Landlord opened my mail to obtain my new address

[maddiemay]

Hi all,

Does anyone know the legalities of a landlord opening my mail to obtain my new address although he knows full well how to contact me as he is a family member of sorts. I know for sure this is the only way he has obtained it as no-one could possibly obtain the exact address of where I now live, my worry is that his grandson and family now live in the property I was evicted from after a family fued which incidentally did not involve me,this now explaines the urgency to get me out on the grounds of rent arrears, which until his blood relation needed somewhere to live was never a problem before then.

I have been to the house to retreive my mail and was told by the grandson he had given it to his mother, I asked the mother and she said he had not, I know there has been as I have been thoroughly vetted for a government job, unfortunately due to the backlog and delay their part the reports accidentally got sent to my old address, now all/some of these people may be in possesion of some very sensitive information about me, which could be used to their advantage. I passed all criminal/credit checks with flying colours and obtaining credit using my details at an address I was previously registered at would be easy I imagine. In addition to this, although I was given notice to quit and I did overstay the notice period by 1 month no legal proceedings or court order was ever in place, however before I had finished moving my belongings out, the family had been in and changed the locks with some of my stuff still inside. I have now received a letter from a solicitor demanding a rediculous amount of money, I aknowledge I do owe some , but feel angry that he seems to be getting away with his underhand and bullying tactics in order for his grandson and girlfriend and half a dozen kids to claim massive amounts in H/Benefit etc, whilst the grandson, alledgedly lives at a different address and works cash in hand for his stepfather, mmm all you hard working desent people out there may now just understand my grievance.

I look forward to receiving your advice or just views

[WelshMam2009]

Yes, it breaches s84 of the Postal Services Act 2000

 

Postal Services Act 2000 (c. 26)

 

Quite how you prove it though I'm not sure.

 

I sell on eBay and regulary check addresses at the Post Office site, so, with part of an address, you can actually find the full postal address with little difficulty.

 

Have you arranged to have your mail re-directed with the post office? If not then I suggest you invest in this. You can also withold your new address to the occupants of your old property on this form.

[Planner]

Im not clear how they would obtain your new address details from a letter sent to your old address?

 

I think its a bit of a dead end though as you cant actually 100% prove that they opened your mail.... can you?

 

If they changed the locks then they have actually illegally evicted you and would be in line for a serious fine and possible imprisonment. I would suggest a breif letter back to the solicitor pointing this out.

[maddiemay]

I have moved to a block of flats with video entry system, no one could possibly have obtained the exact flat number, one of them has opened my mail for sure, but I agree how can I prove it. I think it must be from delayed correspondance from my new letting agent confirming my tenancy,The thing that bothers me most is the check carried out on me as it will probably have my NI number etc,etc. I will write to the solicitor with my side of the story and hopefully he will advise the unscrupulous landlord not to proceed any further, as far as Iam aware he does'nt usually bother chasing people for rent arrears, but I think this is more a personal issue.

Many thanks for your input its much appreciated

[patrickq1]

just report to the local dwp jobcentre plus that the grandson is employed by his grandad who is also theproperty owner of that property and leave jobcentre plus to it they will investigate it ,he will advise the unscrupulous landlord not to proceed any further fat chance that will happen ,but like the writer said before you need to seek legal advice about thelandlord locking you out and changing lock citizen advice are best with this they may have letter to send ....report the grandad to the taxman paying out cash unreported this will land the grandad in so much hot water TAX EVASION springs to mind lol

patrickq1

[WelshMam2009]

Just one final thought Maddie...go to 192.com and do a search for yourself and see what it produces.

 

Best of luck!

[maddiemay]

Thanks welshmam, I had a look at 192.com, no info at all to be obtained from there, a fun site though. Very interesting how he got the address, quite a mystery. Thanks again

[45002]

For some years now my landlord thinks its OK to open mail of former tenants

 

How do i know this about 2 years ago i noticed a lot of mail for a former tenant who had moved abroad,my landlord told me he left owing 50,000 pound's on bank loans,credit cards and so on,i ask him how he knew,his words where.

 

We been opening his post,i ask him what rights did he have to open mail not addressed to him,his reply,its my bloody house i can do what i like,i informed him he should just put it back in the post,return to sender,left this address.

 

He also like's to rush around everyday to see what post i get,but i make sure i'm there 1st

 

MARTIN

[maddiemay]

Sounds like a bit of a dodgy character, maybe he's got a secret he wants to keep away from his own address, what a cheek !!