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Santander fake account

HI I wonder if anyone could help me please? Santander have sent me a statement saying I owe £5000 but they are not asking me for any money as they accept this debt is too old to be pursued.

My problem is I have never had a santander account or loan and when I rung them to tell them they did not seem bothered and said well we are not asking for the money so whats the problem?

My problem is they are adding £315 per year interest to an account that is not mine.
What should I do? Can I have this account closed properly to stop this affecting my credit rating?

Thank you
«1

Comments

  • nidO
    nidO Posts: 847 Forumite
    edited 24 November 2014 at 3:35PM
    r6joe wrote: »
    What should I do? Can I have this account closed properly to stop this affecting my credit rating?

    Talk to Santander again and if the person you speak to is as clueless as the last one, ask to speak to their boss.
    Repeat until you reach someone intelligent (if indeed this ever happens), then make it plain to them that regardless of the fact that the debt is statute barred it isn't yours, and demand they investigate their account, update their records, and remove your details from their systems.

    Also, regardless of what they say the outcome of this is, never ever bank or deposit any kind of money with santander, or you might find it mysteriously vanishing to be set off against the debt.

    This does of course assume the debt is in fact not yours. You may never have had a Santander account, but are you absolutely sure you've never defaulted on anything with Abbey National, Cahoot, or Alliance & Leicester?
  • r6joe
    r6joe Posts: 13 Forumite
    Thank you for your reply :) I will write to them stating these things and ask for the account to be closed altogether and my details removed. I have not had any defaulted payments with these people either and I definitely would know if I had not paid this kind of money back I think they have some kind of scam going on, I am not sure :(
  • r6joe wrote: »
    Thank you for your reply :) I will write to them stating these things and ask for the account to be closed altogether and my details removed. I have not had any defaulted payments with these people either and I definitely would know if I had not paid this kind of money back I think they have some kind of scam going on, I am not sure :(

    Gosh that sounds really scary eh
    If you change nothing, nothing will change!!
  • And, if you haven't done it already, it would be a good idea to check with the Credit Reference Agencies that there's nothing else nasty lurking against your name.
    Are you for real? - Glass Half Empty??
    :coffee:
  • colsten
    colsten Posts: 17,596 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Seventh Anniversary Photogenic Name Dropper
    nidO wrote: »
    are you absolutely sure you've never defaulted on anything with Abbey National, Cahoot, or Alliance & Leicester?
    or Bradford & Bingley
  • I would do a credit check to make sure there is nothing else outstanding that you are not aware of just in case you have been a victim of identity fraud.
    I’m a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on the Debt free Wannabe, Budgeting and Banking and Savings and Investment boards. If you need any help on these boards, do let me know. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com. All views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.
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  • colsten
    colsten Posts: 17,596 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Seventh Anniversary Photogenic Name Dropper

    In the light of this, the Santander account the OP doesn't know anything about might also have been a credit card administered by Santander (i.e. not one that actually carried the Santander name).
  • Vortigern
    Vortigern Posts: 3,312 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    colsten wrote: »
    In the light of this, the Santander account the OP doesn't know anything about might also have been a credit card administered by Santander (i.e. not one that actually carried the Santander name).
    ... Or a loan arranged by a double glazing company, kitchen/bathroom fitters, or a furniture store?

  • i wonder if Jackanory Joe ever bumped into Billy Bulls****er :)
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