identity theft ?

tetley

hi all.just sold my house to an invester ,he has stated that he will be renting it out.so apart from getting all mail redirected to my new house ( how long for ? ) what else do i need to do,in order to protect my idenity from being stolen.i get loads of unsolicited offers everyday, some have my details already filled in,all i have to do is sign and return .im registered with equifax,so perhaps that is enough ?

nicki_2

I would suggest you get your post redirected to your new address for at least 12 months. All the unsolicited mail I would write "Return to sender. Not known at this address" on. I do that with post that I don't want anymore, like s*dding mortgage & loan offers.

Having been on the receiving end of post for previous people at both addresses I've lived in since leaving home it is easy for the new people to find out allsorts about you.

At our current address we are still getting post for a tenant (majorly in debt judging by the letters) who hasn't been here for over 12 months. It got to the stage where I had to open the letters to find a return address so that those people/companies could be informed that she no longer lived here. We've had TV Licencing people turn up looking for the previous tenant and a debt collector looking for the one who was in major debt. Fortunatly we've been able to prove who we are so we've not had any problems yet.

Even more amazing, yesterday the new people at our old address (just over the road from our new address) put through a letter for the people who lived THERE before us when we moved in at the beginning of October 2000.

tetley

thanks nicki,i had thought about the post for 6 months,now 12 months seems the better option,any more wacky storys, or great tips out there ?

grumbler

tetley wrote:

..any more ...tips out there ?

Check your credit file(s) regularly after moving if you want be sure. Read the recent issue of Which? if you can find it.

tetley

thanks grumbler,im registered with equifax for activity,so sould find out pretty quickly if there has been any request for credit.
i think the beer is better than the T,still more TIPS would be useful

eddie986

Is there a scheme with the major credit reference agencies, Equifax, Experian etc whereby you are notified by them of any application for credit, mortgage, rent etc giving you the opportunity to prevent id theft before it's too late.
On the subject of Credit reference Agencies, what are the names of all of them and does each and every one hold the same information about you.
Thank you

tetley

eddie,there are two major players in the market,Equifax and Experian ,there is another called checkmyfile.com.i have used them both and they can hold different infomation,it all depends on which company the lender uses.some like lloyds tsb never register any accounts you may have with them untill/if you default.if you ever apply for your credit file,its worth applying to them both.ive never used check my file,perhaps somebody else can help us out

eddie986

tetley wrote:

im registered with equifax for activity,so sould find out pretty quickly if there has been any request for credit.

Hi Tetley can you explain the above to me please as I'm looking for a scheme where you're warned of any application for credit. Thanx again

tetley

eddie.i joined expierian's "credit expert monitoring service".it cost's £49.99 for a year.there is an option of a free 30 day trial,so try before you buy.
click on this link.

https://www.creditexpert.co.uk/UK/StaticContent.aspx?PageTypeID=CEUK_SP_TakeControl_02

so far it has worked,i payed off a loan and i was alerted about 7 days later,ive just got my new mortgage and i was alerted about 2 days after.