How I stopped getting unwanted post and made £100
Are you tired of receiving post — and even visits from debt collectors — for people who don’t live at your address any more? Here’s how I stopped my unwanted mail.
Rodica Adafinei, Christian Dragomir, Farcas Ionel (or Ionel Farcas), Jose Seara, David Ursachi.
These are six former tenants of my North London flat who didn’t tell their loan providers, mobile phone suppliers and the DVLA that they’d moved on (that’s a £1,000 fine). I’m not even sure if they’re all real people.
I moved in about 18 months ago and immediately started receiving three or four letters a week for these people. Occasionally I opened a letter by accident. They were always debt repayment demands. Within a few weeks, the first debt collector had left a note at the door (he was very polite and understanding when we spoke).
The flat had been empty for six months when I arrived (and completely redecorated). It was more than enough time for the former tenants to update their details. After a few months, I decided something had to be done. Google turned up very little advice, except to write “Return To Sender. Not known at this address” on the envelope and put it back in the post.
It didn’t make any difference. Some letters even came back with “6th try”, and so on, noted in the corner. I was playing postal ping-pong with anonymous senders who were mostly disguised behind PO box numbers.
But banks, loan sharks and debt collectors are motivated by one thing: money. I decided to turn the tables. Here are the five steps that have turned four letters a week into one letter in six weeks.
1 Keep notes. You need to know who is sending this incorrectly addressed post, and how often. I record the addressee’s name, the return address and the date of each letter in a spreadsheet. I wish I’d started sooner.
2 Get on the phone and use online forms if you can. Very few other companies put their name in the return address, but Three does, so I called and asked them to stop chasing David Ursachi’s unpaid bill. They were very happy to amend their records (it might help that I’m a Three customer).
Always be polite, stick to the facts, ensure they understand that you are the wronged party and you’re doing them a favour by correcting their records. Don’t lose your temper — they didn’t run up the debt.
Ionel Farcas had registered a company at my address — FAAR Auto & Auto Parts. I don’t think it had done any business, but he was the sole director and HMRC wanted to see the accounts. Thankfully, Companies House has a process for deregistering companies and directors with incorrect addresses. A few months later, the company was struck off and another source of unwanted mail was crossed off my list.
The PO boxes used by many companies — even major banks — are an obstacle, but determined Googling will often reveal their identity, particularly from forums like Money Saving Expert, where people with debts talk about the companies chasing them.
3 Give them notice. Seven months ago I ordered a stamp from Vistaprint that reads:
RETURN TO SENDER
Not known at this address.
Repeat returns will be invoiced.
Please amend your records.
It cost me £11.10, plus £13.21 VAT and P&P.
I stamp each returned letter, and under this I write “3rd RTS” and so on (I’m up to 12 on the outstanding offender).
It had an immediate effect, with one debt collector — Jacobs Enforcement — sending a form to “The Current Occupier” which allowed me to send them a proof of residence (copy of my tenancy agreement, Council Tax bill, etc). They even have an online form. Problem solved.
A few other companies stopped sending letters, but you’ll need to be patient.
4 Set out your charges in a formal letter. The stamp had reduced the flow of unwanted mail, but after a few months it was time to raise the stakes. I started with loan provider Amigo, which was trying to contact David Ursachi, Farcas Ionel and Rodica Adafinei. Amigo’s postal spam made up about half of my unwanted mail.
My template letter uses the same kind of language they use. I give them a further month to update their records. After that, they’ll be subject to a £10 administration charge for returning for each letter received during the following month. Beyond that, there’s an additional £25 penalty charge, with 3% interest after 30 days, plus undisclosed further costs if I have to take legal action.
It also includes phone and email contact details so that we can open a dialogue. I don’t want to end up in small claims court, although I’m reasonably confident I wouldn’t be out of pocket. Alternatively, I could employ debt collectors against debt collectors, but I’m worried that would get out of control and bring about the apocalypse.
Most of all, it’s formal, clear and polite. The cost to me? A4 paper, printer ink, windowed envelopes and a 1st class stamp. Less than £1.
I addressed my letters to the CEO, CFO or head of consumer relations, just to be sure I had their attention. Google, Companies House and LinkedIn can all help with this.
I’ve since had successful results with EE (phoned me within a couple of weeks), Halifax (no response but no more letters), and Barclaycard. I’m a Barclaycard customer, and they sent several letters apologising for not being able to resolve the problem while it was being investigated.
You can see my template below.
5 Be polite. Accept no bullshit. Amigo responded in a few weeks, apologising for my inconvenience but claiming that Data Protection Rules were preventing them from changing the details of their wayward clients. Now in possession of a contact number, I called to explain that several other companies had managed this, and an email discussion ensued. They’ve refused to accept any error, but the letters have stopped, so I’m happy.
Barclaycard finally called to apologise that they couldn’t change their missing customers’ details, and they couldn’t accept my charges because their letters had been sent out correctly. Fortunately, “new information” had appeared and they were now able to change the details for Christian Dragomir. As a gesture of goodwill, could they offer me £100?
I accepted.
I’m 90% sure that the Data Protection excuse is bullshit, but I’m glad I didn’t have to go to the Small Claims Court or complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office. OK, that last one would have been interesting but I do have better things to do.
And that’s how I turned several letters a week into one a month. It’s cost me about £25 so I’m about £75 in profit. But as Mastercard would say, the satisfaction is priceless.
