Sky Account Fraudulently Taken Out, Advice Please

Mylo0811

Sorry if this is not posted in the correct section.
My partner's mother has taken out multiple credit accounts ion her children's names without their consent or knowledge.
I'm having great difficulty with Sky, she has ran up over £3,000 in debt with sky on internet, TV, phone and iPad contracts! We have only today found out about the Sky only because she's moved out of the property so we've found the letters she's been hiding.

I've reported this to action fraud, but all I received was an email saying it's not a crime and basically they're doing nothing. I phoned sky and they won't do anything until the police contact them. I phoned 101 and she said Sky should close the account and it's they who should follow up with the police. Please help! I'm at a loss.

MinuteNoodles

The people who are directly affected need to be reporting it to the police, not you. They need to be contacting the credit accounts and filing the dispute. This is probably why you're not getting anywhere.

Mylo0811

MinuteNoodles said:

The people who are directly affected need to be reporting it to the police, not you. They need to be contacting the credit accounts and filing the dispute. This is probably why you're not getting anywhere.

They have directly reported it. I'm here with them, still getting nowhere. Action fraud say it's not a crime and Sky say they need the police involved.

Durban

If she has taken out accounts in her children's names without them knowing then it is fraud.
Contact 101 and if they refuse to take it on, make a formal complaint.
Fraud is a crime

sourcrates

This kind of thing, for legal reasons, is best reported in writing, not over the phone to a call handler who only knows what their screen is telling them.

Action Fraud are useless, and so is the mechanism for reporting such things, i`m afraid you will have to dispute each account in turn, as and when the creditors attempt collection of the debts, that may mean defending court claims, and there will be a lot of letter tennis to be played.

In the end, you say one thing, they say another, only a court can decide who is guilty, and who pays what.

Hopefully it won`t get to that stage, but don`t expect this to be easy, just keep denying the debt, and provide as much evidence to back up your claims as you can.

SnowTiger

I think Action Fraud is little more than a wastepaper basket, which was set up to keep crime statics down.

I think what OP describes is identity fraud, which is described on Action Fraud's website: https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/a-z-of-fraud/identity-fraud-and-identity-theft.. The relevant page contains this:  

• If you believe you’re a victim of identity fraud involving plastic cards (e.g. credit and debit cards), online banking or cheques, you must report it to your bank as soon as possible. Your bank will then be responsible for investigating the issue and they will report any case of criminal activity to the police. The police will then record your case and decide whether to carry out follow-up investigations.
   
• If you think you’re a victim of another kind of identity fraud, you must report the matter to the relevant organisation. Depending on their advice, you should then alert your local police force.

Concerning the Sky fraud: to me it appears the advice from Action Fraud is to report it to Sky and follow their advice.  Sky's advice is that it should be reported to the police. Action Fraud's advice is that you should 'alert your local police force.'

I suspect local bobbies would shoo you away and tell you to contact Action Fraud.  Action Fraud would send you to Sky.  Sky would send you to the police.  Repeat.

All a bit of a mess really.

JonVarnas

How's she managed to rack up £3K with Sky? Definitely fraud, but I'm surprised that Sky let it carry on without sussing something dodgy was happening.

[Deleted User]

I would have expected Sky to close the account down within a month or two of non payment so no further debt would accrue.    

DCFC79

Not sure what you were expecting Action Fraud to do but they just log the calls for stats.

Im intrigued to know what bank accounts were used for the subscriptions, did the OP use her own account or accounts of her children ? 

SnowTiger

deannatrois said:

I would have expected Sky to close the account down within a month or two of non payment so no further debt would accrue.    

Sky contracts (usually) come with a minimum contract length.

According to Sky's website its most expensive contract seems to cost £100 (currently reduced to £73) a month for a minimum of 18 months, with a £39.95 set up fee.  Then there's extras that can be added: Netflix, Disney+, HD, Multiscreen, etc.  If someone took everything it would cost well over £100/month even with the £27/month discount.

Apple iPad Pro 4 on contract can cost £34 a month on a 36 minimum term contract.

Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max (512Gbytes) can cost £76 a month on a 24 month contract, plus £99 upfront.

Basically, if someone opted for top of the range stuff from Sky they could end up paying well over £200 a month.

If they made payments for a few months before defaulting, it's easy to see how they could end up owing over three grand.

Mylo0811

Bit of an update. We fought long and hard to get this sorted and Sky eventually backed down, and wiped the reports from her credit file.

Sadly, the horrendous human being, that is my other half’s mother has taken fraudulent accounts out in many of her 11 children’s names. Even her own 80+ mother. Action Fraud and police not interested. I can’t help them fight anymore of these battles as it was such a stressful process.