Captial One....

oscar52

Friend of mine has had letter of Cap 1 stating his account has been passed to a debt collctor, and as such they no longer have anything to with the account. The debt is only for £225 (roughly, cant remember the exact figure stated) problem is, he has never had a cap 1 account even though its addressed to him. I am going to ring cap 1 for him (dont want him to admit to debt or anything like that) My first and immediate thought was identity theft, but with such a low amount, this seems extremely unlikely.

Any tips for when I call them (excluding asking for a copy of the agreement)

Also, as this has more than likely been recorded on his credit file, could he claim damages for libel and or deformation of character?

Xbigman

If the letter is from C1 then is it the first letter he has recieved? Certainly it should not be.
Phoning may not work as, in theory your friend cannot answer the security questions. If this is the case immediately write to C1 (recorded delivery) and dispute the debt. Point out that no account has ever been held with C1 and request a copy of the signed credit agreement so that your friend can report it to the police as fraud. Don't go to the police until you get something back from C1 as this could simply be an address mix up.
Regards


X

oscar52

Cheers X

It is the first letter he has recieved, and regarding the security, thats why I was going to phone them on his behalf, when they asked to speak to him regarding security i would have told them it wasnt possible as not his account.

Re address mix up though, its addressed to him (name as on birth certificate, but not name he uses, and to his EXACT address)

Letter might be good idea though to get it formalised, but might try a quick call to see if it can be sorted (given they have given him an account/credit card number as well)

Xbigman

Its a common tactic that some companies use, to write to everyone they can find with that name and initials and see who it stirs up. Its usually a debt collector rather than a a principal creditor like cap1 who try this, but it does happen.

The only other possibility as your friend has never had a cap1 account is identity theft. Contacting cap1 should clear that possibility up.
Regards



X