Domestic Situation with Credit Card

Hummy_2

Hi there everyone. I was hping for some help on a particular situation which i'm not too sure how to get around.
Recenlty i ordered a credit report for my mum from experian. It was all good but there was something which i found rather surprising. I noticed that it indicated that she had an Egg credit Card, but as far as she knows and i know she does not have one. However, i managed to figure out that the so-called card is actually with my brother. What he has done is taken out an additional card holder on the card and just destroyed the main cardholder card. Currently there are no balances on it at the moment.
I wish to cancel this card as i am worried that a huge bill will be accumalted for which we or more preicisely my mum would be liable. I'm not sure what the best way to cancel the card is without knowing the account number/details.
I tried calling Egg customer services as the additional cardholder but it seems there is a password on the account and i couldn't get through security. It seems my brothers the only one who knows the password.
Is there any way that someone can recommend how i go about cancelling the card. Would a letter explaining that the card has been lost please cancel it from my mother do to their customer services address or is there any other action that i can take.
Your help is much appreciated.

Clariman

This is a rather strange situation. Your brother can not "take out an additional card holder" card on your mother's credit card account without her permission. It is her account and she alone is liable for the debt. At some point, she must have applied for it for him or she has given him all her Egg security details so that he can do it online. Passing on security details would be against the Ts & Cs (not that it doesn't get done. I manage my wife's cash ISAs).

Have you or your mother approached your brother to ask him ?

I think that the simplest thing would be for your mother to telephone Egg (if she recalls her security details) to say that she wants to close the account. If she can not remember security details then she should write a letter to them saying she wants to close it and she should as for them to confirm that they have done so. When she receives the confirmation she should tell your brother that the account is closed and ask for the card back ... which she should then destroy (if you have reason not to trust him).

Clariman

elona

Write a letter to them saying that your mother does not know anything about a credit card from their company and it is making her very worried.

Could they please either confirm that your mother does not have a credit card or - if she does have one - then please cancel it as she knows nothing about it.

sicker

Just a thought! Last year I took a second card out in my sisters name (with her approval) to take advantage of the £20 offered for appllying for an additional user on main card.
The card was never used and is cut in half in my drawer. Could this be the answer?

John

Hummy_2

Thanks for all your replys. May be i should explain the whole situation slighlty better. The card was not taken out by my mum. It was applied for/approved for and signed for by my borther. He has a VERY BAD credit rating and can not get a card under his name. So he posted off a speculative application off to egg under mums name and low and behold he was accepted. Now when he applied he must have asked for an additional cardholder credit card under his name. So he destroys the Main card and just keeps it under his name. I have seen the card in question in his wallet and when i asked him about it, he says it was his (which in a way i guess it is). It was this that led me to make a credit check under his name and my mums name and i realised the Egg enquiry under my mums name.
So that is why we do not know any of the security details of the card and i tried posing as him to customer services on the phone but could not get through their security questions.
I think the only ption really is to write a letter but not sure whether that will have any effect.
Look forward to your replys.

Rafter

Your brother has committed a fraud and is trying to get money by deception.

If you try to get egg to cancel it they may well pursue it with the police, although if there is no balance then they will probably let it drop.

He seems to have intercepted the post too.

You really need to get him to cancel it before he ends up with a criminal record as well as a bad credit rating.

R.

Hummy_2

i think perhaps the route to go down is explain to egg that i have lost my card which will mean they deactivate it and get them to send me the new card and hopefully in the process they can reset the security. Then i can go and cancel the card as required.
Do you think that would work?!!!!

Clariman

Rafter is absolutely correct. Your brother has committed fraud (I know that is a tough word to use, but that is the fact of the matter I am afraid). Does your mother know he has done this or is this unbeknown to her ? If the latter, then you obviously have a family issue to resolve as well as a potential legal one. If the circumstances are as you describe, then he really needs to be persuaded to close this card down immediately. If he won't, then you probably need to tell your mother so that she writes to close it down. However, they could then check signatures and find that her signature on the letter does not match his signature (I presume he forged her signature) on the application form. Good luck.

Clariman

rchddap1

I think you need to have a chat with your brother about this. If you do manage to close this account what is going to stop him from doing it again?

Clariman

Hummy wrote:

i think perhaps the route to go down is explain to egg that i have lost my card which will mean they deactivate it and get them to send me the new card and hopefully in the process they can reset the security. Then i can go and cancel the card as required.
Do you think that would work?!!!!

So how can you phone to say that you have lost your card on the account ? Do you have a card on the account too ? If you mean that you should pose as your brother, then that is just perpetuating this messy situation. If you have a card on the account too then how far are you involved ?

Rafter

No.

They won't cancel the card without knowing some security details from you.

Either get your Mother to write to them explaining she thinks she has been the victim on application fraud (including a copy of driving license with real signature) or get your brother to destroy the card and close the account online before he gets into more trouble.

R.