Massive credit cards debts taken out by my brother in me and my mums name!

dancingfairy

You could try calling National Debtline anonymously? or maybe try a solicitor?
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Ames

You need to see CAB. There is provision in consumer law to protect people who get into debt when they're not capable of understanding what they're doing. For instance, if they can't understand the agreement, or don't realise it has to be paid back due to learning difficulties. I can't remember the exact law, but if you contact CAB or call Consumer Direct or National Debt Line they'll be able to help. It sounds like your brother would definitely fall under this category. I'm not sure whether the police would need to be involved because of the fraud, or whether this would cover it but the organisations I mentioned will know.

Also, as others have said, you need a CIFAS marker on your credit file, and you need to find a way of getting a notice put on your brother's to stop him doing it to himself again.

HTH

hairymonkey

Ames wrote: »

You need to see CAB. There is provision in consumer law to protect people who get into debt when they're not capable of understanding what they're doing. For instance, if they can't understand the agreement, or don't realise it has to be paid back due to learning difficulties. I can't remember the exact law, but if you contact CAB or call Consumer Direct or National Debt Line they'll be able to help. It sounds like your brother would definitely fall under this category. I'm not sure whether the police would need to be involved because of the fraud, or whether this would cover it but the organisations I mentioned will know.

Also, as others have said, you need a CIFAS marker on your credit file, and you need to find a way of getting a notice put on your brother's to stop him doing it to himself again.

HTH

Thanks - I appreciate it. I am taking him into CAB tomorrow at 9.30. However he is petrified and keeps crying and hiding in the corner of the room. I honestly do not think he knew what would happen!

savingforarainyday

Hi couldn't just read and run.

This is a lot of money if he has nothing to show for it doesn't go out much etc, it begs the question has someone coerced him into doing this. What account were the loans paid into. Get copies of the credit card statement and see if he was getting cash out or buying things and where.

You say he has severe learning difficulties if this is the case would he liable to prosecution? You need to have as much info as possible. Try contacting the National Autistic Society see if they can give you any support. If you can find a solicitor who will give free appointments (some give 30 mins or so).

You and your mum can't remain liaible esp your mum with that amount to pay,

Good luck

sofababe

I would actually be pretty worried about what he has done with over 30k. You say he doesn't have goods to show for it, so where is it? It seems possible that someone has talked him into doing this for their own gain. Would you have any idea if this could be the case? If so then it will definitely be a case for the police. They may not be very interested in credit card fraud but they'd be very interested in someone blackmailing/persuading a vulnerable person into committing a crime like this.

Hannah_10

I'm also thinking the police might not be such a disaster. Think about it... If he's spent the price of a prestige car and honestly not got a thing to show for it, then where is it?

It's a well known criminal tactic that instead of taking the risks yourself you find someone vulnerable to take them for you. Your brother has been a well chosen stooge if that is the case. Autistics take everything utterly literally, so threatening someone with autism often has a great deal more impact than threatening someone who is vulnerable in another way- say- a teenage single Mum. If your local teenage scroats tell the average teenage single Mum if she doesn't get a credit card that you'll kill her and she's likely to treat that with a pinch of salt (unless of course said teenage scroats happen to include a well known serial killer anyway). If they tell it to someone with autism and then the message reaches home as EXACTLY what will happen. Your brothers autism, as sickening as this is, makes him an almost ideal target to be used to generate fraudulent income because he will believe what he's told when other people wouldn't. That means the number of people who could be taking advatage of him is not limited to the usual heavies, it could be anyone in a very broad range of petty criminals, he's just such a soft target as to be seen as a walk in the park.

Of course silencing him is just as straightforward, the puppeteer need simply say that if he ever tells anyone *insert very bad thing here* will happen. You're really up against it here, you have to find a way to counter whatever threat hs is responding to before you can get him to disclose it... If indeed there WAS a threat, but well in excess of £30k can't just disappear. So right now I'm thinking your brother more likely the victim than the instigator here.

If he has a social worker, a psychologist or other professional with autism experience then they might be able to encourage him to be a little more open about how this has happened. To get thier help though means you are going to have to be open about what just happened.

So there sits your real quandry. Not what to do with a five figure sum you haven't got (that's comparitively easy) but whether you believe your brother is the victim (in which case it's going to have to be official involvement) or whether you view him as the perpetrator, in which case you may want to chose to try to sheild him.

See, £5k vanishing, that I can see. £30k+??? I think he's more then likely been a victim of someone else and if that's right you're not going to be able to protect him without taking it through the law.

I mean, look at it from thier point of view, a few years from now he's still not told anyone who put him up to it, his mum's gone bankrupt to protect him and his little brother's off in some far away place making a career... Does he look more suitable for another go or less suitable? (Hint: It aint less).

Annisele

Now the OP has posted some more information, I'm feeling considerably more sympathetic to the brother. Assuming the OP's brother is telling the truth, he does seem more victim than criminal - in which case reporting the matter to the police might stop somebody else from being stung in the same way as the OP's brother.

Can you get your brother to show you his bank statements? Presumably the money hit his bank account before it went elsewhere?

You still pretty much have the choice of paying the money back, or involving the police (either directly or by reporting the fraud to the lenders). If you think that your brother has been coerced, then I think that the police are by far the best option.

DVardysShadow

Annisele wrote: »

You still pretty much have the choice of paying the money back, or involving the police (either directly or by reporting the fraud to the lenders). If you think that your brother has been coerced, then I think that the police are by far the best option.

The police are going to be totally unpredictable here. If someone sees an easy conviction, they will go for it. If it just looks like hard work they may well ignore it. They may well opt to attempt conviction of the brother even if family members are saying that he was coerced.

MrsTinks

Given that fraud is involved here can I just recommend that you and your mum contact a solicitor who has experience in this ASAP? CAB might be able to point you in the right direction - but if you do NOT tell them that it's fraud then you and she are going to be hounded for this money - trying the unenforcability route may not be in your interest as you are making them look at details for the debts and it will not take them long to work out that the money went to your address so either you're lying or someone else is involved and if you say it's unenforcable but your brothers sig is on there they will simply hand it over to the police and for £30k debts they are NOT going to just write it off...

Get legal advice... and soon.