identify theft and treat it like that . As other people have said inform the police. Do not hand over anything to the person direct , ideally don’t accept any parcel deliveries that you don’t know what they are, and post back all mail straight into post box with “not known at this address”. Or for parcels take to post office with a “not known at this address”. Don’t open, don’t hand over to anyone, If anything turns up with your address but different names and looks like tax, legal or banking letter take straight to police and tel lthem the background again. Get into habit of checking everything carefully before allowing it to come into your house

Not a good idea to open the mail. It’s illegal.

First I heard of this kind of scam was a few years ago when I temped for a delivery company. They had a rule that drivers could not hand over a parcel to a person outside their house unless the recipient was seen to actually open the door. The idea I think was that a high value item was delivered to an address and then the sender only had that address to chase up payment. Surprised they're not still insisting on this. Can't get the staff these days eh.

This happened to me when I just moved into a house set back from a busy road dodgy looking geezer, straight up my path hammered on the door, which I didn’t open, but opened the window.
He then gave me a right tale about was there mail for him - I said no - he said I will come back next week ! can you hold on to it for me luv?! I said, you must arrange to have your mail delivered to your address, this isn’t a maildrop and I will bin anything not for us.
He departed shouting ‘see you next tuesday’
He didn’t ask our name, didn’t tell me his, was coarse mannered (being polite here)
We shredded everything, spoke to the heard-it-all-before postman and lovely neighbours, assured it was a scam and advised to shred vertically not horizontally.

Actually there was mail aplenty for the previous owner who thought she could continue coming round for it until she was told no!
I believed the two were linked as she had 3 unsavoury daughters in their early twenties who kept dubious company. They would have known I had moved from a distance and perhaps thought I would be gullible a lady on her own with children?

I’m. not sure how to send a link to this - its YT - what3words. Neighbours - Benji
I had to watch it twice to ‘get it’ then I watched it again for fun.

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

No idea why this piece of law link produces a gif 🤣🤣🤣🤣

It is not illegal to open mail addressed to your house to find out who it is from or what it is for. It is only illegal if you are doing it to cause detriment to someone else
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/26/part/V/crossheading/offences-of-interfering-with-the-mail#:~:text=84%20Interfering%20with%20the%20mail%3A%20general.&text=(3)A%20person%20commits%20an,been%20incorrectly%20delivered%20to%20him.

I don't care for stupid gif replies, and if some thing dodgy gets associated with my address I will open it and look. I know what the law states. Nothing to stop some one with brains sticking it back with packaging tape!

Do you know when stuff gets sent to my house as I am the only adult, I don't often check the name, I just open whatever it is....
What I wouldn't do is refuse to accept it as all that is going to happen is that the guy will intercept the driver...do you honestly think the driver cares who he hands it to as long as the address is where he is at.

The takeaway part has completely thrown me.

Now that I definitely would intercept

This. Who gives a fuck if it’s “illegal”. If it’s coming through my door with my address on it gets opened. Given I once opened something that was a court summons for the previous owner here and fuck all happened when I phoned the prosecutor about it, not even them telling me it was illegal, I’ll not lose any sleep over it.

Because scamming is hungry work 😬

Wow I had similar happen when we moved into our current house had a massive parcel arrive immediately spotted different name on it told postie wasn't us so thankfully they took it back to send it back off to company.

Be careful lots of scammers out there.

The gif was accidental , I posted immediately to say that. 🤦‍♀️

Blinky, because they have to have an address? they surely will not deliver food to someone waiting on a street corner, in a van, on a park bench?
Whenever we order food we have to pay first with cards - like normal regular people -can you pay for food delivered with cash, which seems likely here (just answered myown question eyeroll)

Definitely get a ring doorbell. Also get in touch with royal mail and get them to put a note in your address to state all mail and parcels must be either posted through your door or handed to you once your door is open. Also state only xxxx lives at this address and will be the only surname(s) mail that should be directed to this address. This should stop said creepy guy intercepting any of your mail. It may not stop him getting stuff sent to you though as there's many delivery companies out there like Hermes, DPD, Amazon prime, etc.

This

Maybe he is secretly living in your loft?

I love all the misinformed, but very eager, crime-stopper posts advocating a Ring camera.

You want real-life crime? Amazon employees are able to access Ring cameras at will.
https://www.reuters.com/legal/us-ftc-sues-amazoncoms-ring-2023-05-31/

A recent Wired article says this hasn't been stopped.

But why would they want to? I’ve got two cctv cameras. I do not watch the footage. I’d use it only in case of crime. But it would be incredibly tedious otherwise.

if amazon staff want to look at my front door they are more than welcome.

But why would they want to? I’ve got two cctv cameras. I do not watch the footage. I’d use it only in case of crime. But it would be incredibly tedious otherwise.

if amazon staff want to look at my front door they are more than welcome.

People on this thread aren't reading what other people have written - including the OP. There are a lot of fairly obvious scams that could be happening here nothing to do with school addresses or takeaway deliveries.

There is a lot of blinkered stupidity here - of which this is a whopper of an example.

Can you really not work out for yourself why it might be a bad thing for an unregulated stranger to have unfettered access to the comings and goings at your front door?

Like ... oh I don't know... that your house is completely empty because you go out to work at the same time every day or that you are on holiday?

Or to get a sense of your daily pattern? Or to find out whether there is a lone female at home late a night? Or children who have been left unattended? Or travel patterns of children?

We used to live at number x, house name, road name. A number of companies seemed incapable of recognising the 'house name' part and so would deliver to number x, road name. Could be something like that?

Someone threatened to kill me. I reported it to the police and they closed the case without any action in 30mins.

The police don't do as much as you think.

take any future parcels in, don't hand them back to the courier - dressing gown man may intercept the parcel.
If DGM knocks for the parcel, ask why he thinks there'd be a parcel to him at your home, and say you've arranged to send it back, & to stop using your address. If you don't have a ring door bell, photo or video & report to the police.
Contact the courier or supplier to collect the parcel.