PURLEASE HELP - advice sought re: fraudulent loan

[lois]

Hiya guys

hope you are all well.

this is a general question that I hope some of you bods might be able to help me out with, it concerns a very good friend of mine. Its a long story. but briefly, the details are as follows:

(a) my friend writes a cheque out for £100.00 for his son as a birthday present. His son tells his mother (my friend's now ex-wife), she says 'thats nice dear, let me see?'

(b) she then promptly copies the account details from the bottom of the cheque, and then manages (obviously without my friend knowing) to take out a loan to the tune of £23,000.00 with the bank in his name.

(c) the bank insist my friend is liable and he has to repay the loan.

Now, my question guys is, I am sure that my friend would not liable for this loan, he hasn't signed anything and she has acted fraudulently by taking a loan out in his name and lord only knows how she has managed it (frankly, just thinking about how easy this has been for her to do, scares me!).

However, the bank insist that he is liable for this amount and the poor guy is now paying a monthly amount of £150.00 over the next god knows how many years to pay the debt off.

The bank is taking her to Court for fraud but they are insisting he still remains liable as the loan is in his name and was applied for with his bank account information.

Any ideas ? Anything would be hugely appreciated. I so feel for the poor guy, but I'm sure that the banking code protects consumers from this type of fraud doesn't it?

Any pointers, help, assistance, etc, would be fantastic,

thanks guys

lois xx

	The Banking Code Follow this link to read the Banking Code in full. Ofen ignored by its subscribers, half-heartedly monitored and poorly enforced

[cumbria123]

If he didn`t sign up for it, and it was fraudulent, as you say, then he should not be paying for it. He should stop paying it, as it his not his to pay off. Let the bank try to take him to court, if he is confident he didn`t take out the loan, then he has nothing to fear.

[lickthewallfatboy]

I'm no expert,but I think your friend should push the bank as far as court,and also take his ex wife for what effectively obtaining money by deception,and theft from him in respect of having to pay back something which isn't anything to do with him.

just my opinion.....seek legal advice!!

[lois]

thanks for this.

the thing that I think concerns him the most though, if we do push the bank to take him to Court, how does this affect his credit rating?

I am guessing that we should write to the bank saying that the entire amount is in dispute because the loan was never applied for by him and was fraudulently obtained. Am I right in thinking that this then prevents the bank from referring the matter any further i.e. debt collection agency, because the amount is in dispute?

I just basically want to bat it straight back to the bank, honestly, they have been SO unhelpful its not even funny ...

any thoughts?

lois xx

	Debt collection library Follow this link to our debt collection library. This library contains templates and advice for dealing with debt collectors who act oppressively or unfairly. This library is work in progress and will be built up over the next few weeks. 17.03.09

[gizmo111]

I am no legal expert but I think I would get a copy of agreement, stop paying and seek legal advice, and claim any costs from the bank. I would also move my account elsewhere - surely the bank have a duty of care? Was this done through the post and BTW which bank?

[lickthewallfatboy]

Originally Posted by lois

thanks for this.

the thing that I think concerns him the most though, if we do push the bank to take him to Court, how does this affect his credit rating?

I am guessing that we should write to the bank saying that the entire amount is in dispute because the loan was never applied for by him and was fraudulently obtained. Am I right in thinking that this then prevents the bank from referring the matter any further i.e. debt collection agency, because the amount is in dispute?

I just basically want to bat it straight back to the bank, honestly, they have been SO unhelpful its not even funny ...

any thoughts?

lois xx

Lois-I think maybe you took me up wrong.I think HE should think about ultimately taking the bank to court-he should be taking the fight to them and stop letting them make all the running.When you start issuing thinly veiled threats of legal involvement,it can have the effect of making people sit sit up and take a little more notice than they would otherwise have done.

A good solicitor specialising in financial matters is called for here I think.....

	Debt collection library Follow this link to our debt collection library. This library contains templates and advice for dealing with debt collectors who act oppressively or unfairly. This library is work in progress and will be built up over the next few weeks. 17.03.09

[lickthewallfatboy]

just had a thought-this doesn't say much for the bank's anti money laundering safeguards and procedures,does it?Anyone could get someone's account details and just walk in and get a colossal loan?

Perhaps this could be dropped into the mix......

[cumbria123]

I agree, stop paying and dispute the amount, get a new account elsewhere, and inform the bank you would like all the money paid so far returned.

[Karnevil]

maybe a CCA letter asking for a copy of the original agreement would help ?

I dont see how on earth the bank can expect him to pay back the loan if they are taking this woman to court for fraud over it.....

found this on the equifax site.

Keep a record. Because recovering from identity theft can be a long and complicated process, it's important to keep a record of all communications. Send all letters by registered mail and keep copies. If you think your case might lead to a lawsuit, keep track of how much time you spend dealing with the problem.
Call the police. Report the crime to the police department that has jurisdiction in your case and request a police report. Though the authorities are often unable to help, a report may be necessary to help convince creditors that someone else has opened an account in your name.
Protective Registration from CIFAS. Contact CIFAS, the UK's Fraud Prevention Service, and file a Protective Registration notice on your credit file. This will flag to potential lenders that you have been a victim of identity fraud and greater security measures will be taken to ensure that the application for credit is genuine.
Check your credit report. Order your credit report and check for any new accounts opened in your name. Because new accounts may take up to six months to show up on the report, continue to monitor your credit report.
Freeze fraudulent accounts. Contact the appropriate creditors, banks, phone companies, and utility companies and have them freeze the accounts. You may be liable for only £50 of the fraudulent charges, but different issuers have different policies. Most creditors promptly issue replacement cards with new account numbers.

	Identity theft Follow this link to read the review of Lawpack's Identity Theft kit. What can you do to stop identity theft and identity fraud from happening? Written by an identity theft prevention expert.

	Credit Report Click link to open in new window.

[barney2002]

Sounds like a nightmare!!. If it was me I would demand to see a copy of the 'signed' agreement. I would call the police (if this has not already been done) and stop any payments to the bank until a full investigation has been carried out.

Surely the bank would need to see original ID (passport or D/L) and address documents (utility bill etc) for a loan, I know I had to get them when I sold finance on cars and have done so on every loan I have ever had even if I banked with them.

This could put the bank in a very vulnerable position if the loan was so easy to obtain (as it sounds). You could take them to the cleaners if procedures have not been followed.

Seek proper legal advice or contact the CAB for free.

Best of luck!

[blacksheep1979]

Erm just a thought here - call the police? It is a criminal matter and if they can prove a case against her then the bank will surely follow suit. The police will get her financial records and see the money went to her and bang - she's in a whole world of trouble.

[MCKENNARISE]

What a position to be in, my heart does indeed go out to you.

You get some good advice on this forum. To be honest i would consult a good solicitor who is gonna act in your best interests. In this case i believe you seek a considerable amount of compensation, costs etc. Its only fair, and before someone says it, don;'t feel bad taking as much as you can from them. Its the banks fault not yours. From what i can gather they did nothing to sort this out. Just wanted the money from anyone who they could bully into paying.
I would imagine this has caused you a great deal of stress and inconvenience.
Also don't worry to much about your credit file. As the loan isn't yours there should be no effect on your credit file. It may take a while but you will be able to get it sorted in time, also bring your credit file back up to date. But all the best of luck.

	Credit Report Click link to open in new window.

[thecornflake]

Requesting a copy of the agreement under the CCA should be the first thing to do, as if this is not correct then the loan is unenforceable anyway.

And yes, contact the police as stated above. Once you have a crime reference contact the bank to let them know the loan is the subject of a criminal investigation and they may halt the payments until it is resolved. I know they have to do this in certain circumstances but I'm not sure whether it applies here or not.

[purplefile]

As for your friends credit rating this may well be adversley effected as CIFAS markers are supposed to reported on all files of fraud victims.

The CIFAS site states that they do not restrict the victim from further credit, however as these markers stop any automated credit scoring system from giving a positive result so future credit is a complicated and time consuming process of getting your applications manually scored.

However this case reeks of complete negligence on the banks part and your friend should definatly be on the attack not the defence.

[barney2002]

Lois - just wondering how you are getting on. Seems to be a lot of positive advice from the forum - have you actioned anything yet??

[Andy999]

I suspect that the friend's ex-wife got the loan by phoning up (so no need for ID) and answering the usual security questions such as date of birth, mother's maiden name. I would strongly recommend making a Data Protection Act request for all information to do with the loan, including recordings (not transcripts) of any telephone conversations that exist. This may help to identify the person who took the loan out. If it was actually taken out in a branch, then depending on how long ago it was, make a request under the Data Protection Act for copies of the CCTV.

Be sure to find out how the loan was drawn down (ie was it paid into an account or taken as a cheque/cash) and request copies of all relevent documentation (such as a withdrawel slip or copies of any cheques).

If your friend can't afford a solicitor, he needs to go to the CAB as soon as possible.