Identity Fraud - Linked Address

Zeus77

Hello.
Unfortunately I have been the victim of identity fraud. Last year I noticed dozens of credit searches I hadn't made or authorise appear on my multi agency credit report. Sometimes half a dozen a day, at mobile phone companies, the likes of Sky/Virgin, payday loan companies, catalogue companies, retail finance companies such as V12, creation, Barclays personal finance, capital one etc etc. Apart from Virgin it seems that no applications were actually successful.

There were applications in my name at my previous address and applications in my name at an unknown address at the opposite end of the country. Needless to say it had destroyed my credit rating.

I spent a couple of months trying to repair the damage, contacting companies to investigate and to get searches removed (with varying success), adding protective registration . I'd finally got most of them removed only for the same thing to happen again in November and December. Some companies are being completely unresponsive to my enquiries which is incredibly frustrating (any tips on what to do when lenders completely ignore your emails or just refuse to co-operate would be welcome!).

I also noticed that my multi agency report shows the address used in another city in many of the fraudulent credit searches as a linked address for me with Experian (i dont have any searches showing recorded with Experian). I called Experian today to report this and ask them to remove it, and they said they would investigate it and should be able to remove it, but to so they would have to look at my Experian report and that I would therefore have to pay them £14.95 to subscribe to their service in order for THEM to see my credit report, or pay £2.00 and order a one off report. I queried this and said that I can already see that it is showing on my Experian report via my checkmyfile report, and I didn't understand why I should have to pay for THEM to view their own report on data they incorrectly hold about me. The first person hung up on me, the second advised that they will put in a request for investigation but the likelihood is that yes I will have to pay to get a copy of my credit file before they would investigate it. Does this sound wrong to anyone else? I know £2.00 isn't a lot but it's more the additional time it would take, the fact that I'm already paying £15 a month for a multi agency report whilst I try to sort this out and also the principal.

RonnieJT28

Good luck with Experian! I have just posted a new thread as they took my £2 but are asking for all sorts of ID short of my blood group!

Zeus77

Thanks! Yes well that's why I ended up with Check My File in the first place. I tried to sign up/request a report with them in the first place and they said I needed to post a whole host of original proofs to them to confirm my identity too, having just been a victim of identity fraud I wasn't keen on posting out original documents so signed up to Check My File who gave me immediate access.

Candyapple

I had to edit your post and put in some paragraphs to make it easier to read.

You said you have added protective registration - was this with CIFAS directly and did you pay £20?

If not, here is the form:
https://www.cifas.org.uk/services/identity-protection/protective-registration/application-form

Secondly, cancel your paying subscriptions. The free versions to check your credit files are below:
Experian: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/creditclub
Equifax: https://www.clearscore.com
Call Credit: https://www.noddle.co.uk