In need of a bit of advice. I'll give the back story...
About 18 months ago a long standing friend called saying he was going to be evicted in the morning and could I take his cat in. Don't worry, he said, he had something sorted for himself but she (the cat) was too old to hand over to a charity and he didn't want to risk her being put to sleep due to her age. She was also unwell but lived with us for a few months and was happy during our time with us and only went downhill the day before she passed away. Myself and DH told our friend that we were concerned and please consider coming to ours. The next day he accepted our offer and said it would be for a maximum of 6 months until he got back on his feet. We helped him find a job and eventually a room in an HMO, but he was with us for a year.
So, regarding the eviction. He was a local authority tenant. He was entitled to help with rent and council tax. He found a job and updated the council of his change in circumstances. He then found out that the job he thought was permanent was actually only holiday cover and the advert in the job centre had been misleading him. After 2 weeks, he was back where he started. He is convinced he told the council of his change in circumstances again, and reapplied for his benefits. He is sure he had letters of acknowledgement but didn't keep them because he felt everything was being dealt with. Then we receive a phone call saying he's being evicted in the morning.
Now, whether he is confused or not about the benefits situation is history and to be honest, I'm not overly interested now based on where we are in this whole process.
At the end of May / start of June, we received a knock on the door from 2 burly men just before 7am. DH answered the door and he was informed they were looking for our friend. One looked like a police officer (I was flustered so didn't really take it all in), and the other, doing all the talking, was dressed in black with a badge that said HCEO and he had a bodycam. We told them our friend doesn't live here, and DH was asked to show ID to prove he wasn't our friend. We also showed them a copy of our council tax bill to show liability in that respect. We gave them our friends current address and they went away. At that point, we did not know what they were calling in relation to and they did not show us any paperwork. We have never dealt with people like this before so were unaware that they should never be invited in (which DH did while he went to find his ID).
Our friend hasn't had his mail forwarded, so what has been turning up here has just been passed on to him, either by me putting his forwarding address on the envelope or by popping it through his letterbox when it's been convenient for me to do so.
Then a letter from his previous local authority arrives, so I phone them and say he doesn't live there and gave his new address. They refused to talk about him as I couldn't give them his account number and obviously don't sound like a man. I asked him to update his contact details with them and he said he had done.
End of last month a letter arrived with a stamp on the front saying if you are not the addressee please phone this number. I googled the return address on the envelope and it's the Sherriff's Office, which according to their website are a company of High Court Enforcement Officers. I called them, said he did not live here and hadn't lived here since the end of March / start of April. They asked for a reference number which I could just about make out by wriggling the window of the envelope around. I explained I can only prove who does live here, but how do I prove a negative (ie: that someone doesn't live here)? I was instructed to email a copy of my council tax bill to their email address, and they will forward it to their client. I did this that same day.
DH opened the letter by mistake that evening, mistakenly assuming it was for him. It was a notice of enforcement for a CCJ decision in August 2015. It details the decision number, and says it has been transferred up to the High Court. The HCEO's name is detailed, but no high court judgement number. We figured that because I've emailed the Sheriff's Office, nothing more should be needed. We've given the notice to our friend but kept a copy for our own records. Again, we've asked him to make sure his details are correct with his ex local authority and make sure payslips and bank statements are sent to his new address, because even though he was never on the electoral roll here he has obviously established enough of a link to our address to enable him to be traced.
I've checked my credit file and it's unaffected. DH has done the same. We are not concerned in that respect as we understand that debts follow the person and not the address. Also, we have no financial link with him as we never asked for rent nor had any tenancy agreement with him. We just did not want to see him living on the streets.
This seems to have come back to bite us because despite being a friend for 20yrs he's admitted he doesn't want to update his address details because he doesn't want to be found. He's happy enough to leave this at our doorstep for us to deal with. In the meantime, all reasonable evidence of his whereabout points to our house.
A second letter arrived from the Sheriff's Office last week, again with the same reference number visible through the envelope window. I've phoned them, told them the same story as before. Basically the man at the other end of the phone sounded very bored, as though he hears it all the time and doesn't believe a word I say.
When DH returned from work he said sod it, I don't care if you're not supposed to open mail addressed to someone else and even though we know where our 'friend' is, he's not acting as a friend should after everything we've done for him. The letter is basically a reissue of the first notice of enforcement with a date of 3rd August, for the same amount with more interest added.
This is causing me real concern because:
a) The HCEO's have been informed that the person they are mailing does not reside here;
b) The local authority instructing them to enforce the debt have ignored notice from us that he does not live here;
c) While he's in no hurry to update his address details with his bank, he continues to maintain a link with our address which, IMO, in the absence of any evidence otherwise could be construed to be reasonable belief that an enforcement officer would be following correct procedures in attending our property.
I know, at the moment it is just a notice of enforcement coming here. I don't want it to go any further with a notice of attendance. It is the school holidays and I will be away next week with the children and DH will be at work. What happens if there is no one at home if / when someone pays a visit? Our house is unusual in that access to the garden is open and I don't want anyone making a list of garden items which could be added to a controlled goods agreement; and I don't even know if items in the garden could be taken control of in our absence? Aside from our cars (which our registered in our names) which we have evidence of ownership of, we cannot prove anything else is ours. We are not particularly well off in terms of items in the house (the TV is at least 20yrs old) as all our money goes on our mortgage, bills and stopping the house falling down (beautiful listed property neglected by previous owners so we are trying, slowly, to halt the decay and bring it back to how it should be). So we don't have any receipts for items to prove we own them.
A bank statement arrived last week so rather than forwarding it on, DH has had enough and gone into the branch to say he hasn't lived here for months and please could they stop sending mail to him here. He did provide the forwarding address but the bank said they can't update their records without the account holder authorising them to do so, but they would put a stop on his account forcing him to go in to a branch and deal with it. But will that still mean there is a link to our address in the meantime?
He's never been on the electoral roll at our address but my understanding is that to get him on the roll at his new address needs either him to add himself or a housemate? Is that correct?
I just want to put a stop to this, and don't really know how. The local authority concerned won't talk to me as it's a matter regarding someone else. They are instructing the enforcement officers, but if they won't listen to us telling them he doesn't live here, why would they call the enforcement officers off?
Is it some kind of fraud to continue having mail addressed to an old address if the intention is to avoid being found, eg: avoidance of debt? Should I talk to the police? What else can I do?