Ridyard the fraud - Proof for you to read.

Homeowners inundated by company's mail

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Published on Fri May 30 10:43:52 BST 2008

A man has been plagued by hundreds of letters and received a police visit at his new Lancashire home – because of the businessman who sold it to him.

Terry Smithies, 51, knew his new home in The Oaks in Walton Park, near Bamber Bridge, had previously been used as the registered address for computer firm Netwise Computing when he bought it in November.

But he thought that previous owner David Ridyard would have unregistered the address when he moved to Spain.

But that is not the case – and since then the new occupant and his wife, Diane, have been inundated with correspondence and even received a visit from police after a crime was reported against the company in Sussex.

Among the customers who have written to the address is former Football Association chief executive Graham Kelly, for whom Mr Ridyard's firm had designed a website.

Now the Smithies have been forced to put a sign up outside their house letting people know they have nothing to do with the business.

Mr Smithies said: "It is like having a giant neon sign outside your house saying you can get computer parts from here and not being able to turn it off.

"We get letters every day from customers, the Inland Revenue, credit card companies, all sorts of people, because he is still running everything he used to run by my house.

"I have nothing to prove that he does not still live here."

Upon contacting the Serious Crime Agency, he was told to get hold of a copy of a book on the subject of "cyber-crime".

Companies House, the official register of companies in the UK, has Netwise Computing Ltd registered at the Walton Park address.

A Lancashire Police spokesman confirmed officers had visited Mr Smithies last month after being contacted by anti-fraud officers at Sussex Police.

He said: "We made inquiries with the couple in Lancashire and reported back to Sussex that the individual involved was no longer at the address.

The Lancashire Evening Post was unable to contact Mr Ridyard.

Do you know David Ridyard or Netwise Computing?

If so contact David Coates on 01772 838162 or e-mail david.coates@lep.co.uk