Payday loan fraud by ex

JHC76

Hi all,
I have just joined this site as I thought it would give me support and advice in what is turning out to be a frustrating situation.

Here's the background....
In 2011 I became aware that my then wife (who was in control of the family finances and had the only debit card for our joint account) had been failing to pay loans, utility bills and council tax. Prior to that I knew that when we had little money she had resorted to stealing cheques from her parents but from 2007 onwards I had been earning good money so I still have no idea of why these debts weren't being paid. I took over the family finances January 2012 after finding out about some of these issues, after which point we paid everything we were supposed to, as far as I was aware at the time.

When we separated in 2012 I became aware of 2 defaulted Payday loans that were taken out in my name, after confronting her and threatening to go to the police her father paid them off.
In 2015 another Payday loan company contacted me about a loan in my name that was taken out in 2011. I contacted Action Fraud, got a crime number and the loan company wrote the loan off.
I am looking at getting a mortgage next year so I signed up to Experian to view my credit report. I then found another 4 Payday loans, all 7 taken out in the summer 2011, 2 were taken out within a week of each other!

It seems that she was applying for the loans using our joint account and my name, having access to all of my identification documents and taking advantage of the ease of application these companies allow. She would then hide all correspondence.

I have contacted Action Fraud about each of these and have received crime numbers. Two of the loan companies have written the debt off. The loans have been written off because the IP address and time of the application was at my then address and during the working day, I have to sign in to each of my jobs so I can prove I was not at home at the time the loan was applied for. The email address and mobile number on the applications was my former wife's.

I have 2 more Payday loan companies to deal with and Payday U.K. (Who I have been dealing with for the past 2 months) are being a lot more difficult to deal with. I have contacted them, advised them it's fraud, contacted Action Fraud and received a crime number but Payday UK will not accept that it's fraud until a formal police investigation is started. I'm not sure how likely this is to happen though? I understand that this company want their money back but the irresponsible way they lend money has left them open to fraud. My credit score is poor and it will have a negative impact on the mortgage rate I can be offered even though I have never entered into an agreement with any loan company.


I would like my ex to pay these debts but the loan company is not interested in chasing her for them as she has put them in my name. Ultimately I want them off of my credit report so I can move on without my future being affected. I am wondering whether to take legal advice as this situation is causing a lot of stress and frustration.

I am wondering if anyone can offer advice or if anyone has been in a similar situation? Any help gratefully received.
Thanks in advance.

DCFC79

1 thing that wont happen is your score having a negative effect on your mortgage.

Continue to report these loans to action fraud and contact the police about the formal investigation.

[Deleted User]

You're going to need to involve the police.

Unfortunately, lenders hear the 'It wasn't me, it was someone else' a lot, so they will take a little more convincing.

Fraud_Unmasked

Payday loan companies are a nightmare to deal with and often branch out into several companies.

First thing I would do is find out what type of loans they were - i.e the type were they go to the borrower rather than those amigo type of loans that use a guarantor and can be paid there first.

If they should have gone to you (as they're in your name) ask where the funds were sent. Ask for copies of any applications and the signatures/ID that were used. As it's a credit facility they should have done AML checks to comply with there legal responsibilities.

Ask what collections activity they took - where did they send letters?

Payday loans have minimal impact on a credit file, however I understand the frustration. Hope you get it sorted.

superbigal36

Fraud_Unmasked wrote: »

Payday loan companies are a nightmare to deal with and often branch out into several companies.

First thing I would do is find out what type of loans they were - i.e the type were they go to the borrower rather than those amigo type of loans that use a guarantor and can be paid there first.

If they should have gone to you (as they're in your name) ask where the funds were sent. Ask for copies of any applications and the signatures/ID that were used. As it's a credit facility they should have done AML checks to comply with there legal responsibilities.

Ask what collections activity they took - where did they send letters?

Payday loans have minimal impact on a credit file, however I understand the frustration. Hope you get it sorted.

He only had access to 1 joint account so in theory presumably did receive the money.

hign10pines

Fraud_Unmasked wrote: »

Payday loan companies are a nightmare to deal with and often branch out into several companies.

First thing I would do is find out what type of loans they were - i.e the type were they go to the borrower rather than those amigo type of loans that use a guarantor and can be paid there first.

If they should have gone to you (as they're in your name) ask where the funds were sent. Ask for copies of any applications and the signatures/ID that were used. As it's a credit facility they should have done AML checks to comply with there legal responsibilities.

Ask what collections activity they took - where did they send letters?

Payday loans have minimal impact on a credit file, however I understand the frustration. Hope you get it sorted.

They get reported to credit reference agencies, so a default will impact on the file.

takman

Fraud_Unmasked wrote: »

Payday loan companies are a nightmare to deal with and often branch out into several companies.

First thing I would do is find out what type of loans they were - i.e the type were they go to the borrower rather than those amigo type of loans that use a guarantor and can be paid there first.

If they should have gone to you (as they're in your name) ask where the funds were sent. Ask for copies of any applications and the signatures/ID that were used. As it's a credit facility they should have done AML checks to comply with there legal responsibilities.

Ask what collections activity they took - where did they send letters?

Payday loans have minimal impact on a credit file, however I understand the frustration. Hope you get it sorted.

Payday loans have a BIG impact on credit files even having them and paying the off on time is negative to most mainstream lenders. They have their own category on credit reports "short term loans" and even payday loan lenders say they will have a negative impact.

Asking for details of where it is paid etc seems to be a waste of time in this case. The OP has obviously buried their head in the sand when it comes to their finances by having a joint account and not even checking it online or having a debit card for it. He left his wife fully in control of the finances even though he knew she had a history of theft and dishonesty by stealing from her parents!.

ALIBOBSY

I assume these loans defaulted shortly after she took them out in 2011 which case the good news is they should drop off your credit file during 2017, so even if the payday loan companies left refuse to remove them, they will fall off automatically at the 6 yr point whether paid or not.

Definately report to the police and let them look into it so you are jumping through the hoops for the companies. But worse comes to worse you may just have to delay getting a mortgage for a year or so.

Even if they drop off the file you may still get debt collectors trying to collect the money, but it sounds like your ex never made a payment on these loans and once 6 yrs has passed from either a payment or a WRITTEN acknowledgement of the debt the debt becomes statute barred. At that point debt collectors can ask for the debt, but cannot take legal action and a simple this debt is statute barred letter should make them go away.

Good Luck
Ali x

Candyapple

OP you mentioned you had checked your Experian file, you also need to check your Equifax (ClearScore) and Call Credit (Noddle) files too as there are 3 credit reference agencies and each hold different information, so there may be further payday loans etc. taken out that you don’t know about yet.

You mentioned about finding out about 2 defaulted payday loans and your ex’s father paid the debts off – if these debts were already defaulted they are now going to remain on your file(s) for 6 years from the default date and will cause problems when applying for a mortgage.

You should have contacted the payday loan company and asked them as a condition of receiving payment to wipe the default from your files. Or just gone to the police/Action Fraud as you’ve done with the others and got them wiped that way.

Now it looks as though even if you manage to get the other payday loans removed from your files eventually, that those 2 defaulted accounts are going to remain and cause you the most problems long term. Not sure how you would explain it to Action Fraud/police now about getting the 2 defaulted accounts removed because you’ve already paid them off.

Fraud_Unmasked wrote: »

Payday loans have minimal impact on a credit file, however I understand the frustration. Hope you get it sorted.

Please stop talking nonsense, payday loans have a massive impact on credit files, especially if you are going to be applying for a mortgage in the near future.

http://moneytothemasses.com/owning-a-home/mortgages/how-payday-loans-affect-your-credit-score-and-chances-of-getting-a-mortgage

https://www.confused.com/home-and-lifestyle/property-market/six-reasons-your-mortgage-application-will-be-turned-down