Debt Collection Letters...

[thegobetween]

Hi

Just received a letter from a debt collection company through the post addressed to my home, but not my name. I am not the name on the letter - I don't recognise the name at all; I also do not think it is someone who has lived in the house for at least 10 years (we've owned it six years!).

What do I do here? I have no debt apart from the mortgage... do I contact them and tell them the person is not known at this address or leave it? Or this this a scam?

Any help would be gratefully received.

TGB

[MentalSarcasm]

Write "Addressee no longer at this address, return to sender" on it and pop it back in the post?

[Goochie]

Contact them and explain the situation.

About 6 months ago we started getting letters from a high street bank, chasing a previous occupier. They then turned into debt collector letters.... now we have about 3 per week from various debt collectors, each chasing a different debt.

[bigandclever]

Phone them up, say it's not you, the end. If you're worried it's a scam (how?) don't give them any of your details. Have a beer, and a nice weekend, and forget about it.

[Romanymagic]

Is it not illegal to open a correspondence if you are not the person on the address on the front of the envelope?

[Goochie]

Romanymagic said:

Is it not illegal to open a correspondence if you are not the person on the address on the front of the envelope?

I open them all accidentally

Interestingly we opened one recently, expecting it to be a debt collector's letter and found it was from the same previous occupier's pension company. We re-sealed it and did a Return to Sender.

Some weeks later, they wrote another letter, addressed to her which I opened.

The letter was along the lines of "We were recently informed that the policy holder does not live here anymore, please forward a new address if you have one" - so clearly they were expecting us to open her post.

[rude-boy]

bigandclever said:

Phone them up, say it's not you, the end. If you're worried it's a scam (how?) don't give them any of your details. Have a beer, and a nice weekend, and forget about it.

I find, if you are the owner, tell them your name and to check the Land Registry for conformation. Not failed for many years and many different lenders. Ex owner had magnificent levels of debt.

[Glassman]

Check the telephone number before calling.

[Yuxi]

Was it a letter from mackenzie hall? Have a google for some good stories about them!

We got one today from them addressed to the previous owner of our house, which we bought 11 years ago. They want £45 from her, I cannot believe this debt is 11 years old although we did have bailifs round soon after we moved in looking for her.

Not sure about the legality of opening post with someone elses name on it but I will open all post with my address on it, regardless of the name.

[trackdemon]

Isn't there some kind of law about debts lapsing after 7 years? At least where credit cards are concerned anyway?

[condor]

At the shop I run we get them quite often. Seems peeps who owe money change their address to a shop so the bills go to a shop and are returned, and they effectively dissapear.
I don't know if they ever get tracked down....perhaps a debt collector knows if they do or not.

[playerone]

Most of them are debts that have become statute barred (no payment for 6 years). Debt buyers get them for pennies, in some cases fracions of pennies, in the pound. They then try their luck and see who will pay. They only need a few people to pay to make a return.

[V6]

What the hell did people do before the internet? Just stare at the letter and hope a solution would present iteslf?

[cyb]

V6 said:

What the hell did people do before the internet? Just stare at the letter and hope a solution would present iteslf?

Yeh, I still do that with my Bank Statement

[J111]

Who was the letter from ?

trackdemon said:

Isn't there some kind of law about debts lapsing after 7 years? At least where credit cards are concerned anyway?

Statute barred at six years. Mackenzie Hall et al endeavour to get their victims to enter into a repayment agreement, thereby resetting the clock, when the appropriate response is to completely ignore them.

condor said:

I don't know if they ever get tracked down

But not for trivial amounts, it isn't worth their while.

[karona]

There's a scam that works like this:
Raid the bins of a few houses in a street, to get names of occupiers.
Go online to Experion etc. and get credit reports for those names and addresses.
The credit reports show company names that occupiers owe money to, and whether there's any arrears.
Photoshop yourself an ID card that looks like it was issued by the company.
Knock on the door and demand cash payments to the 'arrears'.
Pocket the payments and move on to a different street.

Keith

[Red Kite]

Don't waste a penny of your money on postage or phone calls.

[Glassman]

[Martial Arts Man]

I get over 20 letters per week at my apartment from various debt collectors, relating to the previous occupiers.

Despite phoning twice about each debt, explaining that I am not mr Zhu and that he has repatriated to China, still they come.

Once I found a handwritten "I'm a baliff and I've come looking for you" letter on the floor in the lobby of my apartment. It looked like it had been left to cause maximum embarrassment to Mr Zhu. I called the mobile phone of the baliff, shouted at him for a few minutes until he promised not to return, yet guess what?

More letters ad infinitum!


They're all idiots IMO.


I wish I did have some debts and these clowns chasing me; it could be quite amusing leading them round the garden path.


Ah well, at least Mr Zhu is ok


MAM