Company threatening debt recovery against previous house owner

[starfish4]

Last year we started getting statements addressed to the previous owner of our house (sold in 2014). Both DH and myself have phoned the company once each (takes a long time to get through) and on both occasions we understood they'd note the lady concerned no longer lives here, as well as DH emailing once and myself emailing five times. We now have a letter addressed to the previous owner telling her they've placed the matter in the name of a debt recovery company.

What's going to happen now? I assume as the person no longer lives here, they can't register anything against us or our house affecting our credit rating.

What should we do? They've not dealt with the matter following our phone calls, nor our emails (they've acknowledged on the telephone they've received all my emails, one of which was addressed to the complaints department).

A debt collector is just a person who will come round to speak to the person they are after. They CANNOT enter your property, take goods, make a list of your goods, they cannot break in or enter without your permission, they have as much rights or powers as the milkman.

You can ignore the person or you can engage with them and show that you bought the house (council tax bill will show that you are registered) and i would prove that i have contacted the company by showing emails or printing them off to show. This will prove that this person doesnt live there and they are wasting their time. They will report back to the company.

Hopefully that will be the end of it.

And no, nothing can be registered against you or your house. To have anything registered it will have to go to court first. So dont worry, the debt collector has no powers at all.

This happened to me in my current home - the debt recovery company were very good and I explained that I'd told the company many times that they had moved. After that, I heard no more.

Send post back as addressee unknown

it's very frustrating that even contacting the debt recovery agencies, they are pursuing at your address.

Let the Agency come out and let them know the Debtor has moved on, I think it's all you can do tbh.

Someone with better advice will hopefully be along soon.

Have you been opening the letters?

Just send them back .

Just keep a copy of your council tax bill handy and show it to the bailiffs if they turn up. They will go away and it will be end of story for you.

Thanks for your replies everyone. We've had about 15 statements/letters. Originally we were returning them marked 'unknown at this address', but they still persisted in writing.

Luckily I have a copy of our title deeds so I can prove when we purchased property, as well as being the current addressee for bills. It's easy to print off a copy of the emails.

I was particularly worried as we're likely to move house in the next 18 months and didn't want to find anything registered against us or the property.

This is probably a good thing - debt recovery companies don’t like to waste money pursuing an old address. Once you get the details for the debt recovery company, email them a copy of your council tax bill and advise they also check the electoral roll and they’ll see that the person hasn’t lived there for x years. Most likely they won’t waste money sending a bailiff but if they do don’t worry about it - just provide the evidence of your owning the home. They have no reason to come in, and no rights to come in either unless you invite them in or leave the door open (unless they’re from the high court). I wouldn’t actually mind them coming in though as you have nothing to hide.

Debt is not not had it every been registered against an address.

Give them the name of the estate agent who advertised the house who will have the details of their address.

My friend had this. She used to keep some paperwork by the front door just for this purpose, years and years after she had bought the house (I think there were multiple debts).
She had the previous owners solicitors details written out for them as well. It did reduce over the years but the odd one would turn up, she said as she showed them her purchasing details would just leave.

If you know where the old owners moved to then my advice is let them know the address. Had this at an old address and the letters stopped as soon as I told them the new one.

@Saz432

This is probably a good thing - debt recovery companies don’t like to waste money pursuing an old address. Once you get the details for the debt recovery company, email them a copy of your council tax bill and advise they also check the electoral roll and they’ll see that the person hasn’t lived there for x years. Most likely they won’t waste money sending a bailiff but if they do don’t worry about it - just provide the evidence of your owning the home. They have no reason to come in, and no rights to come in either unless you invite them in or leave the door open (unless they’re from the high court). I wouldn’t actually mind them coming in though as you have nothing to hide.

Nearly right, a bailiff is only for when a debt has gone to court and a judgement secured. This hasnt got that far so only a debt recovery person can be sent, and they have NO RIGHTS to enter your home unless you invite them in, they have as much right as the milkman to enter.

Your advise about leaving the door open only applies to Bailiffs and this is not a bailiff that will be calling.

When the debt recovery firm writes to the address you will just have to get in touch with them and explain that the person no longer lives there.

It really isn't any of your business and the letters should be returned marked not at this address. You shouldn't be opening letters that are for someone else.

@Lineofconcepcion

It really isn't any of your business and the letters should be returned marked not at this address. You shouldn't be opening letters that are for someone else.

not this again 🙄

not this again 🙄

Tediously predictable. And, if this was a busier part of the site, it would be repeated about 300 times in the thread too!

I had this. In the end I wrote a letter of complaint by post to the debt recovery company and the company who were owed the debt saying the person didn’t live at the address, they’d been told and I expected no further contact from them or I would consider if harassment.

They debt recovery firm tried to say the address was the debt of the address, I pointed out houses can’t owe money! It’s not for you to prove anything or provide the new address.

@WeeDonkey

not this again 🙄

Tediously predictable. And, if this was a busier part of the site, it would be repeated about 300 times in the thread too!

agreed 😂

My house was a repossession and the last family still owed a lot of money on the place. It got to the point where I had to leave my passport near my front door to prove who I was when the debt collectors turned up. We bought the house from their solicitors and they sent us a bill addressed to them even though we bought the house. If they have no forwarding address then you will continue to get letters to them unfortunately.