Fraud credit card in default and Captial One will not help

Pam1010

Hey all

I know it seems all my posts are credit file related, forgive me

So between 2009 and 2013, I was in a very bad relationship. Without going into much detail, this relationship was both mentally and physically abusive that I am still severely traumatised to this day. Anyway, douche bag ex had a very bad credit rating and managed to get a credit card in my name without my knowledge with Capital One. The card had a small limit and he managed to run up a bill of £171 on it. I did not know about this until the debt was sold on to a collection agency and defaulted. The collection agency tracked me down to my new address after I broke up with douche ex and started hounding me for the money. At that point, my credit was now in the pits, I couldn't even buy a sofa from DFS on credit. I explained the situation to Lowell,the collection agency and they advised me to settle half the debt and they would mark the debt as satisfied and no one would know about the default. Okay cool because there was no way in hell the ex was going to admit what he did and make it right. I paid up and long story short, I have been fighting Lowell to remove this default from my file for the last couple of years with no joy. They have given me every possible story under the sun to why they can't remove it including that it is against the law to ask the CRA to remove a default from an account once it has been added!! They sent me a final resolution saying they cannot remove the default as it was reported correctly and I would need to go back to Capital One who would need to ask Lowell to remove the default from my file. I wrote to Capital One, again explaining how the credit card came to be and they basically told me tough luck we can't help as we reported this correctly and to go back to Lowell who can deal with this! I pay close attention to my credit file and the information on it and have really worked so had to keep it in the green the past few years, I even got my credit card limit increased so that helped a lot.

Has anyone ever dealt with such a situation? I have no idea what to do now as I feel like Lowell and Capital One are purposely sending me on a goose chase and also lied to me about paying the debt and removing the default (which they now deny they said!) What action can I take against these two companies and is there any hope at all of having this removed?

SnowTiger

Pam1010 wrote: »

Hey all

I know it seems all my posts are credit file related, forgive me

So between 2009 and 2013, I was in a very bad relationship. Without going into much detail, this relationship was both mentally and physically abusive that I am still severely traumatised to this day. Anyway, douche bag ex had a very bad credit rating and managed to get a credit card in my name without my knowledge with Capital One. The card had a small limit and he managed to run up a bill of £171 on it. I did not know about this until the debt was sold on to a collection agency and defaulted. The collection agency tracked me down to my new address after I broke up with douche ex and started hounding me for the money. At that point, my credit was now in the pits, I couldn't even buy a sofa from DFS on credit. I explained the situation to Lowell,the collection agency and they advised me to settle half the debt and they would mark the debt as satisfied and no one would know about the default. Okay cool because there was no way in hell the ex was going to admit what he did and make it right. I paid up and long story short, I have been fighting Lowell to remove this default from my file for the last couple of years with no joy. They have given me every possible story under the sun to why they can't remove it including that it is against the law to ask the CRA to remove a default from an account once it has been added!! They sent me a final resolution saying they cannot remove the default as it was reported correctly and I would need to go back to Capital One who would need to ask Lowell to remove the default from my file. I wrote to Capital One, again explaining how the credit card came to be and they basically told me tough luck we can't help as we reported this correctly and to go back to Lowell who can deal with this! I pay close attention to my credit file and the information on it and have really worked so had to keep it in the green the past few years, I even got my credit card limit increased so that helped a lot.

Has anyone ever dealt with such a situation? I have no idea what to do now as I feel like Lowell and Capital One are purposely sending me on a goose chase and also lied to me about paying the debt and removing the default (which they now deny they said!) What action can I take against these two companies and is there any hope at all of having this removed?

You got a Capital One credit card sometime between 2009 and 2013, spent £171 on it, ignored statements and made a partial settlement when a debt collection agency started chasing you for the outstanding balance.

Your credit files show you defaulted (broke) the credit agreement.

No?

Formal complaint to Capital One, then off to the FOS if you're not happy with their response.

dj1471

If you want the defaults removed on the grounds that the account was opened fraudulently you're going to have a hell of a struggle. You essentially accepted the debt was yours when you made a payment.

Debt collectors will say anything to get money out of you, that's all they care about.

I suspect it's too late now, but the only way to persuade a lender that an account was opened fraudulently is to provide them with a crime number.

It costs nothing to do as SnowTiger suggests but don't get your hopes up...

Pam1010

SnowTiger wrote: »

You got a Capital One credit card sometime between 2009 and 2013, spent £171 on it, ignored statements and made a partial settlement when a debt collection agency started chasing you for the outstanding balance.

Your credit files show you defaulted (broke) the credit agreement.

No?

Formal complaint to Capital One, then off to the FOS if you're not happy with their response.

No, I did not apply for the credit card and did not even know of the credit card or debit until Lowell tracked me down to my new address demanding payment. An ex got the card in my name without my knowledge. I would never ignore a debit or risk late payments on my file.

Pam1010

dj1471 wrote: »

If you want the defaults removed on the grounds that the account was opened fraudulently you're going to have a hell of a struggle. You essentially accepted the debt was yours when you made a payment.

Debt collectors will say anything to get money out of you, that's all they care about.

I suspect it's too late now, but the only way to persuade a lender that an account was opened fraudulently is to provide them with a crime number.

It costs nothing to do as SnowTiger suggests but don't get your hopes up...

Wouldn't it be a bit too late to report this as a crime and getting a crime number? I have no problem reporting it and wish I had done so before. I was severely depressed and suffering from PTSD and really took Lowell's word for it as I was trying so hard to build a better future for my kids and I.

cjmillsnun

When did it default? In your credit report it will have a default date. 6 years from that date, it will drop off the file and it'll be clean again.

To be honest without a crime reference number you're not going to get very far in getting the default removed because as far as they are concerned you could be the one lying to them. By going to the police, you then make it credible.

I would also send Lowell and Capital One a subject access request. This will have any information they have on file for you. It will cost you £20, £10 for Lowell and £10 for C1.

SnowTiger

Pam1010 wrote: »

No, I did not apply for the credit card and did not even know of the credit card or debit until Lowell tracked me down to my new address demanding payment. An ex got the card in my name without my knowledge. I would never ignore a debit or risk late payments on my file.

I was putting forward an alternative scenario to demonstrate you may have an uphill struggle.

You attempted to negotiate a settlement fee and paid money towards the debt. Those things weaken your case.

SHill

Contact Action Fraud..if the credit card was applied fraudulently see what they say.

eskbanker

I'm conscious that you may not have wanted to make yourself particularly easy to find in the circumstances, but is there any prospect of constructing a case against Capital One for negligently opening an account in your name when you'd moved to another address, i.e. not making sufficient checks? When did you start using a different address (for your own banking and/or further credit applications with the likes of DFS, plus electoral roll, etc) that would have been advised to the ratings agencies, and when was the dodgy C1 account opened?

Pam1010

cjmillsnun wrote: »

When did it default? In your credit report it will have a default date. 6 years from that date, it will drop off the file and it'll be clean again.

To be honest without a crime reference number you're not going to get very far in getting the default removed because as far as they are concerned you could be the one lying to them. By going to the police, you then make it credible.

I would also send Lowell and Capital One a subject access request. This will have any information they have on file for you. It will cost you £20, £10 for Lowell and £10 for C1.

I am not even sure the exact date it defaulted. Capital One default said 2013 and when Lowell started reporting on it the default date changed to 2014. That means it stays on until 2020 which is a long time.
I will call action fraud tomorrow and see if I can report this and get a crime reference number.

Pam1010

eskbanker wrote: »

I'm conscious that you may not have wanted to make yourself particularly easy to find in the circumstances, but is there any prospect of constructing a case against Capital One for negligently opening an account in your name when you'd moved to another address, i.e. not making sufficient checks? When did you start using a different address (for your own banking and/or further credit applications with the likes of DFS, plus electoral roll, etc) that would have been advised to the ratings agencies, and when was the dodgy C1 account opened?

According to Captial One, the credit card was issued in 2013, maxed out within days, no payment was ever made and the account went into default after the missed payments. However Lowell claim the default was issued in 2014. So not even sure who to believe on this. I have lived at my new address since 2013 and been on the electoral roll since then and had my bank account for over 10 years. The address on the Captial one account is from where I lived with the ex(that's how I knew it was him)