Because being woken up at 4am by a debt collector looking for a previous tenant is a sure fire way to end up spending the rest of the night in a police cell
Tenants & debts: do they ever get their comeuppance?
- Thread starter Tom_ed1987
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Because being woken up at 4am by a debt collector looking for a previous tenant is a sure fire way to end up spending the rest of the night in a police cell
http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/wales...ailiffs_e/letting_bailiffs_into_your_home.htm
Also it is down to the debt collection agency to prove that the debtor lives at your address, not the other way round. If anybody comes to your door in regards to this debtor, ask them to prove that the debtor lives there, then ask them to leave. If they refuse, phone the police. Insist that you will only show the police your documents that prove you live at the address, because for all you know that "bailiff" on your doorstep could be a criminal with malicious intentions.
People think theres a rule that after 6 years its written off and hence why some of them do this - actually its if no legally recognised attempts to recover the debt has been made in the previous 6 years - so if the company the debt is owed to can demonstrate they have made attempts to recover the debt i.e. through small claims action, etc. then its unlikely the debt will be statute barred (depending on the status of the previous judgement) - likewise if any payment or written acknowlegement has been made duing the previous 6 years.
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Because being woken up at 4am by a debt collector looking for a previous tenant is a sure fire way to end up spending the rest of the night in a police cell
sure fire way for the bailiff to, yes... and potentially attacked with whatever you have to hand...
you can't just burst into a random person's window at 4am and a home owner generally has a lot of leeway(pretty much up to using lethal force in some circumstances) when it comes to the force they can use when some unknown person breaks in...
I had this happen, only the previous occupier was the owner, and they hadn't been paying their mortgage 
!
Getting a letter on Christmas Eve telling you there's a court hearing on the 12th January which could see you homeless is no fun.
Thankfully it was all sorted.
!Getting a letter on Christmas Eve telling you there's a court hearing on the 12th January which could see you homeless is no fun.
Thankfully it was all sorted.
Soldato
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It's faff in flats. There's only 5 flats of ours that share a hallway but that combined with 2-3 professionals per flat over x many years, we probably get about 5 letters every single day to old tenants. Worst part is our lazy neighbours often put letters to us in the 'not for us' pile despite our full names being on our tray. We missed a bill for two months and a new credit card because of that.
Reminds me, need to buy a Not at address stamp to save writing it every time.
Reminds me, need to buy a Not at address stamp to save writing it every time.
Soldato
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Its not just snail mail being sent to properties because of people who run from debt. When i had a landline installed in my Chippy, Sky must have given me an old number because i constantly get calls from a couple of debt recovery companies who refuse to accept the telephone number has been recycled and keep asking for the same person. It really hacks me off as i like to keep the line free for telephone orders. Sometimes its not even a person at the other end, but an automated message asking yes or no questions.
Associate
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I had this happen, only the previous occupier was the owner, and they hadn't been paying their mortgage
Getting a letter on Christmas Eve telling you there's a court hearing on the 12th January which could see you homeless is no fun.
Thankfully it was all sorted.
To those who say they are opening/throwing the letters in the bin, you realise this is a criminal offence right?
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/26/section/84
and can result in 6 months imprisonment or a fine
Soldato
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I think if you were to get prosecuted for opening other peoples mail, there would be mitigating circumstances that would probably get you let off.
In the case of this thread: the company/ies wouldnt accept the person no longer lived at the address and continued to pester you with mail and/or debt collectors for ages and ages, causing you and your family "distress". So you opened it to see exactly what and who uou was dealing with to aid with your task of getting them off your back.
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Yes I've done this especially if I have the forwarding address, one tenant of mine was intent on leaving 10's of thousands of pounds of debt but she had to give me her forwarding for the return of the deposit.
There was a car loan, insurances, pay day loans, catalogues etc etc she tried to start a hate campaign against me but I think the bailiffs wore her down.
Perfectly fine to open mail that is obviously for a previous tenant /owner - see para 3 of the act you linked to. We had this issue with a previous flat we owned where we bought it offa landlord who had some pretty dodgy tenants before he sold it, down to the point where they were trying to kick the door in to get hold of the dodgy credit cards they had had delivered after we moved in. Spoke to the cops and they confirmed it is all about intent - as long as you don't knick the contents of the letter and you're opening it to find out what it is so you can send it back or whatever you're within the law (or certainly within the law in 2006 when we had the issue)