Can RM help in dealing with fraud?

buyer123 · Post by **buyer123** » 14 Jan 2019, 13:14

My address is being used by someone for taking out credit cards and loans from multiple banks. I have expectations of more and more banks to pile in to make a truck load of cash from these loans, or so they hope. Because these loans are fraudulent, they are all going to lose their money. From the letters, the amounts are substantial in the region of £20k each.

I have tried returning the letter with no effect. I have also called a couple of the banks. They insist their cash cow lives at my address. They also refused to give me any details why they are using my address, citing privacy concerns for their valued cash cow.

I am wondering if there's anything RM can do to reject letters coming to my address for the fraudster who never lived at my address in the past, or in the present? He won't be living at my address in the future either :). He's way too maintenance heavy and trying to turn me into an unpaid and unofficial post office worker.

The volume of letters asking for minimum payments and handsome fees and interest amounts is getting a bit too heavy for me. So, I hope I could outsource the letter rejection job to RM. Is that possible? If not, I am thinking of getting a "No such person here. Please return to sender" stamp to make it easier for me to manage the letter returns. I think post office people have plenty of experience with stamps. Can anyone recommends a a good source, or is the best source nowadays China? The 30-60 days delivery from China is a pain in the neck, though. By the time the stamp arrives, the fraudster could be up a couple of 100k's.

Thanks as always.

yubin282 · Post by **yubin282** » 14 Jan 2019, 14:29

Something similar happened to relative of mine many years ago, a fake redirection was setup in their name so all mail was redirected 300 miles away. They applied for a mortgage in my relatives names (the bank noticed this as they'd just moved house at the time). As far as i can remember the police contacted Royal Mail and the redirection was stopped. Not sure what the outcome was in the end.

If it was me i'd contact your local delivery office and inform the police too.

Post by **fb1969** » 14 Jan 2019, 14:58

There are a few addresses in our office where there is a special instruction card to only deliver mail for a specific surname, any other mail is returned to sender without leaving the office. As above, speak to the delivery office and see if something similar can be done.

You could try a local stationery company for a stamp, or maybe stickers from a printers. But if you can sort out something directly with the delivery office hopefully you won't need to get any.

buyer123 · Post by **buyer123** » 14 Jan 2019, 15:14

Thanks for your suggestions.

The letters are not redirects. These are addressed to the fraudster's name but with my address.

How do I work out which is my delivery office? Also, how much does it cost typically to set up a mail return at the office?

From what I can tell the fraudster is probably using his "vetted" credentials at each bank to get loan from the next bank. So, this will be drawn out and probably can't be stopped quickly.

Post by **fb1969** » 14 Jan 2019, 15:29

If you have had a red card left when something can't be delivered, it is usually the place where you would collect the item from. You could look out for a local postie and ask them, or ask a neighbour and they may know. Or just try googling "royal mail delivery office yourtown" which may work depending on where you live.

I am not aware of a cost for the mail return, but someone with more knowledge may know otherwise. Anything you Return to Sender yourself by putting in a post box, usually ends up back with your postie to send back - so you are just cutting out that part of the journey. If you have access to a printer and something like Microsoft Office/Word you could possibly run off some labels yourself.

The suggestion about redirection was more that it was addressed to your address, but with a redirection elsewhere meaning that you wouldn't know much about it - but that is not the case here.

buyer123 · Post by **buyer123** » 14 Jan 2019, 15:37

Ok, thanks. I could give it a go and see. I often collect my parcels from a RM depot close by. Perhaps I will go there in person and show them the letter I want to reject. The place is next to the supermarket I get my weekly groceries from. I'll take along some ID's and utility bill just in case.

Post by **fb1969** » 14 Jan 2019, 15:45

If the depot has a number of RM vans in it, it is quite likely it is your delivery office - as long as it is RM and not ParcelForce. Being ready with ID is a good idea, not sure how much they can do but they can give more information.

Post by **TrueBlueTerrier** » 14 Jan 2019, 15:56

https://www.royalmail.com/delivery-and- ... ce-finder/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; Find your Royal Mail Delivery Office

Post by **Snaggletooth** » 14 Jan 2019, 16:27

Financial services companies usually use a credit reference agency to verify names and addresses. If you want to stop this happening at all, you could try contacting them about the issue (Experian, Equifax etc). I don’t know if that would work, but it might be worth a try. Please bear in mind that they will be restricted in what they can tell you due to data protection laws.

I would also check that your utility bills and electoral register entry have not been changed.

Another place to look for help is Action Fraud.

buyer123 · Post by **buyer123** » 14 Jan 2019, 18:48

TrueBlueTerrier: thanks. That did return the depot I was expecting.

Snaggletooth: the banks are not worrying about their money. I shouldn't either. Those are only bits of paper worth 10p a sheet :) I will go with the printer idea suggested by fb1969. But I don't have glue. Is it allowed for me to staple the printed label to the envelope?

Jacko29 · Post by **Jacko29** » 14 Jan 2019, 19:42

Do you have sellotape?

buyer123 · Post by **buyer123** » 14 Jan 2019, 19:48

Thanks. Found a couple of rolls. But very hard to peel and find the seam. Not the best for mass production. But it will do for now.

NewPostieUK · Post by **NewPostieUK** » 15 Jan 2019, 19:33

Why bother with stickers and the like? Simply cross out your address and write on 'Not Known At This Address'. Stick it in a post box or hand it to a postman.

You don't need to worry about the contents, it has nothing to do with you, but I suppose of you are concerned about fraud, then the Police is the way to go.

NewPostieUK · Post by **NewPostieUK** » 15 Jan 2019, 19:35

buyer123 wrote: trying to turn me into an unpaid and unofficial post office worker.

In what way?

buyer123 · Post by **buyer123** » 15 Jan 2019, 21:45

NewPostieUK wrote:
buyer123 wrote: trying to turn me into an unpaid and unofficial post office worker.
In what way?

My address becomes a mail depot for the banks. Since they don't get paid their handsome fees, they send lots of reminders for the loan taker that new fees and interest are now due. They also provide very helpful leaflets on how to tackle debt. They offer consolation that being in debt needn't be a drag and they are only there to help every step of the way.

For me to return all that, I need a proper post man's mail bag for hauling stuff to the letter box. Writing return requests on the envelope is not good for my wrist. So a stamp or a stack of labels is better.

I have my own things to do. So, I'll let the banks call the police when they are done dreaming of the piles of profits coming their way.

The banks I contacted told me to return the letters or discard them. They were adamant they will not stop the letters because their banking and verification data were rock solid. I will follow their advise. Although if I discard them, it will give them more reasons to send gentle reminders.