Does this sound like fraud to you, or just a mix-up?

greenmantle

Let me just outline as briefly as possible, in the hope that others with more experience of how frauds may happen can advise.

1. New owners of house (us) move in in September.
(House has been a rental for years and years, we field numerous demands for repayment of debts directed at previous Housing Association residents - they gradually dry up as various databases are altered; we add ourselves to the electoral roll, but it's only being updated January, I think).

2. Early October, we suddenly receive a pile of bank mail for a person who hasn't appeared as a previous resident before (nor is it the former owner). This is all the new packages for opening a new bank account, sent by Halifax.

3. After opening the third such pack (I've got used to having to do this to contact and block bailiffs), I ring Halifax, and notify them that they're sending a whole load of sensitive mail to the wrong address.

4. They say 'don't worry, we'll ask him for additional ID to confirm his address - that'll sort it out'. They assure me that I should take no further action and chuck the bank mail away. There is another road in the city with a similar name and slightly related postcode, so I presume an address error has been made.

5. They send *doh!* a few further letters to this guy AT OUR ADDRESS asking for further address confirmation. er...?

6. The bank mail dries up. I assume the mix-up has been sorted, or the account opening has gone nowhere, either one.

7. This week: we receive notification from Gas company that this guy is now paying a direct debit. But it's at our address. Now, this company has, historically, been our service provider too. So I give them a ring.

8. They say 'oops!', and change the account back to our name (we have a prepayment card meter anyway, direct debit paid by someone else is illogical). They tell me that the account was switched to this guy's name in early October, around the time that Halifax were asking him for address confirmation.

Now, as far as I can tell, we've received nothing else for this chap. I'm not sure why it would be any advantage to use our address (but not our names) for any financial purpose. The Gas company wonder whether it's a mix-up on moving. But the new account opening thing worries me.

If you've read through all this thinking 'doesn't sound like a problem' then, first, good! and second, you may want to merely take away from it the impression that Halifax could possibly be muppets about customer data security... But if you think this sounds suspicious, do please advise.

Thanks everyone!

JustJewels

Hi greenmantle,

Initial thoughts are, a) does sound like it's a mix up/!!!! up by Halifax, and b) so long as it's not your name, it's nothing to worry about.

People get all stressed about wrongly addressed mail, but really, there's no need. If you want to be 'a good citizen', write "Not at this address" on the mail, and pop it back in the nearest post box, no stamp required. If said banks/utilities don't have a procedure to flag returned mail, more fool them.

Even if some toerag has committed fraud, and the bailiffs rock up looking for them, it would be simple for you to prove you're not them by simple sight of your ID (driving licence) etc.

So long as your bank account statements, utility bills etc, arrive ok, you don't need to worry abut anyone else's.

There is no such thing as an "address blacklist". Stop worrying.

Hope that helps

JJ

greenmantle

Hi JJ!

Thanks for the advice. I guess I was jaded about 'not at this address' measures, since it was only when I stopped doing that and started ringing up organizations that I got anywhere stemming the debt repayment requests.

And opening the Gas Co's statement was actually an effective way of checking the changes they'd enacted without asking us, and correcting them. It's when this mix-up might start to muddle our utilities and suchlike that it starts to get slightly worrying.

So you think that Halifax's muddle might have caused the Gas Company account switch too? I guess it's possible if they're linked with a direct debit....

Thanks,
G

JustJewels

Hi G,

No, I don't think Halifax told your utility company about new address, as far as I know that's not how it (should) work. More likely someone moving has given the wrong post code to both bank and utility company.

I'm not aware of any advantage someone could get from giving your address using their name, if they can't get hold of that mail.

Yes, you're right, its a bit of a worry that the utility company changed the account, but as far as I know there's nothing you can do except be vigilant that all your usual bills/statements are arriving on time, and chase up if any missing.

Cheers

JJ

olly300

JustJewels wrote: »

Yes, you're right, its a bit of a worry that the utility company changed the account, but as far as I know there's nothing you can do except be vigilant that all your usual bills/statements are arriving on time, and chase up if any missing.

Utility companies by law have to provide households with a supply, so unfortunately have a habit of hijacking accounts without the actual person who is using the supply's permission.

In fact from my previous dealings with various utility companies they don't seem to care whose name the account is in as long as they are getting paid on time.

Therefore you should always be vigilant over your utility accounts.

greenmantle

Absolutely, Olly - useful for everyone else reading this.

But our gas and leccy are supplied via prepaid cards which we shove in the machine when the lights / flame go out (and will be for a while, until a new dual fuel with a different, non-muddled company comes into effect).

So we didn't usually get any statements or communications at all. Hence, one arriving under someone else's name, purporting to pay a mythical direct debit, was easily noticeable.

greenmantle

"Initial thoughts are, a) does sound like it's a mix up/!!!!"

No, turns out it was fraud.

Everything went quiet for a few weeks, and then Halifax had to send out revised terms and conditions for their current accounts on 31st Dec. We got a set for our non-existent housemate (of the mythical direct debit).

Luckily, this time I rang Halifax, they put me straight through to the very clued-up fraudulent applications department. I ran my 'there's another address like this, it's probably a mistake' past him, but he wasn't having any of it.

The applicant was down as a 'company director' which is apparently a common guise. Also, he'd claimed to move into our house in late summer (same month we moved in). Fraud guy asked if our house had been on sale as a vacant possession: yup - it had been very visible for some time online as an empty house. So had been targeted for a fraudulent bank account. The utility switch must have been a ruse to get proof of address.

So we're having a CIFAS marker added under the fraudster's name on our address, and hopefully he will stop fiddling with our utilities!

Hope this is of some use to others. Thanks all.

simax

greenmantle wrote: »

hopefully he will stop fiddling with our utilities!

Sorry but that bit made me chuckle.

Oo-er matron!!! :rotfl: