Phone contract taken out in my name but not by me. Help

martin3665

Briefly - Dec 09 a phone contract was taken out in my name, and I started getting demands for payment, I wrote to the company and said don't know what this relates to, eventually after more letters, I paid, Even though it wasn't mine, I wrote to the company asking for an explanation and a copy of the contract, no answer, several recorded letters later, still no answer, they have recorded a 6 months of conseq non payment on my credit record, I have asked the credit agencies to remove this, they won't, the mobile company won't respond, I have contacted the ombudsman and they won't deal with it as it more than 9 months old. I have no choice but to go to court - what am I applying for at the court - I need a court order to remove the record, and compenastion. Is this as small claims court thing?

unholyangel

Have you tried ICO?

They may require you to specifically write to the company (recorded delivery ofc) and make a subject access request, but if the company do not comply with this they are in breach of data protection.

tomwakefield

martin3665 wrote: »

Briefly - Dec 09 a phone contract was taken out in my name, and I started getting demands for payment, I wrote to the company and said don't know what this relates to, eventually after more letters, I paid, Even though it wasn't mine, I wrote to the company asking for an explanation and a copy of the contract, no answer, several recorded letters later, still no answer, they have recorded a 6 months of conseq non payment on my credit record, I have asked the credit agencies to remove this, they won't, the mobile company won't respond, I have contacted the ombudsman and they won't deal with it as it more than 9 months old. I have no choice but to go to court - what am I applying for at the court - I need a court order to remove the record, and compenastion. Is this as small claims court thing?

The fact you paid something is going to be a bit of a sticking point, as it could be seen to be accepting liability.

Fergie76

If you raise a complaint to the credit reference agency (CRA), they are then obliged to contact the company and get them to prove it is you that owes money. Raise a dispute with CRA.

Why would you pay money on account that is not yours though?

Also I would report it to the police, as it's theft if it's not you.

martin3665

Thanks, for that, I paid because it was just getting worse for me, thinking (wrongly) I could sort it our afterwards, once the account was closed. I've raised a dipute with CRA and they have said the record is correct, (which it is), it just wasn't my contract. You are right about the Police, but I don't think that would fix the problem. I will be writing one final letter, asking for the signed contract, if they can't produce it, then court, but trying to avoid solicitors, have a poor opinion of them since I got divorced, 20k later and still ended up with nothing.

eranou

Have you tried calling the phone company? customer services will be able to refer it to their fraud dept.

Also its unlikely they will have a signed contract as most phone contracts especially ones taken out fraudently are done online or over the phone.

Fergie76

What address was the phone delivered to?

Quite a few years ago, someone took a phone contract out in my wife's name. She contacted, I think it was O2, and they asked her to report it to the local police station fro crime number, and investigated from their end.

The were able to prove it was fraudulent, I think by the delivery address and the area that the phone had been used in.

pitkin2020

As soon as you make a payment you are accepting liability so now they are going to deem you as liable, you will have to work extremely hard to prove your not liable and a better reason than your current one for making a payment.

If they had approached and said you owe 20k for this new car (you didn't buy) would you of paid for it then hoped to sort it out afterwards??