I dont know if anyone out there knows the law well enough to answer this, but do your best,
My mum and dad are in their eighties,my sister and her partner have moved to spain,but have used my parents address to get credit cards without them knowing,at first it was all ok as they always paid the bills and mum never minded posting them on,I dont think they knew that their own address was given for this reason and that all they wanted was to still have an address in england for their mail,well, you know what I 'm going to say next don't you,
Yep,they run up the credit to the max and now wont pay,(even though I know that they have the money)
They told my mum that when the creditors phone,she has to lie and say she never heard of them,(sorry ,not my sisters name just her partner) which she has done,but I know she really didn't want to,and was really upset,but my mum is quite a gentle person,so when this company called up ,she kept saying she did not know this person,of course  they kept saying to her,we know you do know,you have had letters for the last 10 months,what did you do with them,ect and kept her on the phone for over twenty minutes.
Now she has received a letter saying that (addressed to my sisters partner )that he is to be taken to court,and debt collectors will be coming to the house.
My sister has promised to sort this out but I know that she wont,if they do come,what is my mum supposed to do?I am sure that she does not have to let them in,do you think she should get a solicitor to write to them?or cab?
I am not sure the best way around this,apart from the obvious which is to give these people my sisters address,I dont think my mum has the heart to do that though,
ash.

I would phone them up myself and give them your sisters address to save your mother from having to do it.

Yeah, had thought of that,the only thing is,I love my sister.
I had thought of threatening to do that to see if I can get a reaction though.

The only way of saving your mother, who I'm sure you love too, that I can see is if your sister faces the music herself.  It's tough love but you will be making a better person of her too by making her face up to her responsibilities.

that's exactly what I was going to say - it is your sisters mess not your mums so she shouldn't have to deal with it.

I would go to cab and explain the situation, hopefully they will be able to help. If your mum can prove that they do not live at her address and never have that could help re the courts and debt collectors. Hopefully someone will be along shortly with the answers you need.

Debt can only be assigned to an address if it was a loan secured on the house. In this case I doubt that could have happened and if it had it would be fraudulent anyway.

Debts are assigned to names now and address black listing really is a thing of the past with the new credit search processes. . ( Don't jump on me if you think it isn't)

Even in my own personal experience I bought my current house from a couple up to their ears in debt, 3 businesses down the drain. It has never affected my good credit rating. Only pain is when they call at the door occasionally looking for the previous owner from 3 1/2 years ago.

What about the issue of passing on mail and then denying knowledge of it?  Could there be any repercussions from that?

thats something I overlooked,if they come to the house,I know she wont be able to lie again,she just wouldn't be able to,she really is a pawn in the game.

If bailiffs come to the house they have no right of entry unless they have a warrant & they can only cease goods that belong to the debtor. I would advise that the door is not opened to them in any circumstances

As there are no goods that belong to the debtor at the address they can cease nothing & I would advise your mother & father to consult a solicitor/CAB/Law Centre & get a letter sent to the company pointing out that the debtor(s) does not live there, has no goods there & that they(your parents)have no financial connection with the debtor(s). Also that any further communications will be reported as harassment to the police

Of course some naughty person could send an anon letter to the company giving the whereabouts of the debtor(s) ;)

Your sister and her partner have commited a criminal offence - fraud - giving another address as their own.   They could be in deep s**t if they don't come clean now - they might just get away with it.

How mean of them to involve your elderly parents.

Margot

Probably immaterial really ,although it would have been best not to as they wouldn't be hounding her now it is not uncommon for people to say this.

THe sister should be ashamed of herself. I can't even imagine putting a member of my family though this.  Parents should be treated like royalty.. Very sad. 

I would also give them your sister's address. There is no way a blameless couple in their 80s should have to deal with someone else's mess. This could make them really ill.

M.

"the only thing is,I love my sister."

Pity your sister didn't feel the same way about your parents :( :(  How could she do this to an elderly couple who have loved and cared for her?

My guess is that your mother hasn't even begun to tell you how much this is upsetting her and your dad as she wouldn't want to worry you too much ;)

I'm with the others - Shop your sister and her partner, after all it's of her own doing not your parents' ;)

Thankyou everyone for all your advice,
In all respects with  all the above posts I know your all right in what you say.

The sad thing is,I know my sister has NO IDEA of the stress she has caused and I cant work that out,my mum and dad are coming to stay with us over the bank holiday so I will try to persuede them to take some action,but part of staying with me is a bit of a 'get me away from this' for a short while thing.

I am going to try to get them to get an official letter sent to this company,I hope they listen.
Thanks again everyone,
Ash.

I think your sister is disgraceful, she should be thoroughly ashamed.

To sort this out just ring up the credit card company and give them your sisters address and telephone number.

I would also let your sister know this before you do it to give her the chance to come clean. At least then you have given her one last chance to redeem herself.

Good luck and hope it all gets sorted quickly

Lucy
xx

But getting away for a short while isn't going to be a huge help if they're scared to answer their phone or open their front door when they get home in case someone comes and takes all their possessions. Yes, I know this isn't legal, but it won't stop them worrying about it.

You could also try posting on the forums at http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com for advice on how you can help your parents get these names disassociated with her.

M.

EDIT: Links hate me, always forget the http bit.

All the problems in the world that can't be sorted via a Champdogs forum can be effectively and quickly dealt with on the moneysavingexpert forums.  Ahhhhh the Lovely Martin Lewis !

Absolutely!

M.

What I think is particularly awful is that your sister is putting your parents through this when you say she has the money to pay the bill - absolutely disgraceful.  If my sister behaved like that and refused to change her mind, I'm afraid I would shop her to the company concerned having given her one last chance to pay up. 

Very good plan of your sisters......... I think not:rolleyes: has she not considered that asking your mother to deny all knowledge of her partners existance has put her in a very awkward position.

There is a very strong possiblility that the truth will probably come out that he is her 'son-in-law', and I don't know how that stands then, but agree with archiebongo there may be repercussions here as once it goes into a courts/solicitors hands it is perjury if she should continue with the lie.

The company do not believe your mother and have not just dropped the collection of money as your sister thought, that is probably due to the fact that the amount he was paying them originally was the exact monthly amount on the statements, therefore they know that he was getting the statements, therefore your mother is not telling the truth. These people are not stupid, which is why they are sending in the baliffs.

Your mother or yourself, needs to tell the truth now, before things go any further.

Your sister whom I know you and your mother love can not duck out of her responsiblities. (especially as you say they can afford to pay the debt) Even if they could not, they can still pay £10 a month to appease the situation, but no way should your mother have to face baliffs, courts, and summons.

So do the right thing and free your parents of this situation and send it where it belongs.

Your parents could be committing offences under "aiding and abetting" by not letting the company know where your sister is.  (only technically but I don't think they would ever be charged with this)  If I was in your shoes I would use this to get your sister to give them her correct address.  I would give her a time limit to do so and if she can not show you proof that she has contacted them with her correct address then I would point this out to your parents and then phone the company yourself.  it's not fair that your parents should have to face bailiffs at the door who some can be very intimidating.

if your sister has any respect and feelings for your parents then she will contact the company herself. Sometimes being economical with the truth can work wonders

Hope it all works out well

ok heres the update,good and bad,
I asked my mum if she had spoken to my sister who is now back in spain and asked her what she was going to do about this,I think my mum honestly thought they would either pay up, or at least say they were dealing with it.
I CAN'T BELIEVE this but they told her,if they phone,slam the phone down,or if they call at the door,tell them to **** off.
What a great plan,my poor mum was shocked to her roots,i havent made the phone call to my sister yet,but i will and it might just be the last time I ever speak to her.
The good news is ,my dad has said that if they come to the house he will gladly give them the spanish address.I told him to do it sooner than later.

He is actually my step dad,and although we haven't always seen eye to eye,he has said that he will take the full blame for passing on the address, and not to get involved and not to worry,as he said he doesn't want me or my brothers to have any conflict with my sister,he said he has broad shoulders,
but as I write this,I thinking about the great respect I have for him,and that I really need to tell him,that if I end up falling out with my sister,I am doing it to try and protect him and my mum,and that I will take the rap as much as him,because honesty is something that he taught me.

Thanks again everyone,
Ash

I agree with everything that has been said.  I can't believe anyone would do this to an elderly couple, especially their parents!

If it were my parents, I wouldn't be trying to help them sort it out, I would be telling my sister to sort it immediately or I would sort it - by telling the card company her address.  I am sorry but sister or not, I would not let anyone get away with doing that to my parents (wish that they were still here with me). I don't see how your sister can't understand the anguish she is causing your parents.