keep receiving post for unknown person at our address?

[kjfkjfbkjfb]

Bit of a weird one and wondered if anyone has any advice?

About 12 months ago, we received a parcel (a fairly expensive purchase, nearly £100 worth) from a company in the post addressed to a random name but with our address. It's an unusual name, and not someone who lives near our house at all (we know all the neighbours as we live on a cul de sac) Thought it was weird, called the company who arranged for us to send it back, end of story.

Since then, we keep repeatedly getting post addressed to this person, and it's becoming more and more frequent - catalogues for completely random shops mainly, but also other post too now. For the most part I've been putting return to sender on and sending it back, occasionally just binning it if it's a catalogue, but still the post keeps coming!

I presumed that it was just someone who'd put their wrong post code in an online form, but now we're getting "normal" post it seems unlikely this is the case.

Anyway, my friend was here the other day when yet more post arrived for this person, and she's now freaked us out suggesting it's some sort of scam linked to our address?! I've done a bit of research but I have no idea a) what the scam is or b) how the scam would work.

Has anyone else had this and what did you do? Is it a police thing? Should I try and find if there is a real person with this name? It's a very unusual surname so I doubt there will be that many of them about? Do I need to inform the companies sending these catalogues and posts?

100 % a scam. This is what they do they are using your address for something else.

yes this is what we fear - do you know how it works? and what should we do?

No, not necessarily a scam - could easily be someone autofilling an address without realising it's wrong. Or using your address for junk mail rather than their own.

Have you looked up the name on social media? Posted on a local Facebook / whatever group to try to identify the person?

Yes, googled the name and no luck (it's a very unusual surname). No social media for the name. I presumed it was the address box thing (we live on a fairly commonly named road) but once I can imagine putting the wrong address and post code, but it's now for LOADS of different things.

Sign up to one of the credit checking agencies (like Equifax, Experian etc.) and check whether any credit checks have been done against your address that you don't recognise.
(not the same as your issue but I found that my name was still linked to my ex-husband who is terrible with money, so I got them to sort that out)

Do a credit check against your address. I had this happen to me, first it was random bits of post, then catalogues and eventually they tried to open mutiple benefit claims at my old address. Had to go to the police in the end, nothing was done but it did eventually stop.

Seconding double checking with Experian or Equifax as it could be someone using your address for financial fraud. As in using your address as the main address for the account - signing up for catalogues etc to ‘prove’ address but getting any cards sent to a ‘temporary’ address. Then they run up a debt on the card, default and vanish, starting off at another address. Meanwhile your address is the one showing up on default / CCJ searches, which trashes your credit.

A friend actually had this happen to him. He was forces, and his off-base home started getting this. Because there was all this post addressed to the person, they were able to sell his home as they had ‘proof of address’. It took ages and a lot of legal action to get the house back from the poor buyers.

So definitely look at a credit search and challenge any that show up that you don’t recognise.

Oh my god.

We check our credit routinely as part of DH's job and nothing has flagged so far.

We haven't opened any of the post so wouldn't know if it was regarding benefits etc. Our local police are very good with things like this so I might go to them?

I'm pretty sure you can't do a credit check search on the address, it has to be on a person at the address (and you need their personal details for this).

It's been a long time since an address was impacted negatively; it's all individual now.

Meanwhile your address is the one showing up on default / CCJ searches, which trashes your credit

This cannot happen, unless the OP or anyone else in the house has had their identity stolen. Somebody else using the address in their own name will have zero effect on the OP's credit.

We had this. Returned everything marked "Not Known at This Address. We believe this name to be bogus." Some were addressed to a limited company and we reported that to Companies House.

Eventually it all stopped.