Financial association and benefit fraud

newage2993

Hi everyone. I am so worried today.

I live with my parents and claim income based ESA for my disabilities. I have a boyfriend who occasionally visits but we do not live together. He has his own house, own bills, council tax and so forth. I go over to his place 1-2 times a week if he collects me but my home is 100% with my parents. Due to my disabilities I can't move out as my boyfriend works long hours so I'd be home alone for a prolonged period of the day.

A few days ago, a single mother friend of my mums was called into the benefits office for an interview under caution. I didn't pay much attention to this initially but I then found out it was because she had been found financially associated with her partner. He had his car registered at her home address or something.

My boyfriend has nothing registered with me, because why would he? But it got my anxiety up, so I checked my credit file to see if I had any financial associates. I pay £7.99 a month for Equifax.

Sure enough. My boyfriends name was on there. I do not know what this could be from but I'm terrified and burst into tears when I saw it. Ive not done anything wrong. I don't want to be called for one of these interviews. The information given was meagre, but said something about 'bank account opening'

Upon calming down, I narrowed it down to two things-

We have a guarantor loan together from Amigo. He was my guarantor last year as I needed to consolidate some debts. The Amigo loan is in my home address and he occasionally gets letters to his home address informing him of any payments I've made.

Last summer we applied for a joint bank account with the hopes of saving money so we could pay Amigo off in full (We defaulted on a few payments) I put my own address down for this bank account and he used his too. HOWEVER, We never opened this bank account. Never. They sent us some forms out to fill in and return to a branch but we never filled them in and I tossed them out. There has never been a bank account in both our names due to this. My credit file shows I've only got two bank accounts. One is my Natwest Student account - I am paying the overdraft off for this, and the other is my HSBC current account. My boyfriend is NOT on either of these accounts and never has been.

I wrote to Equifax, raising a dispute and asked what the association was because we decided not to open a joint account in the end. I asked them to review it and remove it, if it was relating to a bank account BECAUSE THIS BANK ACCOUNT WAS NEVER OPENED. All we did was apply for it online, they then sent forms out asking us to 'sign' them, which we didn't do, therefore the account was never opened. We never got given bank card or anything for this account. It basically does not exist.

Now I'm terrified that the benefit agency will see this association on my credit file and come down on me like a tonne of bricks. I've done nothing wrong and am in pieces here.

Please offer me some advice.

tomtom256

As long as both show the correct address on the credit report that won't cause an issue.

If you both applied and put the same address then that would be a different matter.

newage2993

Thank you for your reply.

Does anyone know if it is possible that this financial association is related to our Amigo Loan? I have been through my credit file and there is no record that my boyfriend and I have a bank account together. I'm sure if one would have been opened between us, it would say?

sammyjammy

Cancel your £7.99 equifax fee, there are plenty of companies that offer free ongoing access to your credit record such as Clear score or MSE

Mrsn

You will be financially linked through the loan together with him being your guarantor, as his details were supplied on the application. The circumstances surrounding the other lady are completely different and for them to arrange an interview there would have been other flags there guiding them to taking that action. Please try not to overly stress over this ( I have anxiety and this is incredibly hard I realise) but when they say financially linked it means something very different to what you are imagining

poppasmurf_bewdley

The Amigo loan may not join you to him financially, but the joint account certainly will. There's nothing to worry about providing, as you say, he maintains his own home and has his main post coming there.

I'm another for cancelling your subscription to Equifax. Total waste of money.