Identity fraud on credit report

[Hampton46]

Thanks for letting me join ,
Recently I discovered quite a lot of fraudulent accounts ie credit cards , catalogues on my credit report , all in default and passed to debt collection agencies
These are in my name but the address is different , I’ve never heard of it but it’s now linked to me on the credit report
I immediately reported it to action fraud and contacted the companies involved and explained
One company was excellent and removed the details from my credit report
Most companies though feel like I’ve been made to jump through hoops to prove this is not me , I’ve provided council tax bills in my name proving I didn’t live at the unknown address , they have now gone off to investigate and I haven’t heard anything
A company called link financial has not responded at all to any of my emails
So where do I turn next ? What do I do if the investigation isn’t successful
Not sure where to turn now to unravel this mess
I can’t sleep at night or concentrate on anything , it’s all moving painfully slow
Many thanks for any help x

[Joanna Connolly Solicitors]

Recently I discovered quite a lot of fraudulent accounts ie credit cards , catalogues on my credit report , all in default and passed to debt collection agencies
. . .
So where do I turn next ? What do I do if the investigation isn’t successful
Not sure where to turn now to unravel this mess
I can’t sleep at night or concentrate on anything , it’s all moving painfully slow x

Hello

Being the victim of identity theft is very distressing.

It can feel personal since it’s your identity which is being put under the microscope. Understandably you feel ‘on trial’ when in fact that may be one way to clear your name.

When did these potentially fraudulent accounts start to appear on your credit file, and how did you learn about them? For example when you made a routine check of your file or when you were refused credit due to the Defaults etc?

Di

[Hampton46]

Many thanks for replying , I have rarely used credit in my life and not really had a need to check any credit score
I was first alerted to any problem when my mortgage ran out and I was rejected from lenders which has never happened before
I signed up for check my file which shows the full credit report and to my horror there are quite a few credit cards and catalogues in my name but not my address
as I said , I reported it to police and contacted the companies involved
these accounts were defaulted in 2019

[Joanna Connolly Solicitors]

I was first alerted to any problem when my mortgage ran out and I was rejected from lenders which has never happened before
I signed up for check my file which shows the full credit report and to my horror there are quite a few credit cards and catalogues in my name but not my address
as I said , I reported it to police and contacted the companies involved
these accounts were defaulted in 2019

This situation is not just an annoyance, it has had a detrimental effect on your ability to remortgage when you needed to.

When you say your mortgage "ran out" do you mean the original term expired (I think that's what you're saying)? If so have you been able to extend the term while this gets sorted?

In some circumstances a Credit Reference Agency can add a Notice of Correction to your file where you explain what really happened and why. This interrupts automated credit scoring by a lender who will then be referred to manually viewing your file (and see the NOC).

This is explained by Experian here > https://www.experian.co.uk/consumer/...g%20repayments.

Di

[Hampton46]

Yes the mortgage came to an end , I actually stayed with same mortgage provider for another 5 years because they didn’t need a credit check because I was already with them
what else can I do to clear up my credit score and get rid of this fraudulent debt ?

[Joanna Connolly Solicitors]

These are in my name but the address is different , I’ve never heard of it but it’s now linked to me on the credit report
I immediately reported it to action fraud and contacted the companies involved and explained

. . . I’ve been made to jump through hoops to prove this is not me , I’ve provided council tax bills in my name proving I didn’t live at the unknown address , they have now gone off to investigate and I haven’t heard anything

. . . So where do I turn next ? What do I do if the investigation isn’t successful
Not sure where to turn now to unravel this mess
I can’t sleep at night or concentrate on anything , it’s all moving painfully slow

Maybe you'd feel better if you do some of your own detective work to help with the investigation, and to help to tidy up the negatives such as rejected mortgage applications.

Do you have anything in writing from Action Fraud to prove that they are investigating? If so my suggestion of a Notice of Correction (see post #4) on your CRA file could be of benefit.

When you apply for credit there will be a search noted on your file. If that doesn't result in credit (a mortgage subsequently showing) anyone searching the file will presume you've been rejected. Multiple searches can be seen as a negative (assuming multiple rejections) but these 'searchers' won't know why you were rejected.

Also you may, further down the line, want a mortgage or loan etc from these lenders but at the moment that rejection may remain on their (lender) files. Were these mortgage applications made via a broker or directly to the lender? Perhaps they need to be told about the alleged fraud or at least when the outcome of the investigation is known.

Is the remortgage you did achieve with your current lender at a better or worse interest rate (APR) than any available from the mortgage businesses which rejected you?

Finally, do you have any idea why or how this person targeted you? Does the address they used give you any clues?

Di

[Hampton46]

My new mortgage deal is actually very good so I haven’t really lost out in any better deals
my main concern and why I have come to this forum is to get advice as to how to remove these debts , I have a case ref number from action fraud and have wrote to the companies that are owed money .what do I do if they reject my appeal to remove the debts ?
I have no idea who has done this