what to do if someone uses your address without permission? UK

In this brief guide, we discuss what to do if someone uses your address without permission in the United Kingdom.

What to do if someone uses your address without permission in the UK?

If someone is using your address without your permission you can contact the entity which this person is using and inform them that they have the wrong address, It could be a very simple mistake. 

On the other hand, it could be a serious fraud case and your identity may have been compromised.

You may want to purchase protective registration with Cifas so that anytime someone uses your details to get a credit product you will be notified and need to provide further information to identify yourself.

If someone continues to use your address or you find that multiple people are using your address then it is very likely that your personal details may have been compromised and you may want to report this to Action Fraud.

You can also mark each post with “Recipient not at address, Return to sender” and put the post back in the postbox.

You should also check with your local council to ensure that the person is no longer registered on the electoral roll at your address. 

You can also contact the 4 credit bureaus: Crediva, Experian, Equifax & Transunion  and let them know that you are the only occupant of this property and that someone is using your address without your permission.

What to do if someone uses your address without permission to claim benefits in the UK?

If someone is using your house address to claim benefits in the UK then you should inform your local council and also write to the department of works and pensions informing them that this person does not live at your address.

Check your credit file:

You should also check your credit report to see if any credit searches have been done in you without your permission or if there are any new credit products on your credit profile which you are not aware about.

You should check your credit score from the four credit bureaus in the UK: Experian, Crediva, Equifax and Transunion.

Some of these credit bureaus may charge you a fee to view your credit report so what you can alternatively do is request a statutory credit report which is a free credit report which each credit bureau must provide to you upon you requesting it.

Alternatively, you can also use credit score services such as Checkmyfile and clearscore to check your credit report.

In this brief guide, we discussed “what to do if someone uses your address without permission in the UK”. If you have any questions or comments please let us know.

If you need financial advice and you live in the UK then you could contact the Money Advice service over the phone or via chat for impartial advice.

You can also contact the debt charity “Step Change” if you are in debt and need help.