Letter re Sheriff for someone else

I am renting a house and a letter arrived addressed to a previous tenant. It says that this person owes money and unless this money is paid within 7 days (of 9 November 2011) the account will be forwarded to the Sheriff for collection.

I rang the landlord and she doesn't know where this person is (she thinks Hungary). The person last lived there about '4 or 5' years ago.

The tenancy is registered with the PRTB and I have a lease.

What are you asking?

Why did you open post not addressed to you?

Should I contact the Sheriff?
Should I contact the solicitor?

Should I make the landlady do these things?

You don't need to do anything except seal up the letter and return to sender and mark the envelope 'not living at this address'. It's not for you to worry about.

You shouldn't be opening post addressed to a previous tenant. All you do is return it address unknown.

It is against the law to open post belonging to someone else. Seal it up again and mark not living at this address and put in the postbox.

Unbelievable!

Three out of four replies chastise the OP, tut tut Tonymacman, put your hand out for a smack! Bold Boy!

Only one (Scotsgirl) actually answered the OP's question without feeling the need to scold him.

Parnership> It is against the law to open post belonging to someone else. Seal it up again and mark not living at this address and put in the postbox.

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Actually anything that comes through your letterbox is fair game to be opened and is NOT against the law.

partnership said:

It is against the law to open post belonging to someone else. Seal it up again and mark not living at this address and put in the postbox.

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Urban myth - if someone is using my address I can and I will open it. Once the OP has a valid rent agreement, it is their address and they are fully entitiled to open any letter that comes through the door correctly addressed. In the same vein, if an employee has "private mail" sent to their employment address, a director of the company can open it without reverting to the addressee.

It is however against the law to swipe post out of a public letterbox and open it.

As for the OP - nowt to worry about. Just send it back with a note that the addressee is long gone from address and that no forwarding address is known. Add in landlords name, just so that they know you are genuine.

I always open post that arrives in my house for the previous owner and will continue to do so. So far (in a 9 year period) I have found out that the previous owners had some unpaid loans registered at my address and also had used my address when fined for littering.
I immediately contacted the letter writers in both cases and told them the person they were looking for did not live at my address.
I would advise the OP to either call the sheriffs office or send the letter back advising them that the person they are looking for is no longer resident at your address. You don't want to arrive home some evening to find the sherriff there.

Macstuff said:

I immediately contacted the letter writers in both cases and told them the person they were looking for did not live at my address.

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Couldn't you have done that without opening the post? I've no problem with you doing so, I just don't see the point. Don't all business and official letters have return addresses on the envelope?

As far as I recall the return address was not written on the outside of the envelope