Stopping excessive mail to someone who doesn’t live herr

[Rhinosaurus]

Help - I feel as if I am being harassed. A legal firm acting for a parking company for disputed charges are sending between 2 to 5 letters a week to my son at my address. My son has not lived here for over a year and is travelling overseas and does not have a forwarding address. The constant letters are really causing me stress and upset now. I don’t open them, but I know where they are from due to the franking/return address:

So far I have returned to sender, I have written politely to them saying he no longer lives here, I have sent normal mail and also email, and recorded mail with return of the letters. I have completed a cease and desist letter earlier this month saying that he no longer lives here and letters are not reaching him, with a fee schedule if I have to spend time and money returning them stating that if they continue to send letters that constitutes agreement to the fees. Since then if anything letters have increased, I have sent four back today - one received daily since last Wednesday with an invoice for my fees.

Surely this constitutes some sort of harassment?
My son is not on the council tax or electoral roll here since he left the uk early last year.

Any ideas gratefully received, is there an omsbudsman I can complain to I? Or the law society as they call themselves a legal firm?

*retaliation

Why was he issued the ticket?

Actually never mind, why isn't HE dealing with this? I appreciate he is busy on his jolly but why should you be the one with all the hassle?

Ok well maybe offer to send proof he doesn't live there first and debt collector's have rules about how often they can send letters they are breaking their own rules point that out to them too

@ButDoYouAvocado
I’ve said on the other page why it was issued and why it’s in dispute. He should deal with it, but he hasn’t and in the meantime the letters keep coming.

He needs to sort this out, especially if it's stressing you out so much. If he can't access emails can you give him the reference numbers over the phone?

Explain that you have repeatedly told them he does not live there in writing and that by ignoring this they are harassing you and you will be taking legal advice

@Namechangeforthiscancershit I could, but he has said he won’t phone them as it will cost too much. Even if he did phone them if he doesn’t have a new address no doubt they will continue to send them here. I am off to find out what rules they have re numbers of letter they send.

Another option is to just save them up, put them all in a big envelope, address it and send it back without any stamps on once a month.

Write 'Return to sender, not known at this address' on every letter and put it back in the postbox. Don't try to contact them any more, you've already done everything you can.

If anyone comes to the door, tell them that he doesn't live at your address. If they won't go away, call the police.

@slipperywhensparticus that was what the cease and desist letter said which I sent 3 weeks ago. If anything they are sending more letters now! Taking the piss.

I disputed a lot of parking fines when I
Lived in London.

This fine isn’t still in dispute since 2015. There will be a judgment/decision made. Find the details and of that, then decide what to do.

Sorry if I'm being thick but I can't see where it says why it was issued. I saw it was a parking spaced allocated to you, did he not have a permit displayed? If he did then the onus is on them to prove he didn't surely?

Anyway. The fine isn't in your name. If he won't deal with it then bin the post. Why should you worry about it?

Similar happened to me with ex residents of my home. We eventuality had bailiffs turn up. I showed them ID to prove the debt wasn't mine and off they went.

You say that your son can’t see why he should pay a fine to a parking company headquartered in Leeds when he lives 200 miles away from Leeds.

What difference does it make that the parking company are in Leeds? Would he pay the ticket if they were based at the end of his road? I’m struggling to see the logic.

He might be abroad but returning the letters with ‘not known at this address’ isn’t truthful. Can’t he grow up a bit and sort this out himself?

@Iamthewombat yes that was a bit irrelevant - what I am saying is that why would he pay for parking in a allocated space outside his home where he is permitted to park, to a company which has no links to the property or the management company? What are they doing him for? Trespass - on my property - not in my name. Breach of contract - with whom? Financial loss - it’s my parking space!

I really don’t want to get into they why’s and wherefores of the parking ticket or his lack of pro activeness, regardless of what the letters are about they are not for me, they are not getting sent to him, I just want to stop the flow of constant mail.

Either, you totally ignore it (but risk an even bigger fine I assume for your son?)
You hassle your son to sort it like an adult
You just pay it

Personally I'd hassle my son. It's his issue. Surely it can't still be in dispute since 2015?

And yes eventually bailiffs eventually turning up would be a worry, they have his email address so I don’t see why they can’t just correspond with him via email.

Whoops one too many eventually.

The original ticket came through in 2015 and was ignored as that was the advice given at the time how to deal with private parking companies. Went away for a couple of years and the this “legal” firm started writing about it.

Basically a debt collector bought the debt off the original company and whereby they cannot legally enforce payment nor take you to court they can litter your property with their demand notes. Have had it going on here over a decade from my ex husbands financial affairs. You can either put them straight in the bin from now on or open them, rip off your personal details but leave theirs on and put them on a postbox or beside one and hope they get fined for littering. Do ignore them though.

I still think he should have taken care of business before he went abroad. It doesn’t matter where the parking company are based. It’s about him getting down to the citizens advice or whatever and getting their advice on how to resolve this matter. Refusing to pay isn’t resolving it. He’s just racking up a poor credit score.
The post office told me that they no longer return to sender without a stamp so save yourself the bother of sending the letters back, the post office will just bin them. Unless its just my branch who does that, ha ha!

@elieza
I think that too, but it didn’t happen, and many many people refuse to pay parking tickets issued by private companies due to the extortionate “fine” and their unprofessional tactics, it’s not the crime of the century, it had been disputed with evidence which was still dragging on at his departure date - he was hardly likely to cancel his trip to stay home and sort it out. Parking tickets don’t affect your credit score. Thanks for the tip re no stamp, I guess it’s return to sender, not at this address then, maybe at the amount they send I should invest in a stamp from eBay

You say your son does not live at your address that he is travelling overseas. Does he use your address on anything - bank accounts? Credits cards? Driving license? If so then although he is currently away he is still legally residing at the property. If not then presumably he has another correspondence address or PO Box address, give them that address.
I know your thread is not about the debt but if he doesn’t get it sorted this could ruin his credit for many years if it hasn’t already. He needs to get it sorted

A disputed parking ticket is not debt, it doesn’t go on your credit record. I agree that it shouldn’t be paid - private parking companies are aggressive scammers. My question is how can I stop this company using my address when they have already been told several times that mail will only be returned to them. I have seen somewhere that excessive contact constitutes harassment, but as I am not the addressee I wanted to know if I can complain. I am under no legal obligation to provide them with an alternative address, and as I said they have his email address. No other mail comes here addressed to him except these.

I have now found out I can complain to the financial omsbudsman, which is what I intend to do.

I don't understand how it can still be disputed 4 years on. Who decides if it's legitimate or not? Who did he dispute it with?

If he's not careful and if he does owe the money sand doesn't pay it'll end up as a CCJ which massively impacts his credit rating.

If they secure a county court judgement it will go on his credit rating.

I am not asking for advice on his credit rating, or the parking ticket dispute etc

I just wanted to know how to stop this excessive amount of mail as I am getting fed up with it.

But they aren’t harassing you the letters are addressed to your son at his last known address, while often shady they are doing their job, dispute wasn’t dealt with in an adult manner, parking company sold the debt( could even have gone to court in this time for non payment) debt company bought the debt
They deal with this every day, your son likely has bank accounts still registered st your address so you are his forwarding address.
He needs to sort it, when he’s finally back from his jolly around the world this debt will be on his credit file stopping him getting credit or a mortgage
It’s not going away