Fraudulent very.co.uk credit accounts

ageno3

I had a bit of a shock today when 3 credit card bills all from the same company turned up at my home address, even though I had had no dealings with the company.

The Company was very.co.uk, which I had never heard of but which apparently is the new name for Littlewoods direct.

All three accounts were in my "name" as in they had my initial and my surname, (though I later learned that the actual first names for each account were different). Each account had been used for expenditure in the £250 mark, for footbal-club logo shirts.

I phoned the "identity theft" number on the back of one of the bills, and after a bit of a wait was told that: All three accounts were taken out online on the same day, and immediately used to despatch goods to addresses other than mine. Apparently the company had some Christmas deal on where thay allowed visitors to take out new accounts and dispatch goods as presents to friends. Perhaps not surprisingly the facility has been used by fraudsters:cool:.

They happily cancelled all three accounts.

"Very" now want me to register my address on CIFAS as being subject to fraudulent use. I may yet do this, but obviously it will have repercussions for me in any future dealings for credit I might want to make.

I am absolutely livid that my excellent credit rating is likely to have been besmirched by fraudsters when I have been very careful with my identity information, and that this has happened simply because of a stupidly naive promotion by Very.

Curiously I also have a Experian CreditExpert account, and got no warning from them that these accounts were being opened (perhaps because the names used weren't actually mine?). In fact there is still no entry in my Experian list about these credit accounts.

On the whole these experiences have left me wondering about the sanity of Very and the usefulness of an Experian account.

Has anyone else had similar experiences with these companies?

Ageno3

stella2009

It would take some time for the accounts to show with the CRAs.

Also if they are part of the HSD group they will have carried out the credit search with Equifax.

Magnolia

I received a statement from Very.co.uk today for nearly 700 quid!!!

I have never opened an account with them nor do I want to. I don't do credit if at all possible. I have been in a queue waiting for my call to be answered for over 35 minutes now - seems they are very busy in the fraud department! :rolleyes:

I will report what has been said just as soon as someone answers me.

*update* No one answered and the office is now closed. I will get onto this tomorrow and report back.

Magnolia

I received a confirmation of direct debit from Very yesterday along with a letter from their Investigations department wanting me to contact them. I was too late last night so instead I rang my bank to let them know what was going on and to flag up that my account was possibly compromised. They had no record of a direct debit being set up so they just flagged our account and will keep an eye on it over the next few weeks.

The account number on the direct debit was a Nat West account so I rang their fraud number and spoke with a very nice man called Luke. I did feel a bit strange using the account number and sort code to access them though. Once I explained to him what was going on they put a stop on that account and were going to contact the account holder personally.

Spoke with Very this morning and they couldn't have been more helpful. Their fraud department put a stop on the account as I was speaking to them. I had to ring their ID Theft department who were also very very good. I am now registered with CIFAS and all traces of me having an active account have been wiped from Very and a block on my name and address for any future accounts with them unless I say different.

It really was a very painless procedure with Very being more than professional in their handling. Thank you Very.co.uk

CannyJock

What are others experience of having a CIFAS marker on their credit reports for ID fraud? Are the application systems smart enough to distinguish between the different types of markers?

specsappeal

Hi,
just before xmas i had a call from Argos Additions (also owned by littlewoods) to confirm the london address (i live in essex) i wanted my 3 xbox consoles sent to. Obviously i explained that i had no idea what they were talking about and their fraud department took over. The account had been opened online 2 days previously. They cancelled the account imediately and said they would let the credit agencies know that my identity had been compromised. i had to provide a unique password that i had never used before so that if i ever choose to take credit out the credit agencies would only do so if i provide the correct unique password. I have also set up IDAware with my bank for 3 months where i am notified if anyone (including me) tries to take out credit with my details.
I have to say that i was really impressed with Argos Additions first of all calling me to confirm i had made the order and the way they handled it. Seems like alot of people have been caught up in this.

nutty1

i've had a same letter, when i rang they also said someone in london was using my address i live in the northwest, seems fishy to me

gsbikerboy1970

Im hoping that im in the right "thread" area.
My mother has just had a call from Argos reference an alleged debt for goods bought on one of there store cards. The issue is this: My mum has never had an argos store card. She tried to explain to the chap on the phone, but as she is a bit mutton said to blokey on phone that she would let her son (me) speak on her behalf. So, i introduce myself as mr. xxxxx, to which he asks for my first name and DOB, i say its "Mr" and im not giving you my DOB, at this point he asks to spk to Mrs.xxxx. Now my mum is shouting (why do old ppl do this???) down the phone "i cant hear you, you can talk to my son". Blokey then SHOUTS back, (im giggling now) WHAT IS YOUR SONS DOB?" to which mum, now apoplectic shouts back, EVEN louder, "im not telling you that, your going too far", and passes phone back to me....... Me: Hello. Argos: I need your DOB. Me: Why? have you lost yours??? Argos: Er, to, Er confirm who you are. Me: No you dont, youve been given permission by mrs.xxx At this point Argos went off on a tangent about "Data protection" etc, so i just let him go on until i here, " hello.... er.... hello are you still there?????? After a couple of mins he hung up.
The serious bit about this is that they have been informed previously that the alleged debt IS NOT my mums, she wasnt living at the alleged address at the time and at 76 really doesnt NEED the flash jogging machine, (with dynamic incline control) as she has a perfectly serviciable zimmer frame!
all advice happily recieved.
phil

INT1

The fraudsters are openming very.co.uk accounts, they are then using compromised card details to pay off and order more stuff.

The CIFAS marker against the victim will not go against you on your credit file but understand that genuine appliczations you make may be delaid whilst the finanical institution does additional checks.

ARTooD2

To be fair to very I made an order to a different address from the one the account is registered at and I got a phone call straight away to confirm it was me making the order so they are obviously trying to tackle any fraud problems.

soul619

CannyJock wrote: »

What are others experience of having a CIFAS marker on their credit reports for ID fraud? Are the application systems smart enough to distinguish between the different types of markers?

reading this may help:

http://www.cifas.org.uk/default.asp?edit_id=565-85