Retailer won’t close fraudulent account

nhoneymon

Hoping someone can offer advice.  Someone has used my details to set up an online account with a retailer (Just My Look).  They used my name,  address and email and placed an order to be sent to an alternative address.  I believe they must have hacked my email, as they were also able to use stored card details on a pay app, and would have needed the verification code to complete the purchase.

I have hopefully secured the payment app and email account now, but I’m having difficulty getting the retailer to close down the account.  I have explained that it was set up fraudulently using my details, I was told it would be dealt with if I replied to their email with a few details, but all I got was a response saying they couldn’t delete the account as they needed to keep the order details for 6 years for HMRC!  I don’t believe that they need to keep the account open in order to store the transaction details.  What they are suggesting would mean someone could keep running an account using my details for several years.

I have sent a complaint (they are only contactable online) but am unsure what the next course of action should be if they refuse to close the account.  An internet search suggests the Financial Ombudsman Service, but looking at their website I’m not sure it’s the type of complaint they deal with.

user1977

Is there possibly confusion between "close" and "delete"? They can stop access to the account but it's legitimate for them to keep records. 

nhoneymon

Possibly.  I asked for the account to be closed but they used the word delete.  Hopefully the next reply will be a bit more helpful.  Live chat were no help as they just referred me to the email thread, so I am yet again waiting for an email response.

Ergates

nhoneymon said:

Possibly.  I asked for the account to be closed but they used the word delete.  Hopefully the next reply will be a bit more helpful.  Live chat were no help as they just referred me to the email thread, so I am yet again waiting for an email response.

Agree with user1977 - they've gotten confused.   You're not asking them to remove the data, just to inactivate/block the account.

nhoneymon

I do get the impression that when the enquiry is passed from one department to another they don’t bother reading the previous comments.