Cifas - closed credit card's

kevin3924

Hi Guys,
First post.

Basically I was contacted by a credit card company on the phone to confirm some details:
Basic DPA, employment history and current income.

After I confirmed the details on the phone and the person on the phone stated that my account has been suspended for investigation
I asked the reason why and he was very rude and stated 'we cannot speak whilst a investigation is ongoing.
The person was very rude and I hung up and called back to find out what is going on, once I got through to customer service I was advised that my account is currently suspended and they cannot discuss details on the account.
2 days later I tried to use my credit card from another provider and that was refused, I then contacted this provider and was advised I will get a call back within 48 hours as my account is currently under review.

I did a money transfer from one of my cards the following day,
got a call from the fraud team to confirm details, it was me e.t.c.. passed.
the money transfer went into my account no problems.

I then applied for car finance which was refused, checked my credit report (I know it means nothing) and was 889, the dealer said there might be something on your CIFAS.

I did a SAR, recieved a report.

He was right.
Credit Card 1 - False Employment
WHAT IS THIS?!
I call the company and still refuse to speak to me, stated I have no access to account, requested how to pay outstanding balance and said I can pay on the phone, not helpful refusing to speak to me regarding this.

On the report it stated that I have
FALSE EMPLOYMENT
Facility Granted
Contacted Employer

But I spoke to my employer who said no one has called, they said they are happy to supply and documents to whoever to confirm my employment..

Today I get a call from my second credit card company
We are going to close your account, we cannot discuss details on the account, you have a outstanding balance, however you have 0% till next year, please call every month to pay the payment, after the 0% ends you will go back to standard rate and cannot spend on the card.

So the first card company has placed this CIFAS on my file.

Financial Information:
Mortgage 1 year - no missed payments
loan 3 years - no missed payments
loan 2 years - no missed payments
Credit Card 1 - CLOSED NOW - 6 Months - No Missed Payments.
Credit Card 2 - CLOSED NOW - 6 Months - No Missed Payments.
Credit Card 3 - Active - 8 Months - No Missed Payments
Credit Card 4 - Active - 8 Months - No Missed Payments
Credit Card 5 - Active - 8 Months - No Missed Payments
American Express Charge Card - 8 Months - No Missed Payments
American Express Platinum Card - 12 Months - No Missed Payments

I am worried that this CIFAS will mean all my other cards are going to be closed?!
I have been using my other cards and they have all been approved for transactions,
I spoke to american express in regards to a replacement card today and they actually increased my limit by £1000?!

I don't understand what to do..
Who do I appeal to, I am looking to purchase a buy to let but I am sure this CIFAS will affect lenders..

Will my personal accounts be closed?
I have my savings of over £80,000 in my account, will this be closed?

I have 3 limited companies will these accounts be closed?

Thrugelmir

What could be behind the investigation? Something has triggered it.

20aday

Is it worth OP's time checking their credit files for any fraudulent accounts that may have been opened in their names?

CKhalvashi

20aday wrote: »

Is it worth OP's time checking their credit files for any fraudulent accounts that may have been opened in their names?

It seems OP has done this.

We won’t confirm whether someone works for us or not if called. We will however provide a letter stating that someone has worked for the company from x date on the request of the employee. This is for the protection of our staff.

Could something like this be the case?

kevin3924

I don't no what to do in this situation,
I have never missed a payment with any card provider,
I transfer every month from my personal account.

Who do I complain to?

Can a card company do this?
They must be governed by someone?

I am worried all my accounts will be closed because of this,

DisneyLisa

If you contact cifas, you can lodge a complaint via them. They will ask the credit card provider to prove they had enough evidence to load the cifas marker

Ben8282

You state that you have an employer. You also state that you have 3 limited companies.
Could this somehow be the cause of the confusion regarding your employment?
You say you have savings of over £80K in your account and yet you say you applied for car finance and you also say that you did a money transfer from a credit card into your account. I am wondering why someone with over £80K already in their account would be paying a money transfer fee and why they would require car finance. Plus why are you paying interest on the 2 loans?
You sate that you found out about this as a result of an SAR not as a result of checking your credit files. Who did you make the SAR to?
Also the comment FALSE EMPLOYMENT- facility granted - contacted employer statement is a bit odd. Facility granted means that you got whatever you applied for. Why would they grant the facility and then place this marker somewhere? .

kevin3924

3 limited companies - don’t see the issue
80k savings - house deposit but to let..
Money transfer fee 2.19%? Not much for 18 months frozen 0%
APR on finance was extremely low - 4.9 apr
2 loans - taken out 3 years ago - 4.9%, 5.9%

When I tried to take out car finance it refused as posted in above advised by dealer to check CIFAS.

Yes I applied in March 2018 and then the start of this month they called me-
Hence facility granted.
False employment application type
How this was confirmed? Contacted employer.

Nebulous2

Welcome to MSE.

How you set-up your finances is up to you, however it does seem like the complexity of your affairs has contributed to this.

You need to resolve the communication issue between your credit card company and your employer.

If you've done a SAR for CIFAS I'd also do one to your credit card company. Find out exactly what you put on your application for the credit card. At the same time make a formal complaint to the credit card company. If they don't resolve it within the agreed timescale refer them to the ICO. Provide them with evidence - what you put on your application, payslips, letter from your employer etc.

Another route would be try to enlist help from some of the money advice columns in the newspapers or from your MP.

This has the potential to cause you a lot of grief and lose you more accounts if it isn't resolved. You need to tackle it formally and as hard as you can.

Of course if you declared full-time employment and it isn't true, then you may not be able to clear your name. If your employment is from one of your own limited companies and you didn't declare yourself as a company director you could still be fighting this in 5+ years when it drops off Cifas.

kevin3924

I will do a SAR to the credit card company.
How do I make a formal complaint to the credit card company?
Also i was employed, not by my own company but another company, I wasn't director and have confirmed this via a check.

Do I need to list myself as a company director on applications when they ask ? as they asked for employment status and I chose employed.

Nasqueron

You complain to the credit card company by writing a letter of complaint and sending it to their complaints department. After a response if you are unsatisfied you can go to the FOS