Mum used studio account in my name

Tasha1892

Hi there,

I'm at a loose end and have no idea where to start in this matter. Over the past 12 months I have been building up my credit score as i'm saving to buy a house. I've gone from 1/5 to 3/5 on my scoring, I was very proud of myself!

I check my credit score every month so I know that I'm on the right track, whilst I checked my report in december I realised that my account with Studio that I closed in 2010 had a red mark next to it dragging my well earned 3/5 score back to 1/5.

When I took out my studio account I lived at my parents, I have since moved out and have lived in a house share for 3 years, I vowed to never use studio again after countless times of setting up a direct debit they kept canceling it and adding non payment to my account, my balance never seemed to go down, I eventually paid it off and have never used it since.

whilst checking my credit score in Dec I found out that my studio account had been re-activated, I asked my mum if she had had anything go to the house, she said no. Whilst I was getting ready to get there number to give them a mouthful on the phone she said she had used it, and that there she was suppose to pay it off by direct debit but obviously that didnt happen. The balance of the account was over £250 which she said she would pay for, and she did. I paid the outstanding balance right then and there and she gave me the money the following day.

This however does not help my credit score that I have worked so hard to achieve. Is there anything I can do? I want to phone studio and ask them about there security on their accounts, how could they have let this happen and also whether they can fix my credit score. I also dont want to drop my Mum in it.

How would you go about this? Is there anyone that has been in the same situation? Any help would be greatfully appreciated.

Thanks for you time.

Tasha

aliasojo

Tasha1892 wrote: »

I want to phone studio and ask them about there security on their accounts, how could they have let this happen and also whether they can fix my credit score. I also dont want to drop my Mum in it.

You didn't close the account, you just never used it.

Your Mum obviously had your details in order to use the account.

She used these details fraudulently.

I'm not sure what you expect Studio to do?

The blame lies fully with your Mum I'm afraid. Frustrating but there's little you can do unless you are willing to expose your Mum.

Edit: Just reread the bit about the D/D, the D/D would have had to come out of your account so I wonder if your Mum isn't being entirely honest when she said she thought it was to be paid this way?

Olza23

Was there any late payments...?

I'd be annoyed with my Mum but at least she has paid you the money she owed, just phone them up and ask to close the account, thats the best you can do at the moment.

To a degree it was fraud but there is no point making an issue over a settled account? Agree?

Tasha1892

Olza23 wrote: »

Was there any late payments...?

I'd be annoyed with my Mum but at least she has paid you the money she owed, just phone them up and ask to close the account, thats the best you can do at the moment.

To a degree it was fraud but there is no point making an issue over a settled account? Agree?

There was one missed payment, Ive closed the account also. What I'm most annoyed about is my credit score. I'm going to have to work hard for another 12 months to get my credit score up. I was hoping to get a motorbike on finance this month as they are at there cheapest this would also help build my credit score but theres no hope of that happening now. Gutted

Olza23

Tasha1892 wrote: »

There was one missed payment, Ive closed the account also. What I'm most annoyed about is my credit score. I'm going to have to work hard for another 12 months to get my credit score up. I was hoping to get a motorbike on finance this month as they are at there cheapest this would also help build my credit score but theres no hope of that happening now. Gutted

Although never good, one missed payment is not the end of the world. Closing the account and lowering the amount of credit you have access to is better for potential future lenders.

If you are looking to finance at motorcycle it will be a HP Agreement and a large(r) deposit will definately be in your favour!

(For hardcore MSE's can you pretend that I suggested you buya cheap motorcycle and that you should always save for the things you want :money::rotfl:)

Tasha1892

I'll get there, thanks for your support! Just waiting for this months credit report I hope it will go back up a little since its been paid off and the account is closed. I'll keep you posted

Tasha1892

aliasojo wrote: »

You didn't close the account, you just never used it.

Your Mum obviously had your details in order to use the account.

She used these details fraudulently.

I'm not sure what you expect Studio to do?

The blame lies fully with your Mum I'm afraid. Frustrating but there's little you can do unless you are willing to expose your Mum.

Edit: Just reread the bit about the D/D, the D/D would have had to come out of your account so I wonder if your Mum isn't being entirely honest when she said she thought it was to be paid this way?

When I used studio last it would have gone to my old card, Ive since upgraded my account with halifax. As to her being dishonest it wouldnt surprise me in the slightest. :rotfl:

DevCoder

You do know credit score are useless?

Each lender has their own internal lending scoring criteria and they pay no attention to xxx/999 or x/5 etc.

They look at affordability, and defaults, missed payments etc. The score is just there for companies to get people to waste their money subscribing to scoring services.

Voyager2002

It sounds as if Studio have broken several laws.

I suggest that you WRITE to them explaining the problem. Don't say that your Mum used the account fraudulently, but stress that direct debit payments were set up but not taken, and that your main concern is about your credit record. You could also ask them how it was possible for your Mum to use your account "by mistake", and whether this means that their security procedures do not meet the standards laid down by regulations.

aliasojo

Tasha1892 wrote: »

When I used studio last it would have gone to my old card, Ive since upgraded my account with halifax. As to her being dishonest it wouldnt surprise me in the slightest. :rotfl:

I feel for you, my OH's parents did similar to him and we only found out after they had both died.

He had moved out but they used his name for ages afterwards to open accounts.

aliasojo

Voyager2002 wrote: »

You could also ask them how it was possible for your Mum to use your account "by mistake", and whether this means that their security procedures do not meet the standards laid down by regulations.

How would that work exactly?