Identity theft - what rights do I have to orders made in my name

saveusfromuniqueusernames

Hello everyone, I received a letter this morning from a company I'd never heard of saying my order had been cancelled. I assumed that someone had used my details to create an account and must have used a different address for the delivery address on the order. I rang the company (JD Williams clothing) to get that information to inform the police and ensure no card details had been compromised. I hasten to add I looked up the phone number elsewhere rather than relying on anything in the letter. To say they were reluctant to help is an understatement. Initially they said no delivery address was used when the order was placed, but when I pushed them on how could an order possibly be made without a delivery address they said there was a delivery address but as I didn't open the account (the fraudster did) they could not share that information with me. As I had to give my date of birth even to speak to someone clearly means this information had been used to create an account as well. To say getting any information out of them was like getting blood out of a stone is an understatement. The best I could get was that they would do an internal investigation and may advise me of the results in up to 60 days. Is this really how it works in this country? I (hopefully) haven't suffered any loss, but it's really no wonder crime is out of control if this is how companies respond. Do I have any right to demand they divulge information about things ordered and credit accounts being created in my name and with my address and date of birth?

born_again

No, as the account is not yours. Sad but true.

Time to check you bank account for unrecognised spending & credit reports to see what credit has been taken out. 👍

Hoenir

Good of them to inform you that your personal details are out in the big wide world. they could have simply not told you at all. 

Aylesbury_Duck

saveusfromuniqueusernames said:

Hello everyone, I received a letter this morning from a company I'd never heard of saying my order had been cancelled. I assumed that someone had used my details to create an account and must have used a different address for the delivery address on the order. I rang the company (JD Williams clothing) to get that information to inform the police and ensure no card details had been compromised. I hasten to add I looked up the phone number elsewhere rather than relying on anything in the letter. To say they were reluctant to help is an understatement. Initially they said no delivery address was used when the order was placed, but when I pushed them on how could an order possibly be made without a delivery address they said there was a delivery address but as I didn't open the account (the fraudster did) they could not share that information with me. As I had to give my date of birth even to speak to someone clearly means this information had been used to create an account as well. To say getting any information out of them was like getting blood out of a stone is an understatement. The best I could get was that they would do an internal investigation and may advise me of the results in up to 60 days. Is this really how it works in this country? I (hopefully) haven't suffered any loss, but it's really no wonder crime is out of control if this is how companies respond. Do I have any right to demand they divulge information about things ordered and credit accounts being created in my name and with my address and date of birth?

What else do you expect them to do?  They should investigate it, they should do so with care and that will take a little time. 

Look at this from the other end of the telescope:  They need to establish whether the original order was the genuine one and if it's you who's the fraudster fishing for information on a genuine customer.  Giving you a load of information about what was ordered using what credit accounts with what you've told them is your name, address and DOB would be negligent of them.  They could simply be giving a fraudster a load of corroborating information with which to conduct fraud elsewhere.

sheramber

I wound have thought they would send an email rather than a letter.

Robin9

I think you should be thanking JD Williams  -  their systems have smelt a rat

Follow the advice of @born_again Time to check your bank account for unrecognised spending & credit reports to see what credit has been taken out.

prettyandfluffy

If you are or think you are the victim of identity theft, I strongly recommend locking your credit files to avoid credit being obtained in your name.  This isn't always free but it saves a lot of hassle.

Silvertabby

Some time ago, hubby's Barclaycard was compromised.  Barclay's spotted it almost straight away (the test purchase of £2 must have triggered something, although they wouldn't say more).  However, they did confirm that they had blocked an attempted purchase for several £100s of pounds from a Curry's Store in London.

So far, so good - then we received a letter from Curry's saying that our card had 'failed' and asking for payment by other means.  They would then deliver the goods to 1 XX Avenue London XX........   

Don't know what the eventual outcome was,   

saveusfromuniqueusernames

I do want to stress that I did express my gratitude for not processing the order and sending the letter when speaking to the customer service person at the company, and it was not a argumentative call. My issue is when being put through to their fraud department why they could not be more helpful. I'm not sure why, when they've contacted me about an account set up in my name, cannot tell me where the goods were to be delivered. That would at least indicate if it is someone local or known to me that is using my details. I'm not quite sure how the fraudster would gain more information by ringing up about an account that they themselves have created without my knowledge, but I'll leave that alone. Oh well, the general consensus is that I just have to accept people using my details, and that's the way this country is. Bye.

Ergates

saveusfromuniqueusernames said:

My issue is when being put through to their fraud department why they could not be more helpful. I'm not sure why, when they've contacted me about an account set up in my name, cannot tell me where the goods were to be delivered. That would at least indicate if it is someone local or known to me that is using my details. I'm not quite sure how the fraudster would gain more information by ringing up about an account that they themselves have created without my knowledge, but I'll leave that alone. Oh well, the general consensus is that I just have to accept people using my details, and that's the way this country is. Bye.

Essentially:
a)  *You* are not a victim of fraud here, they are.
b) Even criminals are protected by data protection laws.

Aylesbury_Duck

saveusfromuniqueusernames said:

I do want to stress that I did express my gratitude for not processing the order and sending the letter when speaking to the customer service person at the company, and it was not a argumentative call. My issue is when being put through to their fraud department why they could not be more helpful. I'm not sure why, when they've contacted me about an account set up in my name, cannot tell me where the goods were to be delivered. That would at least indicate if it is someone local or known to me that is using my details. I'm not quite sure how the fraudster would gain more information by ringing up about an account that they themselves have created without my knowledge, but I'll leave that alone. Oh well, the general consensus is that I just have to accept people using my details, and that's the way this country is. Bye.

They couldn't, because the way that JD Williams handled your call was correct.  If you were the fraudster, it would be negligent of them to have given you a load of information you asked for just because you claimed to be the genuine occupant at the address where the goods were originally going to be sent.

I don't know why you seem to think "that's the way this country is".  That's a bizarre take on the situation.  To date, the only details someone appears to have used is your address, and that doesn't belong to you, anyway.

Given that you have no idea what exactly has gone on, or who the perpetrator is, your priority must be to follow the good advice given here and ensure your personal details are secured.  Changing any passwords you think might have been compromised and ensuring MFA is turned on would be a good start, as well as keeping a close eye on bank and card statements.  Shrugging your shoulders at the good advice given and flouncing off is not the best idea.