Unknown Mail Order credit on File

Sharon140

Hi I am after some advice as I really am not sure where to start with it all. My parents are in their late 7o's and are of the old school never had credit always saved for anything they needed. My mother has been receiving these letters from a debt collection company saying she owed £517 to Studio Cards I have phoned a couple of times and each time they say they wont send any further letters but of course they do. So a couple of weeks ago I went onto Noddle and registered my mother with her permission and she was sitting next to me to see her credit file, what I saw there totally shocked me and I couldn't bring myself to show my mother how bad it was.

There are at least 8 accounts all from Mail order companies and all in default, the accounts have all been set up from one family members address and her previous addresses and also some addresses that we don't know. I am completely at a loss on how to handle this my parents are getting more distressed each time a letter comes. I have put a dispute in with Noddle but that was no good.

Would it be better to contact all the companies on behalf of my mother, all the accounts were set up 2012/13 so I am sure there are more debt collector letters coming soon My parents have lived at the same address since the late 60's is this proof enough for the companies?

Sorry about the long post but I just don't know what to do for the best, the debt collection company I spoke to last night has said that they will send the Studio Card account for investigation. I know fraud has been done here against my mother but I know she would not contact the police as I would like her to especially against her own flesh and blood I am so angry with this person and would love nothing better than to phone the police :mad:

molerat

2 options
Pay the bills
or
Contact the police and report the fraud

http://www.elderabuse.org.uk/Mainpages/Services/services.html

Sharon140

Thank you Molerat for your reply, I wish it was that easy but my parents don't have a couple of thousand pounds spare and they wont phone the police as I have already suggested it.

rizla_king

I would ask here http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/ as sounds as if you need some legal based advice

Sharon140

Thank you Rizla King, I will definitely have a look at this site.:T

Ben8282

Obviously you know who is responsible for this.
If this individual is perhaps a person who could not get credit in their own right for one reason or another and had decided to use your mother's name for their mail order purchases without her consent and had actually paid for the purchases, then perhaps this individual could be forgiven.
But this individual has deliberately set out not only to steal from mail-order companies but to do so with no regard for your mother and with no regard to the possibly that your mother could be implicated as an accomplice in a criminal offence..
Your first option would be to pay everything, but although this will stop the debt collectors letters the defaults will remain on your mother's credit file for 6 years. If she can afford it, your mum may well choose to take this option for simplicity especially if, as you said, she never uses credit and therefore does not really care about the effect of the settled defaults. But be aware though that even something previously simple, such as switching utility providers or obtaining a replacement mobile phone, could suddenly become a lot more difficult for her with all those defaults littering her file.
The second option would be a variation of the above whereby the individual responsible gives you the money to pay after being confronted and told, preferably by your mum rather than you if that is possible, to pay up or she is going to the police. However, this again would not get the defaults removed.
The third option is to treat it as fraud. Unfortunately it is your mum who will have to do this. She will have to inform the police and obtain a crime reference number. After this, you should write to the debt collection agencies. Do not provide them with any unnecessary or additional information. Simply advise that you have no knowledge of the alledged debt, that this is a case of fraud which has been reported to the police and that you require all adverse information to be removed from your credit file. You can write the letters if you want but your mum should sign them.