three mobile bad credit

dannyeff21

Hi and thanks for taking the time to read this.

I am a long time lurker on the site and there is a lot of great advice on here - thanks in advance.

I have an issue where a family member has decided to cancel a mobile contract that was in my name. the only way i found this out is due to the fact the 2nd house purchase the mortgage was declined in my name ( first house fell through in January ).

after checking my credit report i can see the account went into default in march, at this point three mobile requested the £1200 of debt to be paid up front to settle the claim. I contacted my brother in law who told me he has set up a payment plan with three mobile. Recently i decided to investigate this and it turns out no payments have been made.

I contact three mobile and made a complaint, the advised there is a note on the account stating that i gave authorization to my brother in law to take over the account. he has changed the address so no mail was delivered to my address making me none the wiser. there is also a note on the account stating i have given the authorization to allow my brother in law to use the account. i requested the call to be listened to and it turns out they don't have the call. I am 100% sure i never made that call.

I recently contacted him asking if the direct debit is still getting paid, I contacted him 3 times with no response. How do i proceed with this and if all else fails can someone give me advice on taking this further.

Thanks

[Deleted User]

If a family member was paying for the account and then let it go into arrears, it will reflect on your file as it is your responsibility.

Any arrangements between you and him are only between you. Get it settled as soon as you can.

If you suspect he has been underhand in changing the details, then you need to address this with him and report as fraud as necessary. However, the question will be asked as to how he accessed the account.

dannyeff21

Hi,

Having the mobile phone with three allows you to change the details.

I can access my details from the three mobile and change the details. my issue is the details were changed and i never gave autherisation on the account.

Has anyone taken something like this to a small claims court?

[Deleted User]

You could take your brother in law to court if you can quantify your losses and if he has done something wrong.

But you're going to need to establish exactly what he's done. It's not clear from your post who is responsible for what.

Dobbibill

dannyeff21 wrote: »

after checking my credit report i can see the account went into default in march, at this point three mobile requested the £1200 of debt to be paid up front to settle the claim. I contacted my brother in law who told me he has set up a payment plan with three mobile. Recently i decided to investigate this and it turns out no payments have been made.

Has your BIL now changed his mobile number?
I'm going to assume this has happened with the 3 mobile number likely to have been cut off. This may have set alarm bells ringing for me in your shoes.

It's difficult to monitor if the DD was being paid from the BILs account rather than your own.

I contact three mobile and made a complaint, the advised there is a note on the account stating that i gave authorization to my brother in law to take over the account. he has changed the address so no mail was delivered to my address making me none the wiser. there is also a note on the account stating i have given the authorization to allow my brother in law to use the account. i requested the call to be listened to and it turns out they don't have the call. I am 100% sure i never made that call.

You can apply for all the information 3 mobile hold on you. There's a £10 charge for the SAR.

http://www.three.co.uk/terms-conditions/wuntu-privacy-policy

It says.....Access to date /right to be forgotten
You have a right to request a copy of any personal information that we hold about you and to have any inaccuracies corrected. We’ll charge you a £10.00 administrative fee to provide a copy of data held. You can download the form on Three.co.uk. If you can’t download the form, we can send you a copy - please call us on 333 (free) from a Three phone or 0330 300 3333 (if dialled from a mobile, this will come out of any inclusive allowance, or be charged at your out of allowance rates; other networks may vary). You can delete your account at any time; to permanently remove your data from processing out lined in this policy please contact the DPA.officer@three.co.uk

I recently contacted him asking if the direct debit is still getting paid, I contacted him 3 times with no response. How do i proceed with this and if all else fails can someone give me advice on taking this further.

He won't respond - that should set alarm bells ringing again.
He has told you a payment plan has been set up but you don't have any evidence to back this up. It looks like he's abandoned the debt, it seems to happen more and more in families unfortunately.

National_Debtline

Hi Dannyeff21,

This is a difficult situation, but there are two big issues here as far as I can tell. Firstly, you have the issue of the 'authorisation' on the account. If your brother in law contacted Three and pretended to be you, and subsequently passed the security checks, this situation is arguably not Three's fault. However, I would suggest you raise a formal written complaint with Three as a starting point. I would agree with Dobbibil and request evidence of when this change was 'authorised' and by whom under a SAR. If they maintain there is no proof/ phone transcript to verify their notes then you could ask for a write off of the debt (as it is their error) and even ask for the default to be removed from your credit file. If you are unhappy with their response then you can go to the Telecommunications Ombudsman.


Unfortunately, the legal liability of the contract is the other issue. If the contract was in your name, you are responsible to repay the debt. I understand you put your trust in your BIL to pay, but if he didn't sign anything, he is not legally responsible. If your complaint is ultimately unsuccessful and you need to repay this then you need to consider whether you can do this in a lump sum or if you would need to enter into a payment plan with Three. There is a risk they may pass the matter to a debt collector or take county court action, so make sure they have your up to date address details. However, they shouldn't take action whilst your complaint is ongoing.

The third issue, is what to do about your brother in law and whether he has actually tried to defraud you (and Three), or whether this has been a series of misunderstandings. What to do about this personal issue, is the one I would leave up to you and may be easier to decide when you have more information from Three. Good luck,

Laura
@natdebtline

dannyeff21

This is a huge help - the issue is he told me cancelled this and the card has been used since shortly after opening the account. i gave no auth to change or update the account and take out a new contract and this has happend several times.

System

Then you need to go to the police and report him. That will give you a crime number which will assist you in sorting all of this out and getting the entries removed from your credit file. You can also have a CIFAS marker put on your credit file which basically says there has been fraudulent activity and the company/lender should be more diligent with ID checking which should hopefully stop him being able to open any more accounts under your name but it will make it harder for you to open accounts or anything else that requires a credit check.

Samsung_Note2

Three are very very lax when it comes to account holders..my late mother took out a contract with Three many years ago in her name but the phone and sim was mine,paid by me and i dealt with Three directly.

They upgraded contract several times and never once queried why my name was completely different to my mothers name,same with address.

The bottom line was as long as they got a new contract and bills were paid they couldn't have cared less.