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You may take on more than you bargained for when you move into a house if the previous tenant racked up debt and moved without paying it off. Even though the debts aren’t in your name, you may still be chased for them. Likewise, if the person who used to have your telephone number still has outstanding debt, it’s not uncommon to be plagued with calls from debt collectors and creditors demanding their money. Because many collectors simply won’t believe that you’re not the person who owes them money, how do you handle being hassled for debts that aren’t yours?

Are You Liable For Their Debts?

If you’re being hassled for someone else’s debt, you’re probably wondering whether you’re now expected to cough up the money. As stressful and irritating as the situation may be, there is some good news: if you didn’t run up the debt, it shouldn’t be your problem as far as repayments go and there should be no impact on your credit score. For example, if a previous tenant moved out without paying their utility bills, you shouldn’t feel obligated or intimidated into paying this debt on top of your own bills just to receive your utilities. If the utility company has been informed that the previous tenant no longer lives at the address, they should focus their efforts into getting in contact with him or her at their new address, especially if a forwarding address is given.

Return To Sender

Assuming that the mail is addressed to a previous tenant (or someone other than yourself), write something along the lines of ‘Not at this address’ or ‘Addressee unknown’ on the back of the envelope and return it. If you throw the mail away and don’t return it, the sender will usually just assume that it is being ignored if they’ve got no reason to suspect that the recipient no longer lives at the address. If there is no return address on the envelope, write ‘Not at this address’ on the envelope and put it back in the mailbox.

Get Tough

Going down the ‘return to sender’ route won’t always work and you might find that the letters are still coming in thick and fast. If there’s a return address on the envelope, try doing a Google search for the address to see if you can find a contact phone number so that you can talk to someone directly. Emphasize the fact that you are now the tenant and that sending letters intended for a previous tenant is a waste of their time and resources. In some cases, this may be enough to stop the calls. If they still won’t back down, tell them that in harassing you for a debt that isn’t yours they are in violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) (which states that a debt collector can only contact you once unless you’ve given permission for further contact or if they genuinely believe that you’re withholding information) and that you will sue if they contact you again. Reinforce this message by sending it in writing to their business address in the form of a cease and desist letter with relevant sections of the FDCPA highlighted.

Debt From A Former Spouse

If you have a former spouse who racked up a ton of debt while you were married or even after you split up, debt collectors may try to go after you. If you did not sign for that debt or put it in your name, you are not liable for that debt, even if you were married at the time your former spouse borrowed the money. However, creditors sometimes go after former spouses trying to dupe them into thinking they are liable for it. You ARE liable for the debt if your name was on the credit card or loan, but if not, it’s not your responsibility to pay it back.

If All Else Fails…

It can be a big hassle to change your number and have to inform everyone that needs to know, but it may be the only way to stop creditors calling in search of whoever previously had your number when other forms of action have failed.

Being hassled for someone else’s debt can be extremely scary, especially as phone calls from debt collectors and creditors can be abrupt and even threatening in their tone and content. It’s important to stay calm, because you’re not liable for debts that aren’t in your name, and you’re in no way obligated to settle them.

(photo credit: nate steiner)Related Posts:

• Dealing With Creditors and Negotiating Old Debt
• Negotiating With Your Creditors: How to Pay Your Debts When Money Is Tight
• How To Deal With Various Types of Debt Collectors
• Protecting Your Financial Future During a Divorce
• Collections Agencies and Creditors: You Have Rights!

How to Handle Debts That Don’t Belong To You is a post from: Money Crashers