Parents debt. Do I offer to settle, or am I screwed?

eyeopener2

Nerve wracking possibly, but you have very right to dispute this. You have to be persistent though and Littlewoods, and their trained monkeys, will be as awkward as possible to get their money back.

Good luck, I really hope you win this one.

Hanky_Panky

Elle7 wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies.

Legal liability is something that I have discussed with the police. They are fairly happy that they could prove that my mother placed the orders without authority, and that there was nothing I could reasonably do to have prevented this. I didn't share my password, for example.

I'll start with a CCA request, and hope that they don't have one. If the y do, I'll write the whole story out again and deny liability for the current debt.

It's a bit nerve-wracking, this! It feels like such a huge amount of money to owe.

The main problem with the CCA route is it won't achieve your objective to get a mortgage. The debt may be unenforceable but your credit rating will still be trashed.

If you can get police assistance to show that your mother placed the orders without authority I would definitely go down that route and also at the same time start a proper complaint off with Littlewoods stating that it isn't your debt, it was fraudulently obtained and they are not taking you seriously - here's the evidence from the police etc etc. Make a !!!! storm for them and keep escalating with them if you don't get the responses you need until eventually they issue you with a deadlock letter and you can complain to the ombudsman.

Sounds awful - I really hope you get it sorted.

Elle7

Good point.

Okay, so I shall draft a letter tonight and include my Crime Reference Number.

Do I explain that I know who the fraud is, etc, or shall I just state that I am a victim of identity fraud and therefore do not owe this debt?

I was going to call the National Debtline, as advised here and by ActionFraud, but their web chat is unavailable and I'm currently hospitalised with flu.

Lensman_2

I don't see naming the person who committed the fraud (or even indicating that you have that information) has any bearing on your position.

Write your letter just stating the you are a victim of fraud. It is up to them to follow it up to try to get their money if they want to.

Don't lie to them, but don't give them anything they don't need either.

Elle7

Okay, that I can do

I spoke to the National Debtline earlier, but they felt that this was too complex to advise on. They advised that I contacted Civil Legal Advice, and that if I need help with repayment, to go back to them.

Littlewoods Fraud department called tonight but were less than helpful. They stated that liability remains with me if the items were signed for in my name, and that my IP address was used for at least one order. That's quite possible, if it's someone that you have/do live with?

Regardless, I'll write the letter and hope for the best.

Lensman_2

Write simple letter.

*** OFFICIAL COMPLAINT ***

State that you are a victim of fraud and that the goods were ordered by a 3rd person without your authority.
State that it was reported to the police and the crime number is XXXX.
State that the use of your IP address is no reliable indicator of liability. IP addresses come from a pool and are reused. IP addresses are also shared among many members of a household.
State that you are not trying to deceive and that your account is the truth. Any further collection activity from them is unfair, harassment and will be the subject of complaints to the FCA and Trading Standards.

Finally say that you want all future communication to be strictly in writing.

There may come a point here that you cannot defend your Mum any further. But put a strong enough case up front and you may well put them off before it comes to that.

Good luck.

XXSCOTSLASSXX

Elle7 wrote: »

Good point.

Okay, so I shall draft a letter tonight and include my Crime Reference Number.

I'm very surprised that the Police have taken any involvement with this with it being a civil action.....there must have been a very large amount of 'physical' proof for the Police to have actually logged the complaint and stated that they are happy they could prove your mother had placed the orders without consent...personally I would be forwarding copies of everything the Police have, which brought them to this conclusion, on to Littlewoods....or if you have already given Littlewoods your reference number I would wait until they receive a copy of the crime report with the Police findings.

Have they taken a statement from your mother or spoken to her regarding this?

Elle7

Not that I know of.

I'm no contact with my parents, for my own physical safety. My concern with pressing charges was that it may lead to them finding me, which the police seemed to take on board.

As far as I know, the police took a statement from me, and my Action Fraud report. They also contacted Barclays, who confirmed that my mum has previously opened and used credit facilities in my name, and that they had closed these accounts and reported them appropriately.

They left me with the Crime Reference Number, and a few weeks later I got a call stating that the CPS wouldn't be moving forward at this stage because of the evidence from the mental health team, and the low chance of conviction.

I wondered if the police would do anything, as it's my word against hers, but they've exceeded expectations. They just haven't really offered any advice on what to do about the nearly £5000 that I'm left owing.

Lensman_2

You are not left owing it. Your Mum is. It is up to them to chase her for it.

You just need to get the knack of making that stick with the creditors.

hostie

Good luck with all this. I would also tell Littlewoods that you would prefer to correspond with them in writing, either in email or by letter, rather than on the telephone. That way you can be careful not to give them any information that they could use against you, whilst still being totally honest.
Sorry to hear that your relationship with your parents is so bad. I hope you can get this all sorted. I have heard of a similar thing happening to someone else so I guess it is a common story with mental health issues.