Advice to clean out from fraud

mastercho · 16 May 2017 at 11:53PM

So recently i have been a victim of Identity Fraud. Credit Card from Marbles - New Day and Loan From Hitachi has been taken with my name on my recent address just after 2 weeks i move out(suspecting agency which i was renting). 1 Month Later 2 years unpaid water bill has been transferred to me also and all this reflected to bring down low my credit file. Unfortunately, i notice it 4 months later (as was not actively checking). So first thing i do was call related company's to report it which was in February. Then call solicitors for advice, they advise me to report to action fraud and Financial Obudsman. Action fraud website was giving me warning to wait for related company's investigation. Financial Ombudsman comes back after 2 months with "You should consider to pay them the debt"... After 3 months no answer from company's went to fill up Action fraud form again and after a month they come back with saying that they can't do anything about it. Credit Card record has been cleared but loan and water bill still remain. When i call about water bill they said they don't care and i have to pay it. So I'm asking what i should do now ?

Ben8282 · 17 May 2017 at 12:32AM

How much did the solicitor charge for the advice to report to the financial ombudsman? What did he imagine the ombudsman would do in such circumstances?

DCFC79 · 17 May 2017 at 8:24AM

You phoned the solicitor for them to tell you to call the ombudsman, how much were you charged for the phone call ?

I dont believe the omdubsman said to pay the debt, were they aware the debt or debts werent yours ?

Dont pay it, its not your debt.

Candyapple · 17 May 2017 at 10:47AM

Sign up for CIFAS protective registration to prevent this again in the future.
https://www.cifas.org.uk/pr_for_individuals

Have you reported the ID theft to Action Fraud? Did you get a crime reference number from them? You'll need this to get the loan removed.

http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/fraud_protection/identity_fraud

You should also obtain copies of all 3 of your credit files to make sure there are no other hidden accounts taken out:

The free versions to check your credit files are below:
Experian: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/creditclub
Call Credit: https://www.noddle.co.uk
Equifax: https://www.clearscore.com

Once you have the crime reference number you will need to write to the loan company (and any other lender that you may find on your file that you didn't know about) and inform them that the account was opened fraudulently and to remove the information from your credit files.

As for the water bill, you say 2 years worth of unpaid water has now been charged to you. Who paid the water bill whilst you were living at the address? Do you have proof of any past water bills that were paid whilst you were living at the address?

mastercho · 18 May 2017 at 8:53AM

advice from solicitor was free for the ombudsman, I have email proof from ombudsman saying that i should consider paying the debt. and they are aware that debt is not mine

@Candyapple i have reported to action fraud and i have reference number like mention on my thread, currently using clearscore but ill obtain from Experian and Noodle later today.
About water bill, i had contract with agency that all bills included but i was still paying my own electricity even everything was included. Later i found out that agency even is not registered like agency anywhere... They are not answering to my phone and mails so i had to go on their office. And i don't have any proof from last tenants payments. But i collect my mails from flat and had accont number.

Candyapple · 18 May 2017 at 12:19PM

mastercho wrote: »

About water bill, i had contract with agency that all bills included but i was still paying my own electricity even everything was included. Later i found out that agency even is not registered like agency anywhere... They are not answering to my phone and mails so i had to go on their office. And i don't have any proof from last tenants payments. But i collect my mails from flat and had accont number.

Do you still have a copy of your contract that states 'all bills included'? You will definitely need this to help with your case.

If the property was all bills included - why then did you pay for electricity? Surely you would have contacted the agency and refused to pay from the first instance?

Were you living in a shared house?

How long did you live in the property?

mastercho · 18 May 2017 at 12:50PM

Yes, i had a copy, also had a receipt for the deposit when i left there. It's was shared house and we report couple time to the council while living that agency broke agreement about electricity and also was cleaner included but cleaner was appearing in 2-3 months once. If i was paying electricity then i was deducting this money from rent. I was living there 6 months.

Candyapple · 18 May 2017 at 2:25PM

If you only lived in the property for 6 months then you can definitely use this to help your case to not pay the water bill, or at least reduce the amount drastically for the 6 months you were living there.

If you were living in a shared house with other people then why is your name only on the water bill? Someone must have given it to the water company - you need to find out who.

I would get a copy of the tenancy agreement which shows that all bills were included, plus evidence that you only lived at the property for 6 months and write a letter to the water company asking them to change the name on the account to whoever owns the agency you were letting from.

If the water company fails to do this, then you will likely have to negotiate with them to only bill you for 6 months usage that you lived there. Then pay this so the water company is off your back and then start legal proceedings against the lettings agency that rented the property to you in the first place to get back the money owed for the water bill.

mastercho · 18 May 2017 at 3:17PM

I think expect Letting agency there nobody has benefits to transfer water bill on my name, and only they had my full details. I have no idea on which address to send mail to Themes Water. I got all proofs in hand

mastercho · 23 May 2017 at 1:31PM

So just emailed Themes Water to asking address to send proofs. I got not only my rent contract saying all bills paying, But also account was moved to my name after I moved out. I have deposit refund signed paper on date before account has been moved to my name which in case is second proof that i don't own that amount

Advice to clean out from fraud

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