# Incorrectly addressed junk mail



## Northerner (Apr 11, 2018)

I've started receiving junk mail that is my address, but for someone who has never lived here (at least, not in the last 30 years, and I'm not aware of anyone with the name in my immediate neighbours). Suspiciously, these started arriving after I had put my house up for sale and are addressed to the same person, so I'm wondering if it might be an indication of potential identity theft. Anyone experience anything similar?


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## Vince_UK (Apr 11, 2018)

Never exp


Northerner said:


> I've started receiving junk mail that is my address, but for someone who has never lived here (at least, not in the last 30 years, and I'm not aware of anyone with the name in my immediate neighbours). Suspiciously, these started arriving after I had put my house up for sale and are addressed to the same person, so I'm wondering if it might be an indication of potential identity theft. Anyone experience anything similar?


Haven't experienced anything similar Northie but it smacks of identty theft.
Maybe someone who visited your house during the sale process.
Other than notify you bank etc and credt cards I am at a loss what to advise.
You could also report it to the police just to make them aware of it as being suspicious.


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## Davein (Apr 11, 2018)

Pick out the ones that look important and return them to the sender. Cross out your address and then put them back in the post ensuring that the return address is clearly shown, It is an offence to open mail addressed to someone else WITHOUT A REASONABLE EXCUSE. but if you are suspicious of fraudulent activity that is a reasonable excuse. I had a  tenant in one of my properties  had taken out several loans and these loan companies started sending letters. I did, after receiving a few of these, open them and responded to the senders. The tenant had skipped abroad so I doubt whether the loan companies got their money.


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## Northerner (Apr 11, 2018)

Davein said:


> Pick out the ones that look important and return them to the sender. Cross out your address and then put them back in the post ensuring that the return address is clearly shown, It is an offence to open mail addressed to someone else WITHOUT A REASONABLE EXCUSE. but if you are suspicious of fraudulent activity that is a reasonable excuse. I had a  tenant in one of my properties  had taken out several loans and these loan companies started sending letters. I did, after receiving a few of these, open them and responded to the senders. The tenant had skipped abroad so I doubt whether the loan companies got their money.


So far it's just been junk mail, addressed but not in envelopes i.e. printed on the leaflet/booklet etc. I've been returning them 'not known'. Somehow my address and another person's name have got onto a mailing list that perhaps many companies subscribe to, so the question is probably how did it get onto the mailing list rather than the individual companies sending it.


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## Robin (Apr 11, 2018)

It may not be personal to you. As your house was to be sold at auction, I wonder if people (like fraudsters, I mean) assume it's empty. So if they need to give an address and don't want to give their own, they use one where the post is unlikely to be returned to sender. So the best thing to do is to return it to sender, I think!


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## Northerner (Apr 11, 2018)

Robin said:


> It may not be personal to you. As your house was to be sold at auction, I wonder if people (like fraudsters, I mean) assume it's empty. So if they need to give an address and don't want to give their own, they use one where the post is unlikely to be returned to sender. So the best thing to do is to return it to sender, I think!


Yes, that's what I was thinking


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## Davein (Apr 11, 2018)

Your probably Ok then if its purely junk mail. Many companies sell mailing list info nowadays. 
There is a free service to stop junk mail MPS Mail Preference Service or I believe the Post Office run a service to stop direct marketing called Royal Mail Door to Door Opt Out Service but it won't stop mail addressed to The Occupier.


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## Northerner (Apr 18, 2018)

The plot thickens!  Today I have received two items of mail addressed to a company I've never heard of. One of them was from Companies House so I checked online and sure enough the company is there, with my address, and registered on 13th April. I have reported it to Companies House, because that's a lot fishier than just a few items of junk mail...


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## mikeyB (Apr 18, 2018)

Unless that was the folk who are buying it, looking for a palatial and prestigious office.

Aye, right


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## kentish maid (Apr 18, 2018)

Sounds fishy to me


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## Northerner (Apr 18, 2018)

kentish maid said:


> Sounds fishy to me


My concern is that if there are dodgy dealings afoot that there might be something going on that would link back to me - there were some problems in the early years after I bought this house because the previous residents were continuing to use the address as though it was theirs and I had a flurry of bills coming through.


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## kentish maid (Apr 18, 2018)

Northerner said:


> My concern is that if there are dodgy dealings afoot that there might be something going on that would link back to me - there were some problems in the early years after I bought this house because the previous residents were continuing to use the address as though it was theirs and I had a flurry of bills coming through.


 I can understand why you are worried


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## Vince_UK (Apr 19, 2018)

Northerner said:


> The plot thickens!  Today I have received two items of mail addressed to a company I've never heard of. One of them was from Companies House so I checked online and sure enough the company is there, with my address, and registered on 13th April. I have reported it to Companies House, because that's a lot fishier than just a few items of junk mail...


I would totaly agree @Northerner smacks of ID Theft in my humble opinion


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## Northerner (Apr 19, 2018)

OK, it seems like I have to jump through loads of bureaucratic hoops to rectify the situation  Why should I be having to do this? Surely you can't just arbitrarily use someone else's address as a company's registered address? Don't they need proof of address when a company is registered? No wonder there's so much fraud and obfuscation in the murlier parts of business! 

"We are sorry that you are receiving mail for the company but unfortunately, your address is shown as their registered office address. Companies House has no authority to remove your address unless the appropriate forms are received.

To have your address removed, you will need to submit a form RP07 in paper format, accompanied by appropriate evidence to support your case. Information on the type of evidence required is outlined in the notes on the right hand side of section 5. Once we have removed any personal information from this evidence, we are required to send it to all the addresses we have on our records for the company. This means that you will receive more post from us addressed to the company, but these letters can be destroyed or returned to us.

We are legally required to give the company a minimum of 28 days to respond to us, with an extra 7 days added for postal delays. If the company does not respond, we will change the registered office address to the Companies House default address. If the company produces acceptable evidence of its entitlement to use the address, we will contact you to confirm that the Registrar can take no action.

Full details of this process along with the form RP07 are available on our website:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/apply-to-change-a-companys-disputed-registered-office-address-rp07.

Please read the RP07 supplementary guide before completing the form:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...fice-address-rp07/checklist-guidance-for-rp07

If your address is also being used by an officer of the company as their correspondence address you will need to file a form RP02A in addition to the RP07.

You can obtain the form RP02A from our website:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...ification-by-the-registrar-of-companies-rp02a

If you require any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us. "

 I might email my solicitor to see what she says.


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## trophywench (Apr 19, 2018)

Is this your old house or your new one, and have you asked your neighbours or the postman if they've ever heard of whoever?


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## kentish maid (Apr 19, 2018)

Bad enough at any time but not what you need when you are in the throws of moving.


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## Northerner (Apr 19, 2018)

trophywench said:


> Is this your old house or your new one, and have you asked your neighbours or the postman if they've ever heard of whoever?


My soon-to-be old house. Yes, I have asked the neighbours and no-one has heard of the person named as director of the company, or the company. I did have a quick look online for the person and found one living in Bath and one living in Avignon (it's a French-sounding name), so maybe the name has been nicked as well as the address. To be honest I'm not sure I can be bothered pursuing it as I will not own this house at all in a couple of weeks or so  It does seem extraordinary that this doesn't appear to be treated as potentially fraudulent activity and the onus is on me rather than the person falsely using my address  Can you just imagine if someone was reported to be using another person's address to get benefit cheques sent to? There'd be a team of investigators straight on to the case, I'm sure!


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## Northerner (Apr 19, 2018)

kentish maid said:


> Bad enough at any time but not what you need when you are in the throws of moving.


Indeed


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## Northerner (Apr 25, 2018)

More suspicious mail delivered today - two letters addressed to two different people (both of whom have already been sent letters here), plus another letter addressed to the bogus company using my address  

I've decided not to do anything about them, but will leave a note for the new owner - there's not much point in me pursuing it when I won't be here in a couple of weeks time


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## kentish maid (Apr 25, 2018)

Are the Post Office/new occupants forwarding mail to you after the move? If so am guessing the problem may follow you


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## Northerner (Apr 25, 2018)

kentish maid said:


> Are the Post Office/new occupants forwarding mail to you after the move? If so am guessing the problem may follow you


Well, the Post Office should only forward mail specifically addressed to me, anything else will go in the bin if the new owner sends it.


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