Someone has rented cars using my identity - advice needed on what I should do

Emanef

Hi all

Sorry if this isn't the right sub-forum but I couldn't work out which one would be best.

Basically, my mum recieved a few letters addressed to me at her address recently. I lived there three years ago but 200 miles away since.

One letter was from a car rental company with a summary of rental showing I rented two cars in August 2019. The other letters were a fine from Euro Car Parking saying one of the cars was illegally parked in a car park and the other a follow up chasing it.

I've spoken to the car rental company and they confirmed their records have my driving license number on their system, but they don't keep the photocopies of the docs taken as they destroy them after the car is returned. They have paid the parking fine (it seems they also paid a few others linked to the rental issued by the local council because their paperwork wasn't all there and they didn't have the form that agrees to charges being paid - all sounds a bit of a strange coincedence!)

Anyway, my concern is that someone was able to walk into a car rental with sufficient quality fake IDs with my information on it (albeit a three year old address) and hire a car. Twice.

The car rental's head office suggested I contact Action Fraud, but I registered on their website and got a standard "this cannot be recorded as a crime" email a few hours later, but that's not what I want. I want advise on what to do.

Should I contact DVLA? I know your driving license number is your surname and DOB jumbled plus a few other letters, but should I be asking them to issue me a new one with different numbers?

I did actually use that car rental company in 2016, and that's the only time I have had and used the driving license that had my mum's address, so it may be that someone in the branch stole customer's info, but that's the only thing I can think of.

I asked if the rental company if they could trace it back from the payment (the payment was definately not on one of my cards) but they said they don't have the ability to do that.

Ms_Chocaholic

When did you change your address on your driving licence?

Emanef

Three years ago, when I moved away. I've changed it twice since that address, and I shred my invalid licenses when I change them, so they definately do not have the actual old license.

Lorian

Submit a DSAR to the rental company and the company issuing the parking bill. might throw us something useful.

Ben8282

Have you actually had your driving licence stolen at any time? You don't mention this so I assume not.

I am confused as to what the actual problem is here.
You say that a summary of rental for two rentals was sent to your mother's address recently regarding rentals which occurred 2 months ago. Why? What was the apparent purpose of sending this summary? Was there a problem with the rentals?

The parking ticket business is very odd also. Normally the car rental company would hold you liable but their statement about not having the paperwork is very strange.

It defies belief that somebody would have forged the necessary documents to enable this car rental to have taken place. For what purpose? Presumably they returned the cars and the bills were paid, so why bother? No sense. It also defies belief that the car rental company has no proper records of how the rentals were paid and that they should have destroyed their copies of documents so soon.

Caz3121

Which rental company? Most require a credit card in the drivers name. Do you have a common name - I am thinking someone may have pulled the wrong details (I am guessing you were not charged for these rentals but it would have been paid with a card in your name - although not yours)

Emanef

Thanks for the replies guys.

Ben8282 wrote: »

I am confused as to what the actual problem is here.
You say that a summary of rental for two rentals was sent to your mother's address recently regarding rentals which occurred 2 months ago. Why? What was the apparent purpose of sending this summary? Was there a problem with the rentals?

The parking ticket business is very odd also. Normally the car rental company would hold you liable but their statement about not having the paperwork is very strange.

It defies belief that somebody would have forged the necessary documents to enable this car rental to have taken place. For what purpose? Presumably they returned the cars and the bills were paid, so why bother? No sense. It also defies belief that the car rental company has no proper records of how the rentals were paid and that they should have destroyed their copies of documents so soon.

The rental company is Thrifty. I assume that they recieved the penalty charge letter as they own the car, and then contacted the penatly company with my details and also sent me a statement of rentals to support it. I don't know. But someone rented two cars using my identify. The lady I spoke to at Thrifty confirmed my driving license number was the one they had except the addiitonal digits at the end which I believe to be a kind of issue number; she had 69 but my current one is 71. The one I had three years ago had 69 (I still have a photo of it).

No, I've not had an old one lost or stolen. I'm quite anal about shredding documents, old cards, etc.

My problem is that if someone has fake ID with my identity on it, what else could they use it for?

I will send a DSAR to Thrifty - thanks for that - and I'll request credit reports from the three companies listed on MSE, it just makes you feel a bit nervous that someone may be using fake ID with my identity on it.

BoGoF

I'm assuming this is a photocard licence?

If so the renter would need to obtain a code from the DVLA to enable the hire company to check licence validity, points etc.

This is done via .GOV site and pretty sure you need more personal info to verify such as NINO but been a while since I did it. Either someone has got more than your old driving licence.....perhaps someone closer to home?

xlnc99

This has to be an inside job as its impossible to rent a car to someone else.

First you need a credit/debit card payment by the person who is renting the car. Either the deposit or car rental money. One of them has to be your own card. Second you need proof of ID at the pick up which includes driving licence and paper id such as bills from your address. They will check the licence to see ifs real. Third you need a DVLA code which only you can get and that requires your national insurance number to hand over to the rental company.

So all in all its impossible for someone to casually just do this. Its an inside job from thrifty or its you but you just have forgotten. No other explanation.

Emanef

Thanks again guys.

BoGoF wrote: »

I'm assuming this is a photocard licence?

If so the renter would need to obtain a code from the DVLA to enable the hire company to check licence validity, points etc.

This is done via .GOV site and pretty sure you need more personal info to verify such as NINO but been a while since I did it. Either someone has got more than your old driving licence.....perhaps someone closer to home?

I have a photocard license, yes. Thrifty couldn't confirm 100% what was shown though, she said they only have what was entered onto the system at the time of the rental, not any documentation that was provided (as they destroy them when the car is returned, for GDPR reasons). The number of the license used was from the license I had in 2016 when I lived briefly at my mum's in the Midlands after my wife and I returend from living abroard for three years. That was the number used in August 2019 according to Thrifty.

I moved to West Sussex in May 2016, notified DVLA at the time and destroyed my old license when I got the new one (I prefer to destroy them myself rather than post them back to DVLA). I then changed address again two years ago, still in West Sussex.

So the address used when the car was rented in August 2019 from Thrifty was my mother's address (where she has been for 20+ years) and using a driving license number that I had destroyed in 2016 when I recieved my replacement with my West Sussex address.

I've also never take my driving license out with me, it's always kept in a tin at hom with my passport, no way anyone could have 'borrowed' it, certainly not have borrowed it in 2016, copied it (as I destroyed it in 2016) and used it now.

xlnc99 wrote: »

This has to be an inside job as its impossible to rent a car to someone else.

First you need a credit/debit card payment by the person who is renting the car. Either the deposit or car rental money. One of them has to be your own card. Second you need proof of ID at the pick up which includes driving licence and paper id such as bills from your address. They will check the licence to see ifs real. Third you need a DVLA code which only you can get and that requires your national insurance number to hand over to the rental company.

So all in all its impossible for someone to casually just do this. Its an inside job from thrifty or its you but you just have forgotten. No other explanation.

There's no way it was me. We rented from Thrifty for a few months when we came back the UK in April 2016 but after we bought my wife's car in September 2016 (and I bought one in July 2017). We also had a baby in June 2017 and neither us have hired or driven any other cars since we bought my wife's; we've not needed to, plus we've always needed our car seat. 100% not something I have forgotten. We also only go up to the Midlands to see family half a dozen times a year, always in my wife's car (as mine it too small for all the toddler stuff we need for an overnight).

So do you think I should make an official complaint to Thrifty (branch or head office?) and ask them to do the DSAR and also fully investigate what has happened, including;
- fully details of all information held about me
- what documentation and information was taken at the time of booking
- details of the gov.uk license check provided
- what payment details were taken and trace back with bank to clarify who's account paid for it
- examine all the paperwork relating to the rentals (the lady in their head office said that Thrifty had paid three LA PCNs because some of the paperwork was missing!)
- if they have CCTV footage from the branch showing the person taking the rentals
- which member of staff took the bookings - I bit of a stab in the dark, but could it have been a school holiday temp doing it with a mate who has a stolen card?

Ben8282 wrote: »

It defies belief that somebody would have forged the necessary documents to enable this car rental to have taken place. For what purpose? Presumably they returned the cars and the bills were paid, so why bother? No sense. It also defies belief that the car rental company has no proper records of how the rentals were paid and that they should have destroyed their copies of documents so soon.

The only reason I can think of is my last point above; maybe a dodgy member of staff gives his/her mates free rentals using names from the system and doesn't do all the paperwork properly and no one usually notices, but because they got a parking charge it's come up? I don't know. I kind of hope that would be the reason, as at least then it would mean they used my identity but don't neccessarily have anything else relating to me.

Having said that, I genuinely don't see how anyone can have my ID as I am very careful with it and destoy anything with our names/address on. The only time is if I've had to use ID for something, but that's rare, and the Thrifty rentals were one of the only times I can recall having used any ID for a long time (other than when we bought our house, and I kind of trust our solicitor!)

Ms_Chocaholic

I presume you won't have any ID that links you to your mum's address at the time of the rental, ie bank statement/utility bell as all these in your name would be for your home in Sussex and all your mum's would be in her name.