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

🤦‍♀️ The coldness with which you, and some others, are dismissing the fears of two elderly people is really quite something.

Yes, most of us know how easy it is to get someone’s personal details without having to either rummage through their rubbish or get the night vision goggles out. The point is that these two people don’t know. In addition to that, they’ve been told that their house is too big for them and a stranger will be banging on their door with a view to buying it from them for under market value. Of course that would be more intimidating than a cold call offering to sell them solar roof panels!

I think some of you are going to be in for a very nasty shock when you get to a similar age, because if you think we’re all going to be as strong and capable and rational and firm as we are now, and perfectly capable of either ignoring something or telling someone to fuck right off, you’re deluded. Hopefully the people around you will be a bit more sympathetic to your fears.

Bit easier to put the phone down (and block if on mobile) than it is to ignore someone at your door.

I don't think some posters have experienced having vulnerable elderly parents. They either died young (pre retirement age), or had nothing to do with them once the poster turned 18 or had a massive fall out and not been in contact since.

I would report to police as someone with dementia etc might fall for it and sign something they shouldn’t on the day

I was in the process of getting our old house ready to rent or sell. I had three different builders trying to buy the property for less than half its worth...(Twice while my husband was very ill; once after he'd died.) They tried to frighten me into thinking that it needed a huge amount of work. One tried to convince me that the roof was in need of replacement.

One in particular behaved as though buying the house was his right. He was doing work on a property across the street and approached me in the middle of the road. Maybe he just thought that he was being businesslike, but it was a bit intimidating.

I managed to bark out "We're not selling!"

In the end, I did sell the house, through an estate agent recommended by my lawyer, but if I'd succumbed to the bossy builders, I'd have lost half the money intended for my pension.

My impression was that the builders wouldn't have tried to intimidate a young fit man. (I'm in my 60s.)

As would I.

My mother lived in her house for nearly 50 years and had many of those letters - quiet cul de sac. Well into her 90s she ignored them.

Throw it in the bin.

I used to run a faculty and was used to being firm when necessary. Now, as a pensioner on my own I find it a bit harder.

I guess that mid-sixties might not seem that old, but when you've no immediate family to help you out, it can be a bit scary. (ISTR inventing a son at one point, when one of the builders didn't want to take 'No' for an answer.)

Did the letters to your mother include the tactic of specifying a time when they were going to come to her door? I'm asking because I've never been aware of any of that type of letter including that detail. (I've had the 'We're buying in your area' notes through the door - those never worry me.)

No. It's a made up post and is never going to happen.

ETA. If it did happen I wouldn't post it on Mumsnet and actually help out.

And did your electoral candidates tell you in a letter that they were coming round at x time on y day to try and intimidate you into voting for them?

There are plenty of threads on here where posters will tell you it would be ageist to assume that every elderly person would feel that way.

I don’t know if the thread is real or not but if it is I hope the OP’s friend helps their neighbours to report to the Police non-emergency service and will report back whether they were laughed at or not.

Who's laughing?

The land registry is not complete.

Can people stop parroting this nonsense, please ?

Some posters have suggested if this was reported to the Police, the Police would laugh at the people reporting.

Luckily, the poster you’re responding to specifically didn’t say that all elderly people would feel that way

easy to change it. Just click on the one you want to select.

As I said most properties are registered I didn’t say all. I still deal with some first registrations but as a paralegal dealing with the Land Registry for 40 plus years I am well aware of the position. What is worrying is those who dismiss facts. You can clarify what I have said with the Land Registry on 0300 006 0411 for the general public or use the attached link for further information https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/land-registry/about/about-our-services

Please report the letter to the police

Because they are telling them they are going to come around to their house uninvited to talk about purchasing their property. You might not find that intimidating, but I can understand how somebody could feel vulnerable in this situation. I find it hard to understand why you can’t see why somebody, although not you, might find that intimidating?

Blopi How is that intimidating 🤔 it’s an enquiry surely?

it’s very easy to get names, religion, DOB in fact anything.

🤦‍♀️ Yes, I know there are. And I’m well aware that some elderly people would be more than capable of seeing off some bullying scammer without needing any help or advice from anyone else.

But if you scroll right to the top of the thread and read the very first post, you’ll see that the OP’s friend has told her that they are frightened. So I think it’s pretty safe to assume that they are not the sort of elderly people who would be happy to tell impending caller to fuck right off.

Agreed! Better still, dont even open the door when they knock!!

What does that have to do with being
elderly and vulnerable? If I received that letter I would ignore it.

I would have thought that it was obvious that the whole point of the OPs post was their concern about two elderly people who were scared by the letter. It wasnt about what would a well informed confident person would do.