Having spent three weeks on holiday in Wales with her mother, Angela Ellis-Jones was looking forward to going home.
But when she got there, she found her letterbox had been "taped up" with an "ugly metal postbox" attached to her front door.
It was the start of much worse things to come.
It turned out her mail was being used by somebody to steal her identity, and ultimately steal her house in Sutton, Surrey.
"My letterbox had been taped up and an ugly metal postbox fixed to my front door," Angela told the Daily Mail .
"I could only believe someone was trying to intercept my mail to steal my identity. The police were informed but they did not send anyone to investigate.
"Intercepting mail is a serious offence, and had they conducted an inquiry I could have joined up the dots sooner.
"The incident remained in the back of my mind, but it was not until I received a letter from the Land Registry two months later that I discovered the real reason my post had been targeted.
"The letter was entitled ‘Completion of Registration’ and went on to state that the property now belonged to a total stranger.
"Someone had stolen my home! After the reality sank in, I felt frightened and feared for my safety.
"With a house worth this much, what lengths would they go to get me out of the way?"
After contacting the Land Registry, Angela found out that a solicitor in Tooting had verified the woman as her when she went to transfer the property.
"On October 8 last year an application to register this transfer was sent to the Land Registry, and notice of the application was sent to me on October 11, giving me until November 1 to respond," she said.
"But I did not receive it and the Land Registry do not send such important documents by tracked post.
"As no response was received, the Land Registry approved the fraudster’s application, apparently from me, on November 2.
"The first I knew that my property had been stolen was when I received the completion of registration notice later in November — once again, not sent by tracked post.
"The fraudster had also paid the £80 transfer fee by postal order, which does not require you to have a bank account, securing their anonymity.
"What followed was a battle to get my home back, and at times it felt like the law was on the criminal’s side. The Land Registry viewed the issue as a ‘civil matter’ rather than fraud.
"It says the ‘current registered proprietor’, aka the fraudster, would need to be asked if she objected to my name being put back on the register.
"She had offered no address to the Land Registry other than mine. Had they sent the paperwork to me, the matter would have been over.
"Yet the Land Registry went out of its way to track her down, dragging out the process by another three weeks.
"I was told that, had the fraudster lodged an objection, the ‘parties’ would have to negotiate as to who rightfully owned my house, which could take months.
"If we reached deadlock, the case could go to the Lands Tribunal, dragging out the process even longer. Thankfully, matters never got that far.
"The fraudster must have realised the game was up, as she offered no objection to me reclaiming my house. And on February 25 this year, I was told it was mine once again."
"I was the victim of a very serious fraud," Angela added.
"I might have been days away from having my house snatched and let or sold without there being anything I could do about it.
"After all the time spent on this, and the distress, I believe I deserve compensation. Yet the Land Registry has neither apologised nor admitted it let a fraudster slip through the net."
A spokesman told the Daily Mail: "HM Land Registry is doing all it can to minimise the risk of property fraud and to maintain the integrity of the Land Register.
"Our counter-fraud unit works closely with the police. Since 2009, HM Land Registry has prevented 279 fraudulent applications, representing properties valued in excess of £133,431,543.
"If someone is defrauded of their registered property, our state indemnity means they will usually be compensated for any resulting loss."
