CIFAS - urgent help required!

[m2000]

SOS!!

 

I really hope someone can help here, I fear that my job could be on the line over this as I work in financial services and my employers do an annual credit check on me.

 

Basically I applied for a LLoyds current account and they accepted me, a few days later i recieved a letter saying the account had been blocked and my cards cancelled.

 

I was shocked and applied for my credit files to see what had happened, to find that Lloyds had placed a CIFAS (application fraud catagory) onto my equifax and experian files.

 

I am a totally honest person, never had any problems and have never lied or committed anything fraudulant! I am really upset over this as Lloyds are basiclaly implying that I am a fraudster!

 

I have sent them a letter and they have replied saying that the CIFAS will remain on my file as they feel that I committed application fraud! They say another address has been linked to someone of my name and that i failed to disclose this to them on the application. WHAT!!! I was totally honest and my credit files have no linked addresses on them, so I dont know where on earth they get this other address from!

 

I have sent them another letter denying their claims and explaining that apart from the CIFAS marker they have placed onto my files my credit history is clear! I have asked for the CIFAS to be removed and that I want the issue raised as a formal complaint.

 

My main concern is that this could cause me to lose my job, as I have an annual credit check done on me by my employer.

Don't know what to do, am worried sick!

 

Please, please help!!

 

Thanks M2000

[Jerry Dandrige]

Debt collection agencies linked me to other people with the same name too in the past, this is how I corrected it all.

 

Sign up to Experian Credit Expert, check credit rating, credit reports & file alerts - with Experian CreditExpert.co.uk they do a free trial, it will show you who created the incorrect address link. Check callcredit and equifax too.

 

You then write to the company that created the link, Special Delivery, demanding they correct it within 14 days with all agencies and ask for compensation for the trouble they have caused. Also dispute the entry with the credit reference agency.

 

If they do not reply send another letter Special Delivery with "LETTER BEFORE ACTION" on it with a copy of the first letter, advise them if it isn't corrected in 14 days you will commence proceedings.

 

If they still haven't removed it you can file with the court for an order to have them correct it. It will cost £150 but you get that back if it goes in your favor plus costs.

 

Usually they cave in before the hearing, remove the info and compensate you.

 

I'd then send all the info to Lloyds and ask them to remove the CIFAS info.

 

It's a bit of work I know but I don't see any easy way around it to achieve your objective efficiently.

[GuidoT]

You need your credit report to check what CIFAS category you are in and then take action accordingly.

 

I was a category 2 and it made no difference that I could see and the entry was removed after a year.

 

This is the wording from my credit report that explains more about CIFAS:

 

'CIFAS, the UK's Fraud Prevention Service, aims to detect and prevent fraud, in order to protect innocent people whose names, addresses, or other details, are used fraudulently by others in order to get credit. CIFAS member organisations include many types of financial service organisations such as Banks, Building Societies, Insurance Companies, Finance Houses, Mail Order and Telecommunication Companies. All member organisations share details of applications for products or services, which are believed to be fraudulent.When a CIFAS member organisation identifies a fraud, a warning is placed against the address or addresses linked to the application or account. The warning shows the name used on the application or account but this does not necessarily mean the person named is accused of fraud, as fraudsters tend to use a variety of names, some false and some genuine. The CIFAS warning therefore appears on the Credit File of any person who has a link with the address. Any CIFAS member organisation subsequently conducting a search at that address will see the CIFAS warning. The warning does not mean the individuals living at the address are involved with fraud. It means the Lender should take extra precautions before opening a new account to ensure the applicant/application is genuine.

About CIFAS

If you have been the victim of a mugging or burglary and personal identification documents have been stolen, there is a risk that they could be used by the thief to obtain credit or other product/services fraudulently in your name. For an administration fee of £14.10 (£12.00 plus £2.10 VAT) CIFAS offers a service, provided on their behalf by Equifax, to protect your name and address from misuse. You may contact Equifax on telephone number 0870 010 2091, and request 'Protective Registration'. A CIFAS warning will then be placed against your address marked Category '0' which indicates that this has been recorded at your request for your own protection.

As a result of the entry CIFAS members will verify further the identity of applicant(s), and in some cases request further proof of identification, and this may mean you personally experience delays while your credentials are fully checked out. Whilst this might cause you some inconvenience it could prevent someone obtaining credit in your name.

There are a number of CIFAS categories used by Lenders which are explained in the table below:

CIFAS Categories Explained0Protective Registration -- Recorded at the request of the person named.1False Identity Fraud -- Use of a false name with an address.2Victim of Impersonation -- Use, by another person, of this name and/or address.3Application Fraud (Facility Granted) -- Use of name reasonably believed to be genuine, but with one or more material falsehoods in personal details or other relevant information -; the facility was granted.4Application Fraud (Facility Refused) -- Use of a name reasonably believed to be genuine, but with one or more material falsehoods in personal details or other relevant information -; the facility was refused.5Conversion -- Conversion (disposal or sale) of goods (to which the hirer/buyer does not have title) under a hire purchase, conditional sale, contract hire, leasing or rental agreement.6First Party Fraud -- Opening an account or other facility for a fraudulent purpose, or the fraudulent misuse of an account or facility.7Aiding & Abetting -- Aiding, abetting or assisting, or conspiring with, another or others to fraudulently procure credit, or other facilities, or hire products or services.8Insurance Claims Fraud -- The making of a claim(s) under one or more insurance policy (ies) with one or more material falsehoods or by presenting a false or forged document.How does this data affect me?

 

If your address or other personal details are being misused, the CIFAS warning protects your details from further misuse. Only CIFAS member organisations are able to see CIFAS warnings and they are very careful to establish the identity of any applicant subsequently being approved for a product or service from the address. This may lead to a delay when applications from you are being processed, as your identity will need to be confirmed and the information on your application will be verified. However, this helps to prevent others misusing your address or other personal details and avoids the distress and inconvenience this would cause you.

No CIFAS member organisation is allowed to automatically refuse to supply a product or service to you because of a CIFAS warning. The Lender is required to make further enquiries, eg. to confirm your identity, before making a decision. However, there are occasions when, even though a CIFAS warning is present and your identity has been properly confirmed, your application will not be approved. This is because your application is still subject to the member's standard credit checks or underwriting criteria and you may not meet them. If this is the case, the Lender will be able to tell you whether the decision was due to a Credit Score, Credit Reference Agency information or the Lender's own policy.

How long is this data kept on my Credit File?

 

The time a CIFAS warning remains on your Credit File depends on how long the fraudulent activity continues.Members are able to extend the time a warning is placed against an address to protect the address from fraud. In all cases, the warning remains on the database for at least a year from the date of the most recent fraud.

What can I do if there is CIFAS information relating to another person/s?

 

The information may not directly relate to you but may for example, indicate that someone has tried to impersonate you. For your own protection, this information must remain on your Credit File.

What can I do if I believe there is CIFAS Information, which is registered incorrectly?

 

In the first instance you should write to the CIFAS member organisation that placed the CIFAS warning on your address, as they are responsible for the accuracy of this data. Their name is supplied as part of your Credit File. CIFAS member organisations operate their own internal complaints procedures, details of which will be given to you by them upon request.

If you and the CIFAS member organisation are unable to reach an agreement on your complaint, you should receive a letter from the member confirming the complaint procedure is completed or exhausted. Sometimes this is known as a Final Response Letter.

If you decide you want to take your complaint further you may ask CIFAS to investigate your complaint. CIFAS will contact the member and review the details of your complaint. CIFAS will confirm whether the member adhered to the correct procedures.

Please Note:

 

• If you believe that you are being impersonated and someone has opened an account in your name, you should contact the organisation concerned and make it aware that the application or account was not originated by you. This will ensure any CIFAS warning they may have placed at your address is clearly marked as a Category 2, to show you have been the victim of an impersonation fraud.
  
• If the organisation concerned is not a member of CIFAS, CIFAS offer a service provided on their behalf by Equifax, to protect your name and address from being misused in this way. You should contact Equifax and request 'Protective Registration' on telephone number: 0870 010 2091.
  
• A Lender will not necessarily make you aware that they are placing a CIFAS warning at your address. Great care is taken to strike the right balance between the need for confidentiality and the need to be open about fraud prevention. In the past, letters to consumers advising that a CIFAS warning has been placed on their address has alerted the perpetrators of the crime to the fact that the police have become involved in a case. To maximise the likelihood of successful apprehension and prosecution of offenders, consumers are not advised of CIFAS warnings in the majority of cases. However, in the event of an impersonation, the Member will always advise the innocent party, if they have a current address for the innocent party and are sure that the fraudster will not be alerted.
  
• The Notice of Disassociation service cannot be used to remove CIFAS information from your Credit File, even if this information is registered in another name.'
  

[PaulW922]

You have the right to know exactly why that data has been put there - and I am sure that you cannot just lose your job over disputed credit data - make Lloyds tell you!

 

Check out Welcome to CIFAS Online - CIFAS Online for more

[installspark]

m2000,

 

The exact same thing happened to me recently with Lloyds TSB, opened and then closed account and a category 3 Application Fraud CIFAS entry. The banks reasoning was that I allegedly failed to disclose a previous address at the time of application which has adverse data registered after the date I moved in to my current address, and that they would not be removing the entry.

 

After another letter to their Fraud Prevention department enclosing proof of residence, naming the bank employee who did my application and stating I was not asked for previous address information. In this letter it was also pointed out to them that they were efectively classing me as guilty without fair trial and detailed the breasch of human rights and the Bill of Rights 1689.

 

I received a letter back from them on Monday, dated 3rd October, stating that they would remove the entry with immeadiate effect and I would no longer see the CIFAS entry. Checking this online with equifax, it still shows that the entry exists.

 

A final letter has been sent to Lloyds TSB as it seems that I will have to go and get a court order against them.

[barclaybasher]

Hi

 

Did they remove it in the end or did you have to go to court?

 

I have an application fraud entry on mine, facility refused...this was based on a mortgage application that after offer was refused without any reason.

 

Im stumped as to what to do..

[installspark]

They eventually removed the CIFAS with the CRA's after I threatened to sue them for damages.

[barclaybasher]

I wrote off as you said to HBOS with an official complaint and an SAR.

 

HBOS wrote back to me for the SAR saying they were going to refund it as they had no information to give me.

 

One other bank, the coventry I applied to but was refused because of HBOS's CIFAS note, has sent me a copy of the mortgage application which is basically a load of crap, most of the information on there about me has been made up by the broker, he made up random stuff about my credit card balances etc, even the income is a ball park number not the exact figure I get at work.

 

Can anyone advise me on what to do now?

[Kronenbourg]

There seems to be a bit of a theme here.

 

I also applied to Lloyds TSB and was accepted, to find a few days later they closed the account and placed a CIFAS warning on my credit files.

 

I wrote to the CEO and asked what had happened and received a response saying that I had given an incorrect length of time at my address to hide adverse data held at a previous address.

 

I was furious with this as the Advisor never asked me how long I had lived there and on the application they told me she had entered 6 years and 1 month.

 

I wrote to the CEO again advising that this was complete nonsense and demanded the incorrect data be removed.

 

I finally had a response and they agreed to do this.

 

I will post their response shortly.

[Kronenbourg]

Response:

 

 

 

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Edited April 26, 2009 by Kronenbourg

[twobeercans]

feels kinda wierd i hapened upon this tbh. I was browsing through a copy of my 2006 equifax report on checkmyfile and happened upon a very well hidden CIFAS entry at my then old address.

 

false name and address, dated incidentally well after i left there, the name was clearly a female of i would suggest asian heritage given the name. it was entered by nationwide. How could that be anything to do with me ffs.

but was on my file lol.

 

i became so stressed about it these last few days i signed up to equifax's monthly subscription lol. needless to say it is no longer showing..

 

how could they just start bashing such things onto peoples credit files withut telling them? it seems very unreasonable, they claim it is to protect themselves yet they forget that in doing so they damage the consumers cridentials with gay abandonment.

[barclaybasher]

Hi

 

Just an update

 

I disputed the cifas entry on credit expert, to which HBOS objected so its still there.

 

I then wrote off to HBOS for a SAR and they said they never had any details on me and sent me back my £10 cheque.

 

I then sent off an official complaint to HBOS giving then 28 days to give me an explanation on the CIFAS entry.

 

I have recieved no reply, they have gone over their deadline...

 

Please advise...this cifas entry is really messing me up!

[barclaybasher]

I am even more concerned as some people are telling me that the information will go after one year, but if I start trying to contest it or argue with the lender it will remain on my file.

[barclaybasher]

I have read on another post that I should take the party who put the CIFAS information on the file to court

 

"Take it straight to the courts, bring a claim in the county against them for violation of principles 4 and 6 of the Data Protection Act. Claim compensation and distress damages + interest under section 13 of the Data Protection Act."

 

Can anyone advise how I do this, again to sumamrise the position:

1) I sent HBOS an SAR - they said they had no data to give me despite putting a cat 4 cifas on my name - I wrote back stating that considering they have registered a CAT 4 CIFAS in my name they should comply with this

2) I raised an official complaint to HBOS giving them 28 days to investigate the matter - No response has been given and their deadline has lapsed more then 4 weeks ago

 

I am unable to do anything with the CIFAS problem on my file so really need to sort this out, any help would be much appreciated.[/font]

[simonjohn]

What concerns me with an aleged cat3 C.I.F.A.S entry is with regards that lenders/banks format their application forms.

 

Also the way that the Electrol Roll is produced, once per year.

 

Lets look at this example....

 

You move into your new address on Dec 2008, you have missed the deadline for enrolling on the electorall roll untill Oct 2009. Then in Dec 2011 you make an application for credit/bank account, on this application you state that you have lived at this address for 3 years ,which you have, and the application form asks for you address for the past 3 years at your address, which you have given.

 

Now, as the application asks you for the legnth of time at you current residence, you have answerd honestly, 3 years. That was their question after all. At no point have they asked how long you have been registerd on the electoral roll at your current address.

 

"In the foregoing example your Credit file will give the illussion that you have only lived there for 2years and 2 months, ie the time you are registered on the electoral roll and not the acctual time you have lived there"

 

Now to my mind this appears to put you to an unfair advantage with regards to the original application form, as they have specifically asked how long have you lived at your current address, and not how long you have been registered to vote from there.

 

With this in mind i am of the oppinion that unless they have irrifutable proof that you have lived at the address for less than the three years that they require on their application form, then they should not register a cat3 frauduant application on your C.R.A file

Edited June 30, 2009 by simonjohn
missed info