AIBU to think this intimidating house buying letter should be reported to police?

[Blopi]

Friend’s elderly neighbours came back from holiday to find a letter delivered by person. It has made them upset and frightened.

It was addressed to them personally Mr and Mrs (surname)
They said that their home is too big for the couple and would be suitable for a 5 bedroom HMO. Willing to pay £Xk for it (properties have been selling for 10-15% more) and will visit them on Thursday at 11am to discuss things. Signed by Mr (common surname). No phone number or email address.

Her neighbours have zero intention of moving home as they have lived there for 58 years. They are upset on how they are targeted and wondering how did they get their names?

In the past I had these letters which have been sent to others down the estate. Though not intimidating like this letter, nor personalised.

Unfortunately my friend is working on Thursday. She would have loved to have seen if the person turned up and told

Should my friend phone the police on the non emergency line about this? As maybe something else dodgy going on

Does £7 give you all of, the names and number of people living in the house and their ages?

As an aside, it doesn’t take an Inspector Clouseau to get one of the funniest of Peter Sellers’ characters name correct.

Hence my comment 'don't answer the door'
Irrespective of whether its the letter written or his bitch ,it's immoral behaviour

I suggest you report it to the police as it could be and probably is a scam. The person may try another tactic to gain entry to their home.

It could also be someone trying to buy up big properties to turn them into MOH or similar.

They will have got the names from the Land Registry. If he turns up, they should not open the door at all but shout through the door they are not interested, and if he doesn't leave, call the police and say they are being intimidated.

the information is on the electoral register - name and address

then the digital/electronic electoral register often (Not always) has age band (55-65) next to the name - so the company now have their name, address and approximate age by 10 years

the electron register lists everyone who is registered at the property and anyone not registered that should be can face a hefty fine for not being registered.

https://www.192.com/people/search/

pop your name only int he box and see who comes up... you may find yourself.

I will not find me as I tick no to going o the full register, which councils sell and companies can put up online

no, £7 only gives you the names of the people or person who own the property snd the mortgage company that the people are using... which I think is far too much information

I personally would ignore i however as your neighbours are elderly I think they should Report it. It easy enough to get the owners of a property name via land registry though. Sounds like a very pushy property buyer that should be told to eff off. Hopefully after being told they have no intention to sell they should bugger off

But you can answer anything to this question. Companies have no way of checking. As long as you give the same answer when asked for it, it is not a problem. I never use my mother’s actual maiden name or name of school, etc. It’s a security check to make sure it is you, and only you will know what security answers you gave.

Do you have community wardens in your area? They work alongside the police and would happily support this couple.
if not, definitely report to the police. They work in intelligence and would be able to see if there was a pattern within the area and allocate resources accordingly.

Well I'm rather of the view that you are over-reacting here. Name, address and age bracket are easily available information, and that type of letter is regularly sent out by people who have been on a "how to get rich by investing in property" course - they send out 100s of letters and maybe 1 or 2 % are interested - that's all they need.

Just put it in the recycling and forget about it. No need to involve the police - they have far more important things to do.

i would be concerned about the potential for “cuckooing” which has been in the news this week. The homes of vulnerable people are being taken over by criminals for illicit activities.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd7p7p4xdq9o?app-referrer=deep-link

Suggesting people who have felt upset and frightened do something and ‘Then get on with their lives’ is vastly underestimating how upset and fright can affect 80+ year olds.

Have you seen the actual letter to confirm that it is intimidating? Without knowing what was in the letter apart from your third hand knowledge, I'd be reluctant to condemn it. It might have been perfectly polite but the elderly owners took exception to it for their own reasons.

Are you in your 80s and feeling upset and frightened though? If it was your parents/grandparents would you be so glib and unfeeling?

as I said upthread, I have received shedloads of those letters. All of them are phrased in a more polite and conciliatry manner and include the business details of the sender, usually an EA, and none of them set a date and time when the letter writer would visit.

Yes but their families should be able to support them without involving the police for goodness sake!

I agree, but unfortunately, being elderly usually means not being as physically capable as they once were. It's a horrible world at times that we live in.

I wouldn’t ignore it. Do you know how many people fall victim to scams like this - they ignore the letter and then find that their house has been sold by fraudsters and they have little/no legal recourse. I would be waiting in for them and tell them in no uncertain terms that the house is not for sale and that the letter has been passed on to the police. Then I would go onto the land registry website, register as the home owner and request that all interest in the property from other parties registered on the website be notified to me so that the police can be informed.

I think this is very naive given the age and vulnerability of the couple and the tone of the letter.
People like this can be very pushy and even aggressive and deliberately target the elderly and vulnerable.
I don't think there's any harm in reporting it OP, and agree about having some support there on Thursday if possible.

Until they wake up one morning and find that fraudsters have sold their house from under them.

Yes OP I would make the police aware. It feels like whoever this is is targeting vulnerable older people with the intention of using coercion to defraud them.

Amazed how many people are saying ignore despite having the info they have lived there 58 years so therefore one could assume they are now in their 80s at least.

How unsettling must that be for them and frightening. People of that generation normally keep problems to themselves so, the mere fact they have approached a neighbour means they either have no family members to help or, cannot ask and are doing their best.

How would you feel if it was your parents home.

Having a word with the police to get advice would be my suggestion.

They can't all have been influenced by the woke agenda laid down by this Government and would surely know how to deal with intimidation.

HMOs in student areas - understand. Then in other places of the city near to us, it’s disgusting with fly tipping, overflowing bins etc.

Landlords refuse to pay a one off £50 for a larger bin.

Also some councils have limits to the number of HMOs.

It’s really not hard to find out the names and date of births of people from their address

The Land Registry is open to the public and anyone in the world can log in and for £7 can get a copy of someone’s title if it is registered, which most properties are these days . The title will reveal the owner’s full names, how much they paid, what date they completed their purchase, if they have a mortgage and who the mortgage lender is etc which is how most developers get the information so nothing mysterious about how the information has been obtained. However it is unacceptable to suggest you are going to turn up on someone’s doorstep. Agents or other interested parties generally make a generic enquiry in the hope the owner might be interested in selling and wait for a response. My son is trying buy in a certain area and has letter dropped along preferred roads and many have responded politely saying they are not looking to sell and wished him well in his search but some have pointed him in the direction of someone who is and it will save paying estate agents, win win situation for both parties. Perhaps ensure someone is with the elderly couple at the time notified to circumvent any possible pressure on them.