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Debt that is not mine

Hello

I am currently living in Dublin, and my father has today sent me a scanned copy of a letter addressed to me at my parents address(my UK address also) It was from a debt collection company DLC asking me to contact them

I did so and was informed they are chasing a debt for over £800 on a defaulted Lloyds TSB bank account opened in 2005 and defaullted in 2007. They have been chasing me aparently at an address in Derby

To clarify

I have never had a bank account with lloyds tsb
never lived in Derby
Checked my credit file, all A1, everything correct, and no sign of this bank account

When i called up they asked me for my name/dob which must tally with the details they have for the person they are after. I doubt it is identity fraud because i have not had other things taken out in my name. credit file is fine, and this is my first contact about a bank account opened up 6 years ago! I presume it is someone else with the same name/dob in Derby!:rotfl::rotfl:

Problem is i have called up explained it to them, and they have said i need to send in a copy of a Driving licence or passport with my signature to compare to a credit agreement that was signed at the time. I said i wasn't keen on sending a sensitive document to a company i have never heard off about a debt i have not heard about at all in 6 years and is not mine.

What can i do to advise them it is not me and to go away, i would presume they have to prove it is me, rather than me prove it is not!

any help would be great

thanks

Comments

  • mazy_m
    mazy_m Posts: 661 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    Whatever you do do not send them anything like that at all....Send them a prove it letter if you google it it will come up no doubt with a link to here!!! But make sure you don't sign it!! Don't let them have your signature as they could sneakily paste it onto a credit agreement and say it's yours!! You're right you don't have to prove it's not yours they have to prove it is!! I wouldn't worry it's not yours they can't chase you for it in the sense that it shows on your credit report etc...if they continue to contact you after sending the prove it letter threaten to report them for harrassment.

    Good luck and don't let it worry you.
    X
    A lot of fellows nowadays have a B.A., M.D., or Ph.D. Unfortunately, they don't have a J.O.B."
  • mazy_m
    mazy_m Posts: 661 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    mazy_m wrote: »
    Whatever you do do not send them anything like that at all....Send them a prove it letter if you google it it will come up no doubt with a link to here!!! But make sure you don't sign it!! Don't let them have your signature as they could sneakily paste it onto a credit agreement and say it's yours!! You're right you don't have to prove it's not yours they have to prove it is!! I wouldn't worry it's not yours they can't chase you for it in the sense that it shows on your credit report etc...if they continue to contact you after sending the prove it letter threaten to report them for harrassment.

    Good luck and don't let it worry you.
    X
    Sorry I don't know what was with all the exclamation marks tonight ha ha x
    A lot of fellows nowadays have a B.A., M.D., or Ph.D. Unfortunately, they don't have a J.O.B."
  • fermi
    fermi Posts: 40,542 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Combo Breaker Rampant Recycler
    From the Office of Fair Trading.

    https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2992820

    They have probably broken more than one part of that, but in particular....
    Deceptive and/or unfair methods

    2.7 Dealings with debtors are not to be deceitful and/or unfair.

    2.8 Examples of unfair practices are as follows: a. sending demands for payment to an individual when it is uncertain that they are the debtor in question, for example, threatening debt recovery action to 'the occupier' or sending a payment demand to all people sharing the same name/date of birth as a debtor in the hope that contact with the correct debtor will be made.

    b. disclosing debt details to an individual when it is uncertain that they are the debtor in question, for example, disclosing details to 'the occupier' of an address.

    c. refusing to deal with appointed or authorised third parties, such as Citizens Advice Bureaux, independent advice centres or money advisers

    d. contacting debtors directly and bypassing their appointed representatives

    e. operating a policy, without reason, of refusing to negotiate with debt management companies

    f. passing on debtor details to debt management companies without the debtors' informed prior consent

    g. failing to refer on to the creditor reasonable offers to pay by instalments

    h. not passing on payments received within a reasonable time resulting in delays that adversely affect a debtor's financial position.

    i. failing to investigate and/or provide details as appropriate, when a debt is queried or disputed, possibly resulting in debtors being wrongly pursued

    j. requiring an individual to supply information to prove they are not the debtor in question, for example, driving licences, passports, full name, date of birth, signatures

    k. not ceasing collection activity whilst investigating a reasonably queried or disputed debt.
    Free/impartial debt advice: National Debtline | StepChange Debt Charity | Find your local CAB

    IVA & fee charging DMP companies: Profits from misery, motivated ONLY by greed
  • fermi
    fermi Posts: 40,542 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Combo Breaker Rampant Recycler
    Free/impartial debt advice: National Debtline | StepChange Debt Charity | Find your local CAB

    IVA & fee charging DMP companies: Profits from misery, motivated ONLY by greed
  • I'm in a similar situation to you - put "showthread.php?t=3265952" after the forum(dot)moneysavingsexpert(dot)com
  • thanks all, think the best bet is to send the standard prove it letter, adding in a paragraph about breaking guidelines in requesting docs over the phone, and leave it at that.
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