To be worried about this

[user1475530483]

I have name changed for this.
We have a live in Nanny who we really love and has been with us almost 2 years. We consider her part of the family, have taken her overseas with us, paying for her to go to her home country for 3 weeks (paid) over xmas etc, paying for her to learn to drive etc. generally think we treat her well and like a family member. She has been amazing to us also and I have trusted and relied on her like a family member.

So tonight i come home and open a letter which was declining me for a credit card application that I didn't apply for.

I immediately called the provider the letter was from to find out about it. I didnt get much information because they told me "as it was declined the application was wiped" however the person on the phone had enough info about the application to then ask me "do you know someone by the name of (Nannys Name) because the application was made by her"
Lady on the phone was quite cagey and wouldnt give much info but said that i was put down as an employer on nannys credit card application,.
i immediately checked my credit rating which appears to have been affected by this "hard enquiry" by this credit card place.

Afterwards I spoke with a friend who works at a bank to ask how this could happen - she said it is possible that I was listed as a co-applicant.

What I dont understand is even if she unknowingly added me as a co applicant - how did they do a credit check on me (which has affected my credit ) without my permission or knowledge?

My husband says she must have been approached by one of those sharky credit card pushers and likely didnt really know what she was filling out. But I have a really sick feeling about it to be honest. How would they be able to do a credit check on me? The letter declining me came to ME - as if I was the applicant. It is all extremely weird.

Is there a logical and innocent explanation for this ? Or should I be concerned that someone I trust isnt who I think they are ?

I believe that cc companies can run checks on everyone at the same address?? I may be wrong but I think I've heard of people getting poor credit ratings as other people in the house have run up debts.

OP most of us are in the UK and we speak from a UK perspective. Procedures can be different in other countries so you really should have mentioned that important fact!

I know Charles I’m trying not to be so jaded to think that but obviously I’ve posted here as it’s freaked me out. I’ve been v trusting in the past to my detriment
I’d really hate for this to be the case however and I’d be totally blindsided and surprised if it was
I’ll go with benefit of the doubt for now and try and work out what’s happened

Yes they DID but you’d have passed as an individual - they credit checked you as a ‘couple’ - as providing a company card or a close family additional card

And you failed because she’s not family, and they don’t do company cards

They’ve made a mistake, she’s filled it in wrong

You can also have this removed from your file by the way

Sorry Charles didn’t think to mention as I’m from the uk and work for a British company overseas so figured I was pretty up to date with the norm- I don’t think it changes anything does it ?

I’ve worked in banking and financial services.

I do not for one minute believe they offered her name. That would have breached all confidentiality and security.

Cauliflower / I’m not sure what point you’re making but - they did tell me . I have no idea how to back that up - I don’t work for a bank so don’t know what’s right or wrong
For relevance this wasn’t a bank but a financial services arm of a national retailer if that makes sense

laurie i see what you're getting at but the nanny didn't apply for a company card she's applied for a personal card and put her employment status as employed and, i imagine, therefore had to put the name and address of her employers.

That's neither a company card nor a family application.

I need to stop replying. Cauli but the OP was calling about an application she supposedly made. Why wouldn't the bank be able to repeat back the information she (OP) apparently gave them in the first place?

OP I would just ask her.

Charles don’t stop you’re explaining better than me !! Thank u

That’s impossible Laiste

You can only get turned down in this way and credit checked if nanny put her as PRIMARY cardholder

That’s the ONLY way this makes sense

Like Toys R Us or Victorias's Secret. They both do credit cards iirc.

Could be someone frauding you AND the nanny. Dh and I were victims of identify theft as a couple. Someone tried to take out a payday loan in both our names. When we got the letter through we called and they told us the person had applied at a branch close to our house, therefore probably known to us. Horrible thing to happen and we are distrustful of everyone now, unfortunately.

Laurie you’re scaring me a bit. Can I ask how you know all this are you in the industry ? What do you advise I do ?

She would have been asked, as a security question, to verify other names on the application. She wouldn’t have been told “do you know anyone of the name of Sarah Jones” as that breaches Sarah Jones’ confidentiality. Given that she had told them by that stage that she didn’t make the application then it should/would have been moved to the fraud department for their investigation.

*Disclaimer: all my experience is within the UK.

But the OP says the company told her on the phone that ''the application was made by her [the nanny]. Lady on the phone was quite cagey and wouldnt give much info but said that i was put down as an employer on nannys credit card application''

Why wouldn't the woman on the phone just say the main applicant was the OPs if that's what the nanny really did?

You're not in the UK now or you don't live in the UK?

I was going to ask earlier as you were posting in the middle of our night but didn't want to be accused of troll hunting.

My posts have been made assuming you and nanny were in the UK applying to a UK credit card company and I think others were doing the same.

Maybe we could be more helpful if we knew which country this all happened in.

I mean the woman on the phone knows nothing about who anyone is but managed to state correctly that OP was the employer. That info was given by the nanny and it's correct.

Did you ask on the phone OP why they credit checked you as an employer? Could you just ring back and ask that?

In terms of credit cards do you get joint applications where you are? In the uk it’s more usual to have one main applicant who holds all the liability and anyone else is just a card holder.

It’s not like loans or even current accounts.

Whoever said they credit check everyone at an address is totally incorrect, they need consent to run a credit check and only do it on the actual applicant.

Further if this application has left a footprint on your file you are fully entitled to have it removed.

Cauliflower I don’t deny it was a bit of a weird convo it went like this almost verbatim
Me “hello I’ve got a letter here from you declining me for a card I didn’t apply for”
Her “oh dear that’s not good - good thing it was declined I guess”

• she asked my name a phone number. When there was a long pause after the phone number I pointed out that they may not have that in there system if it wasn’t me that applied!

Then she came back and asked my employer I was a bit hesitant as am paranoid about phishing cons but I had checked the phone number on the letter with that on the website. When I told them she said I’ll put you through to security dept

Shortly after she came back and said they’d all gone for the night but they’d told her to tell me (yes for real!) that I should call both credit agencies and gave me their numbers

Then she said “but I suppose you don’t know anyone by the name of ( nanny’s name) and I said yes and she said “well she’s the applicant and you’re added as the employer”
But when I then tried to question more she told me that the application was wiped when it was declined so she couldn’t tell me anything more

Pretty dodgy right

Ok, you’re right - 2 possibilities

1. OP has been put as PRIMARY cardholder - therefore then credit checked (fails because of no relationship with nanny/they don’t do employee/employee cards)

1. MUCH less likely. They’ve credit checked her illegally. Nanny applied for normal credit card and they credit checked her employer ?!? And then wrote to employer saying SHE had been turned down. You said it was a shopping credit card - M and S and Tesco follow the same rules and have established financial arms.

Bottom line - they check people who APPLY for credit cards not random names on the application (unless it’s a human mistake - very unlikely, there will be processes)

Nope. I call bullshit.

I’m out.

Sandy I’m in canada so I’m a whole behind in fact if I disappear for a while don’t think I’m a troll I’m just going to sleep! Appreciate the insight I’m going to dig deeper tomorrow and I’ll report back