Are very.co.uk safe? ID fraud

Paulito

I received a letter from very.co.uk which was in the form of an account statement. No amounts were owed on their statement. However, I have never heard of very.co.uk and have not opened an account with them.

I called the number on the letter, 08448 222 321 and they asked for my name and date of birth to go through security. I gave it and they confirmed that I had been a victim of fraud and that I should call another number 0800 015 1290.

I phoned the number and after confirming my address and date of birth again, they said that I had been the victim of ID fraud and that they wanted to put security in place to alert other lenders of the fraud. This involved alerting the UK fraud prevention service, CIFAS of the fraud. They said my name and address would be marked to ensure added security was applied by other lenders.

In order to register me with CIFAS, they asked for:-
How long I have lived at my address
My middle name
As many contact telephone numbers as possible
Date of birth (I had already given this)

I said that I wasn't comfortable giving this information since I knew nothing about very.co.uk. I asked if I could go to CIFAF directly but they said this would cost money but that they could do the process for free.

Could this be a scam to get personal information from me? Does anyone have experience with very.co.uk and are they legitimate? Is it safe for me to give this information?

Thanks

neonlights

Yes, they are a very legitimate company and the number they give on their website is 08448 222 321.

ossie

Littlewoods Direct is now trading under the name Very where you can find all the same great range of branded products.

Sagaris

Same thing happened to my Mum - they don't seem to be very rigorous to check people's details when opening new accounts!

Paulito

OK thanks for the replies. They seem genuine. However I have never had ID fraud before so I think they must be pretty lax with security or they are being targetted somehow.

johnnyboyrebel

And noone else thinks this sounds fishy?

Yes very.co.uk are a valid company but you call them up, confirm details and magically they know you are a victim of fraud? Go to CIFAF directly.

neonlights

johnnyboyrebel wrote: »

And noone else thinks this sounds fishy?

Yes very.co.uk are a valid company but you call them up, confirm details and magically they know you are a victim of fraud? Go to CIFAF directly.

But the number on the letter is the telephone number for very.co.uk, it can be found on their website so I would urge the OP to get this sorted out as soon as possible.

Maydot

Exactly the same thing happened to me - someone opened two accounts in my name with Very and Additions. They gave my name and address to open the account but asked for delivery of ordered items to an address in London...fortunately the delivery wasn't made as it was regarded as a little suspicious! I only knew about this when I received two letters from the company thanking me for taking out extra insurance with them.

I called Very to query this and, like you, I was asked for basic details - it was confirmed as fraud as the other person gave a different date of birth. I was told that they could have got my name and address from the electoral roll (or online telephone directory or people search) but they have to guess at the date of birth as this isn't shown - I haven't tried to confirm this but it seems feasible.

I took the opportunity of registering with CIFAF and gave a password to be used when applying for credit in the future - now if I make a credit application it gets "flagged" and I get a separate telephone call asking for the password so I can confirm it really is me!! It's not a problem and I would prefer that extra level of security.

Very.co.uk_company_representative

Paulito wrote: »

I received a letter from very.co.uk which was in the form of an account statement. No amounts were owed on their statement. However, I have never heard of very.co.uk and have not opened an account with them.

I called the number on the letter, 08448 222 321 and they asked for my name and date of birth to go through security. I gave it and they confirmed that I had been a victim of fraud and that I should call another number 0800 015 1290.

I phoned the number and after confirming my address and date of birth again, they said that I had been the victim of ID fraud and that they wanted to put security in place to alert other lenders of the fraud. This involved alerting the UK fraud prevention service, CIFAS of the fraud. They said my name and address would be marked to ensure added security was applied by other lenders.

In order to register me with CIFAS, they asked for:-
How long I have lived at my address
My middle name
As many contact telephone numbers as possible
Date of birth (I had already given this)

I said that I wasn't comfortable giving this information since I knew nothing about very.co.uk. I asked if I could go to CIFAF directly but they said this would cost money but that they could do the process for free.

Could this be a scam to get personal information from me? Does anyone have experience with very.co.uk and are they legitimate? Is it safe for me to give this information?

Thanks

Hi Paulito,

Firstly, we are sorry to hear that you have been a victim of fraud.

We do offer an Online Protection Guarantee, and our promise is to do everything possible to protect you from ID Theft and Fraud. And even if the worst does happen, we'll provide help and assistance to get you back on track. Please see our help page at http://www.very.co.uk/help/en/online-help-system.page.

In the event you do receive a Spoof/Phishing emails which claim, “Your account has been suspended” or “Online account expired”, please forward the email to our Security Team, at customersecurity@shopdirect.com.

For further advice or information, please contact us at Network@VeryHQ.co.uk.

Many Thanks

Lisa

Very Network Team.