Help and advice needed

Nerissa17

Unsure how to start this really, but I desperately need help on how or even can I solve this situation.
I have a close family relative who has used my name and her children's name to get credit, she has used it all at her address, as I don't live there, and I'm on the electoral register for my own address, I don't understand how she could get credit there, even with all my personal details. Anyway, she hasn't paid the bills, and my credit score which has taken me years to get back to green, is now nearly red. Her 2 daughters have also had their credit ratings crash down to nothing, and they are both at the age where they want to think about mortgages etc, but now they can't.
This relation clearly has a problem, but confronting her won't help, as she will bury her head, and then turn it back onto us. So apart from the moral side of this situation, is there anyway we can restore our credit score?
I'm at a loss of what to do, and I'm reluctant to get her into trouble, call it some sense of misguided loyalty, although I know the argument of, has she shown us any. This is a very tricky situation. Please don't judge me, I'm just asking for any constructive help

[Deleted User]

If you won't report it as fraud, you will all need to pay the debts off yourselves and rebuild your credit histories.

There's no middle ground.

Nerissa17

If we report it as fraud, can her name be left out?

[Deleted User]

No. The police will expect you to help in their investigations, not knowingly protect the offender.

Nerissa17

So we are rocks in very hard places right now. Very angry rocks to say the least

[Deleted User]

Indeed.

But I think you to consider how much you are prepared to help someone who is clearly out to take you for every penny you do, and don't, have.

Nerissa17

I just don't think she realises how bad she is. She sets out with intentions to pay the bills, but then she'll miss a payment and it landslides, she forgets it's not in her name, so she buries her head and lets the debts mount. I just don't know how to stop her or to stop her using our names. Well she can't anymore as we can't get credit. But still.

MEM62

Nerissa17 wrote: »

This is a very tricky situation.

No it's not - it is a very easy situation. You report it as fraud. You and her daughters give all of the relevant information to the Police so that they can investigate. You then contact the lenders with the same information and get the accounts removed from your financial records. Job done.

Or...... you don't report it, in which case you are lumbered not only with a poor credit history but also the debt itself.

The choice is yours.

StopIt

Nerissa17 wrote: »

So we are rocks in very hard places right now. Very angry rocks to say the least

Well, the person who defrauded you has no rights to be angry at you for reporting them!


Frankly, if you're not willing to report them, they get away with it. If they didn't want the consequences, they should not have committed the crime. If they get nasty, ask them if they think that destroying your chances of home ownership and your financial future is worth them nicking a few items on credit?


Edit: Your subsequent post is meaningless. The person clearly has done this on multiple occasions, has no intention to pay and will not stop until actually stopped. So report them. Stop paying for another persons criminal activity. If they're not able to get credit for themselves there's usually a very good reason. Committing fraud, and you not reporting the fraud is just enabling this toxic behaviour.


You must put an end to this, right now.

Nerissa17

If it was reported, what would happen to her. As I say she's a close family relative, so it's easy to say report her, but she also has a young daughter that I have to consider. Would it be so easy for you to report it? I know she's done wrong, I know all this. It's just not that easy to report her.

StopIt

Nerissa17 wrote: »

If it was reported, what would happen to her. As I say she's a close family relative, so it's easy to say report her, but she also has a young daughter that I have to consider. Would it be so easy for you to report it? I know she's done wrong, I know all this. It's just not that easy to report her.

If you're thinking she'll go to prison, she wont. She will likely be fined or received community service at worst. That's if the police even take it further. I'd expect a caution or even NFA. You don't need to press charges to report this as a crime, by the way. You just need the crime reference number to hand to the CRA's and creditors and they then deal with it.


And yes, you bet your life I would report this. In fact, if a family member was willing to defraud me, I'd be livid, much more so than if it was someone random. At least someone random isn't targeting you personally, you're just a random mark. With family, they know you, are supposedly close to them, yet they're still willing to screw you for selfish gain? No, they lose the right to getting away with it because of being family the moment they take the proverbial.