Receiving Post with someone else's name at my address

[alemci]

Recently this has happened a couple of times. my post code and exact address but not me and a totally different name. We have been here over 10 years' and I knew the previous owner's name etc.

It worries me in case it is someone being fraudelent. Any ideas? Should I contact the company it was from.

They are usually things like Sun life and Bupa and look like junk mail but still a worry

Is it a police matter?

I think that companies sometimes trawl their databases for sales opportunities, I received mail out of the blue for a son of the previous owner who will have lived in Australia for 14 years now.

I binned it (after 'accidently' opening it and checking it was a sales pitch) but you're sposed to pass back to postie.

I wrote tons of letters to stop unwanted mail when we first moved in. Some companies just ignore.

This person has no connection with our address to my knowledge and it is highly unlikely they were ever here so why is that name being associated with my exact address.

You read about baliffs coming to your house who are recovering a debt which is nothing to do with you.

If baliffs turn up you just have to show your council tax bill. We had to because the previous owners of our house had unpaid debts. I used to open the mail and ring up the companies to say they'd moved.

I would put it back in the post, not known at this address if its only a couple of things. If its a lot of post though, I would report it to the police as this happened to my mum and it turned out it was someone who used to live near her using her address as they were in a lot debt or something like that. I think they were arrested after the police investigated, but this was loads of post from places like banks, HMRC etc.