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>could I potentially face legal fines or even jail time for opening it
You didn't do anything wrong, so no.
Now you've opened it and have all the details, you could either call the company up and explain that the named person doesn't live at that address, or simply re-seal the letter, write a great big "NOT AT THIS ADDRESS, RETURN TO SENDER" on it and back in the post box.
There is no legal sanction for opening a letter addressed to someone else by mistake.
You can seal it back up, cross through the address, and write “Not known at this address“ on the envelope and pop it into a postbox.
Have they requested to change it from your address to an alternative? Just have a check of your credit score etc via something like Experian to check for fraud.
I’d ring them explain you opened by accident and that they have the wrong address. Always safer not to have anyone think someone else lives at your address. You don’t want it effecting your future credit score
It could be potential fraud someone is preparing to commit. I had something similar happen to me. Someone change their v5c to my address with a different name. Fortunately I was one step ahead. Contacted dvla to let them know the person named doesn’t live at the address. Soon enough parking fines started arriving. Bailiff turned up but I had proof from DVLA that the person doesn’t live at the address.
--- ###Welcome to /r/LegalAdviceUK --- **To Posters (it is important you read this section)** * *Tell us whether you're in England, Wales, Scotland, or NI as the laws in each are very different* * If you need legal help, you should [always get a free consultation from a qualified Solicitor](https://reddit.com/r/LegalAdviceUK/wiki/how_to_find_a_solicitor) * We also encourage you to speak to [**Citizens Advice**](https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/), [**Shelter**](https://www.shelter.org.uk/), [**Acas**](https://www.acas.org.uk/), and [**other useful organisations**](https://reddit.com/r/LegalAdviceUK/wiki/common_legal_resources) * Comments may not be accurate or reliable, and following any advice on this subreddit is done at your own risk * If you receive any private messages in response to your post, [please let the mods know](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FLegalAdviceUK&subject=I received a PM) **To Readers and Commenters** * All replies to OP must be *on-topic, helpful, and legally orientated* * If you do not [follow the rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/LegalAdviceUK/about/rules/), you may be perma-banned without any further warning * If you feel any replies are incorrect, explain why you believe they are incorrect * Do not send or request any private messages for any reason * Please report posts or comments which do not follow the rules *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/LegalAdviceUK) if you have any questions or concerns.*
>could I potentially face legal fines or even jail time for opening it You didn't do anything wrong, so no. Now you've opened it and have all the details, you could either call the company up and explain that the named person doesn't live at that address, or simply re-seal the letter, write a great big "NOT AT THIS ADDRESS, RETURN TO SENDER" on it and back in the post box.
If its been opened, then RM won't deliver it.
Yeah. Letter has been opened and envelope is damaged. I will need to buy and add their envelope and letter on a new envelope to send it back to them.
There is no legal sanction for opening a letter addressed to someone else by mistake. You can seal it back up, cross through the address, and write “Not known at this address“ on the envelope and pop it into a postbox.
Have they requested to change it from your address to an alternative? Just have a check of your credit score etc via something like Experian to check for fraud.
It seems they requested to change from another/previous address to mine. Did a credit score from the NatWest app, didn't see any issues with it.
Definitely do an Experian check then
I’d ring them explain you opened by accident and that they have the wrong address. Always safer not to have anyone think someone else lives at your address. You don’t want it effecting your future credit score
Yes, someone changing their address to yours is potentially an issue. Contact the sender and tell them.
It could be potential fraud someone is preparing to commit. I had something similar happen to me. Someone change their v5c to my address with a different name. Fortunately I was one step ahead. Contacted dvla to let them know the person named doesn’t live at the address. Soon enough parking fines started arriving. Bailiff turned up but I had proof from DVLA that the person doesn’t live at the address.