We have Recently started receiving mail for someone who doesn’t live at our house and never has, as we are the only ever owners. some of the letters are junk mail, credit card offers etc but some seem quite important such as HMRC. The surname isn’t Common One and doesn’t sound typically English. not sure if it’s an innocent mistake or someone doing summat dodgy. Is there Any way to stop it or find out if someone with that surname lives nearby and has put wrong address down. Or check if someone is claiming to live at our address for some odd reason. Going to call HMRC today as the letter we received yesterday says to open and complete instantly.
Sign up in their name to one of those free credit agencies like clearscore and see how much has your address on? And then I'd write and say that person does not live at your address.
I'd just write "Not at this address, return to sender" on them and put them in the post mate. I certainly wouldn't waste my time ringing HMRC.
Slightly different, my old neighbour used our number on her catalogues. Whenever she ordered, she’d wait for them to deliver and run out and collect. One time, my mum got there first, and just handed it over thinking there’d been a genuine printing error. Any letters with her name on but wrong number would get dutifully posted next door… We had a knock on the door a few months later with two big blokes demanding a few thousand or they were taking goods. Sent them away explaining their mistake, woman next door did a runner…. Turns out she’d set uo credit cards, catalogues, etc using our address….
I'd say ring HMRC and also check your own credit record to see if anyone is trying to set up credit agreements in your name at that address. You can also get in touch with CIFAS and if there is a problem, register with them as additional checks and security is required to set up new credit agreements. Though its not your name on it, I'd still be very wary and check it out. It may just be a case someone has but the wrong address number down, but I'd be suspicious until you know it's not something more sinister that can affect your credit record if something is wrongly linked to your address.
You beat me to it with CIFAS - that is the route to go. IIRC you can add a marker to your credit file(s) too, so check with CreditKarma, Experian, Equifax, etc to make sure nothing has been associated with your address.
As others have said... don't bother ringing HMRC, I had to ring them this week, started at 2-45 pm they finally picked up over 1Hr 45 mins later.
We got mail to our address but with a different person’s name. Opened the first one in a pile of mail without realising and it was from a charity thanking someone for setting up a £200 a month donation and listed their starred out bank details. That seemed like a lot and we wondered what to do about it, if anything. The next day we got two more letters clearly from charities addressed to the same name. We opened them and they were also monthly direct debits into the hundreds. I looked up the name on Facebook and found a guy in Leeds with the same name and messaged him about them. He had no idea they had been set up and cancelled them straight away. I’m guessing someone held a grudge against him for something.
What you have described might be classic identity fraud. Check all the letters to make sure that someone isn't trying to set up credit cards in your name. If the name isn't ever yours, you're okay (ish), but, if you find one that has your name and address for a card you haven't set up, then contact the bank straight away and get them to cancel the account. Watch out also for deliveries to your address, which someone intercepts from the postman/woman. I just say this, as it happened to me just six months after we had moved house. Someone tried to set up two credit cards in my name, one with RBS and one with Northern North. They then tried to purchase mobile phones from the account to be delivered to our old address. Fortunately, both the postman and the new resident were wise and wouldn't let them intercept. Northern Rock were just brilliant in response. RBS, in spite of their bail out from the taxpayer, couldn't have cared less. Both accounts were closed down very quickly and the game was up. I don't think that any prosecution followed. Be wary!!
I get them now and again, I open them, ring the credit company and explain they dont live here and I would send them a utility bill etc to prove this, they always apologise and take my address off
