Previous Owners

[gilby]

I moved into a house nearly 3 years ago. Every day i am getting mail for the previous owners, the majority of it being junk mail. They left the house to move into a flat above their new business... a florist. In the last few months i started getting mail from wholesalers etc for them and i just wrote 'not at this address' on them and posted them back. After a while i got a bit worried as they are addressed to them with their business name and my address so i decided to have a look (wrong i know). The letter i opened was from a wholesaler and it basically said they had bought things and their cheques were bouncing and they were taking legal action. I rang them and explained that it wasn't their address. This weekend i have got a letter for them and there is a stamp on the front to say its from an accountant. It has their name, name of business and my address again. It it a tax return for last year. They have obviously filled forms in to sort this.I am getting worried incase they might be taking loans out with my address . What can i do?? Who should i speak to??

[Oneeyedvic]

Firstly contact www.experian.co.uk and www.equifax.co.uk and get a copy of your credit record. You want to make sure that noone has made an assocaition between you and the previous people.

If they have you must file a notice of disasscoaition. It may also be worth making a note on your file to say that these people no longer live here and have moved out.

Next, personally speaking (and I am pretty convinced it is illegal) I would open up every letter sent to you and contact the company. If there is any comeback i would state that I was worried about someone commiting fraud.
Also try registering their names with www.mpsonline.org.uk which should cut down on the junk mail.

[sense4all]

In the past we have written to the manager of our local sorting office at Royal Mail stating that we are the only family living at our premises and that we no longer will accept mail that bears the name of smith, jones ,brown or green for example.Royal Mail employ people to open mail and return to the mail sender with an official covering letter or stamp saying why they cannot deliver the mail.

At our last house we had bailiffs and the Inland Revenue call in person for the previous occupant but they were very nice when I explained the miscreant had moved on and produced photo driving licence and electoral entry photocopy to back up my claim. Some companies will ignore your plea to stop writing as they just have to send a statement of current affairs to an address to fulfil their obligation to chase the debt :they do not have to ensure it is their clients current address. Ggggrrrrrrrr!!