Credit card statements being sent to my old address!!

willmackie92

Hi guys, I apologise if I've put this thread in the wrong area!

So long story short, I opened a credit card account with Vanquis to build my credit score.

I moved address before getting the card in the post to which i called up and informed then that I had moved address and to not activate the card they had sent.

It astounded me that they wanted proof of address but i kind of understood with it being a new account. That being said, as i've not lived at my new address, I've not had the chance to get statements etc.

I informed them 5-6 weeks ago that i no longer live at my previous address and although they required proof of address for my new place i was unable to provide this.

So anyways, I get a call from them today and they're asking me to pay a balance on the account to which I said I've not received a statement which I'm entitled to (I couldn't register online without having the card).

They've gone on to tell me that they can't stop the letters/statements going to my old address without me providing proof of address, even though I passed data protection questions. Although they were asking for proof I had moved, I can't see why they are unable to stop letters going to my old address.
The man i spoke to seemed to bang on about protecting customers' data although he was happy to explain that he'd still be sending all correspondence to my old address!!

I'm refusing to pay the bill until I've seen a statement.
I feel my personal information has been compromised after I gave them ample time to stop sending letters to my old address.

What do you think I could do next?

Thanks guys.

Calfuray

How do you owe a bill if you have told them not to activate the card?

willmackie92

Calfuray wrote: »

How do you owe a bill if you have told them not to activate the card?

Sorry, that was an obvious question i should have answered!

They gave me an advance? Not sure if that's common practice but yeah.

I understand they have to send a statement out but I informed them about my moving 5-6 weeks before the first statement was even generated.

dalesrider

Do they not have online banking?

Sorry but if you just opened a account and then moved. You may find that they close the account and add a further default to your credit file. Given you are saying you will not pay.

They will be thinking ID theft here and you are the fraudster.

All you can do is pay the bill, ask for no more mail to be sent to the address untill you can prove your new address.

But why did you not set up mail forwarding via Royal mail to cover this.

willmackie92

dalesrider wrote: »

Do they not have online banking?

Sorry but if you just opened a account and then moved. You may find that they close the account and add a further default to your credit file. Given you are saying you will not pay.

They will be thinking ID theft here and you are the fraudster.

All you can do is pay the bill, ask for no more mail to be sent to the address untill you can prove your new address.

But why did you not set up mail forwarding via Royal mail to cover this.

They do but I'm unable to register without a card.

Just because I've opened a credit account doesn't mean I'm unable to move though. My point isn't that they need proof of new address, I can accept that but in the interim while I have no proof of address that they'll accept, I've asked them on multiple occasions to not send any more letters to my old address.
I'm not asking them to update my address, just to stop sending letters to my old one.
At least until I'm able to submit something they'll accept as proof.

willmackie92

dalesrider wrote: »

But why did you not set up mail forwarding via Royal mail to cover this.

One of the customer service agents mentioned this and my argument was that they were the only company that has a problem with me moving so I'm not inclined to spend money getting a redirect for one account.

I'm not obliged to do that, I'm obliged to inform them should my current address change, which i have.

R_P_W

Why don't you just pay the bill over the phone to them using your debit card? I assume if you dont pay this will be recorded as a late payment and impact your credit file?

willmackie92

R_P_W wrote: »

Why don't you just pay the bill over the phone to them using your debit card? I assume if you dont pay this will be recorded as a late payment and impact your credit file?

How many people pay bills without looking at the statement/invoice?

jonesMUFCforever

willmackie92 wrote: »

Sorry, that was an obvious question i should have answered!

They gave me an advance? Not sure if that's common practice but yeah.

I understand they have to send a statement out but I informed them about my moving 5-6 weeks before the first statement was even generated.

They gave you an advance on a card you have not received and activated - yeah!;)

willmackie92

jonesMUFCforever wrote: »

They gave you an advance on a card you have not received and activated - yeah!;)

That's exactly what happened.
They paid the advance into my normal bank account with RBS...?

Calfuray

I get what you're saying, and I get why you are annoyed, but is it not a bit cutting off your nose to spite your face?

Worst come to worst, you make a payment which is incorrect, and you can sort it out with your bank or Vanquis later. If you got an advance, you must know roughly how much you should be paying?

Also, if it's been 6 weeks, you must have received a monthly statement from somewhere that you can now use as proof?