Unwanted mail

[greencreeper]

Getting a bit fed up of it now

Pretty much since I moved in, about a year ago, I have been receiving mail in different names - usually female, but occasionally male. Much of it is companies chasing unpaid debts. I would have thought they would have given up long ago, but obviously not. I tried sending back some of the mail, and I also phoned one of the companies and said that the person no longer lives here, but I was told that it wasn't my account, nothing could be done, just send the mail back...

I've been Googling and reading various websites, but there doesn't seem to be any advice on tackling debt chasers. I am slightly worried that it may be recorded that the person(s) still live at this address. I know the previous tenant banked with Abbey (like me) because I received a bank card and PIN in her name - I handed them in at the counter. I still don't know if she has changed her address - because it's not my account and therefore no one can tell me anything... I've requested my credit reports, but last time I checked they were fine. I just want rid of the debt companies

If your credit reports are fine then you have nothing to worry about. Just bin them.

[iglu]

Originally Posted by Paul M

If your credit reports are fine then you have nothing to worry about. Just bin them.

No, return to the sender...

[Anonymouse]

Easy answer to most junk mail: Google for the Mail Preference Service. It takes a few months to kick in, but you'll notice when it does.

[lostandconfused]

I just bin them now, Ive been living here for 2 years now and get loads of mail adressed to previous owners, for the first year i was returning them to sender, but if the previous owners still havent informed companies after a year, im not going to be bothered to post them back everyday

[Mr_love_monkey]

Originally Posted by greencreeper

I would have thought they would have given up long ago, but obviously not.

I'm not sure they ever give up - we rent out a flat, and we had a tenant there that ran up debts and vanished - and nearly 4 years later the address is still getting letters from collection agencies (and sometimes the odd visit) - doesn't matter how many times you tell them

[joglynne]

GC, a friend in a similar position to you was having problems with Catalogue companies. The previous tenant of her flat must have ordered a load of gear before she did a bunk.

After sending the letters back for months she eventually received letters from court which she returned, this time with a covering letter including a copy of her tenancy agreement which proved that the 3rd party debts had been prior to her living at that address.

I'm not sure how you would feel about sending copies of your tenancy agreement out to these firms but it may be another way forward.

Unfortunately as far as I am aware, the Mail Preference Service would not stop this kind of post. I'm registered and although I no longer get post from Direct Mail companies I have noticed that the amount of flyers delivered by my postman has more than made up for the shortfall. LOL...not.

[Strzelecki]

Our letting agent has asked us to forward all mail for other people to them. They then return it to sender with the first page of our tenancy agreement. They say that this has been quite successful with other tenants so I'll give it a go. I've had parcels arrive that are addressed to previous tenants, which seem to be items ordered of the internet. Bit strange.

[Watching You]

Greencreaper ,

If a company is chasing a bad debtor they are unlikely to give up without a satisfactory response, that’s the nature of the business. Simply throwing away the letters will not resolve the problem – these companies want their money. Also you do not state whether you are in rented accommodation or have brought the property.

There are several things you need to do:

• First: check with your local sorting office that the previous occupant is not redirecting their mail. Some people do this, for up to six months, whilst still obtaining credit references and applying for supermarket credit cards at a previous address.

• Second: open up any suspicious mail and write back to them explaining that you are the new occupant and have no contact with them. A telephone call will not suffice because these agencies require evidence to go on file. Suggest you also keep a copy for your records in case they come back later.

• Third: sign up with a credit reference agency like Experian to monitor your activities carefully; they provide an e-mail alert service that notifies you every time someone accesses your details. Assume your own mail could be mis-delivered and armed with this information someone could then try to obtain credit/ goods in your name, as I found out a neighbouring flat that was previously being rented by some dodgy Brazilians, tried to obtain an Orange phone using my details and were denied by the credit checks. However, you may think that these stores will easily pick these things up, well after being refused the first time, several weeks later an Orange phone was delivered to my home, this time using my brother’s name and despite a series of wrong answers, (giving the wrong date of birth, wrong time we had been living at my address, and contact number) this store apparently still approved this phone for dispatch. So just because a store runs a credit check does not mean that they take any notice of the result.

I only found out because this was sent to the billing address (my address) I also had other strange things suddenly appearing, but since writing to these companies and taking the Orange phone to the police nothing (touch wood) since.

Please note: some rented accommodations can be blacklisted by some credit reference agencies.

[greencreeper]

Thanks all for the replies