Fraudulent name use for catalogues what will happen?

[LazyLinePainterJane]

Have recently discovered that the new tenants of the last house I rented have used my name to get catalogues and run up debts. At first, it seemed like there was just one, the debt collectors found me through the electoral roll at my new address and I sorted it all out with them, the debt went back to the catalogue as fraud.

I thought that was that. Foolish.

Turns out, the new tenants have just been evicted after all sorts of shenanigans and there is another (that I know of) debt that has gone further than that and I have a letter sent to the old address saying that I now have a CCJ in my name for the debt. I called the solicitors dealing with the debt and they seemed unimpressed and didn't believe me (which I can understand). They say I need to see the police (crime ref number) which I am about to do and that they will investigate for fraud (hmmm worth it for £600?).

What I want to know is, has anyone else experienced this? How easy will it be to make the solicitors believe me? How will I get the CCj off my credit record?

I registered with Equifax today and there is no record of any CCJ's or court issues on my account!?

Sorry for rambling, have no idea what is going on!

It's a case of identity theft.
Look it up on the net or go to Citizen's advice, I think which? has a good section online.
You need to act quickly, what they have done is criminal and you will need to follow it up and correct your credit rating. They will investigate as these people have likely done it before and will again

Right, it seems that there is no CCJ yet, there will be by the end of the month unless I pay in full

I went to the police station and they said that as I personally had not lost any money I should get in touch with the Catalogue company who should sort it out.

Just feel like I am being passed from pillar to post by people who don't give a shit.

I shall call Littlewoods tomorrow and see what they say. Sigh.

thanks miggsie.

I know that there is a company who will flag your credit report so that everything is double checked should anyone apply for credit for a fee, it seems that this is linked to your address though.

Anyone know if I can do anything similar for just my name?

I have had this happen to me Twice - I got this resolved by sending the debt collection agency a copy of my passport, this was to show my date of birth ( this didnt match what the tenants used) and also copies of utility bills showing i wasnt living there at the time. I still have one ongoing and receive a letter every month saying they are looking into it !! . I do have trouble getting credit and do need to sort it out with equifax but may have to wait untill this one is sorted.
It makes me so mad that people like this are out there

I know chester. It sounds silly but would be happier if they had ripped me off for thousands, like I had been done by a professional, IYSWIM, not just someone taking a few hundred quid on the catalogues. Who knows what else she has taken out in my name.

Was thinking about speaking to royal mail about the fact that she has technically been stealing my mail (well, it does have my name on it after all)...have you thought about that?

Police are being shitty - you HAVE lost money, £600 to be precise. Just because it's possible to sort it out with the creditor, doesn't make it any less fraudulent and criminal.

Try CAB, btw.

Thanks edam, was thinking about that. Does it matter that technically I have had no money taken from me, but that I owe the money, IYSWIM?

I had this problem several years ago. I went to the police and made a statement, I was given a crim reference number. I then had to obtain confirmation that I had moved house (utility bill and details from my insurance company as to my name and address). I then did a credit search with each of the credit reference agencies and contacted all of the companies that were involved. My dad had a CCJ, he had to contact the court which gave 'him' the CCJ with the crime reference number etc. Eventually our files were cleared. It took a couple of months to sort out.

Contact the CAB if you need some help with this.

I don't see why it should matter in the least that you had no 'real' money taken - I was never out of pocket when my credit card was cloned, as the card company wrote it off before I was due to pay my balance, the police still treated it as a crime.

I had this happen to me. Was grattan. I got the bill for 2 camcorders in my redirected mail. They got the camcorders as the courier delivered directly to them. Like ALife had to provide evidence of moving.

Thanks all, am dealing with it today. Urgh. Am fed up of this.

I think you should be wary of contacting the Royal Mail and claiming that your mail has been stolen. You don't want any misunderstandings about whether the debt does ACTUALLY belong to you. THey have stolen your identity, not your mail.
What a horrible pain to have to sort this out.