Multiple Defaults on Sons Credit File-Not His

[daisy lighter]

My son (2nd year at uni ) is 20. He applied before starting for a current account before starting uni. It was declined so he just used his old Nationwide account.

 

This summer hes going travelling and decided he needed a debit card.

 

Applyed to Co Op and Ulster Bank. Both declined.

 

Equifax file has arrived. Experian will not send him his file as he can not provide utility bill (lives at home) They will not accept student loans award letters, medical card or polling card. He needs 2 proofs of residency and only has the above and bank stat from Nationwide.

 

Anyway - will work on that later.

 

On his Equifax file he is showing 2 peices of correct info, 1 search to Ulster Bank and electerol info. The file is 5 pages long and none of it belongs to him.

Apparantly he has two defaults, one for asset finance ( no licence) and one credit card that would have started before he was even 18. The dates of birth on all these accounts are 29 years older than him and not even similar DOB's. There are different address's none of which mean anything to him tho they are in the same general area as us.

 

He is furious. Equifax has been queried via their online system but they say they will reply within 28 days. He needs it sorted quicker than that in order to get a debit card. Travelling starts in May.

Any idea how to get this fixed sooner? Considering that the DOB's are so different, the address's are unknown to him etc.? Surely Equifax should have noticed this?

 

Experian are a nightmare - they just keep on asking for council tax. We live in NI - no council tax here. Rates system. Rented house so rates in LL's name. No council tax.

 

Anybody any idea on either of these?

 

Personaly I think he should go legal with this as he has had his credit ruined for over 2 years & done nothing wrong.

[silverfox1961]

Hi,

I would complain most strongly to the companies that have marked his file wrongly and demand they are removed immediately and a gesture of goodwill for the defamatory content they have placed on his file which resulted in him being declined facilities.

If this was to go to court, I think your son would be given compensation.

Report the companies to the Information Commissioner as well ( or theNorthern Irish equivalent if there is one)

 

The CRA's just go along with what the creditors tell them.

[daisy lighter]

Yes silverfox. Thank you, you are right. Will get letters done directly to the companies and get immediate removal from them. Considering one of them (Lombard asset finance) has given him a £130000 default for no reason I think they should remove it ASAP. MBNA supposedly gave him a credit card for £5000 when he was 17 (now defaulted)so they will remove quicker than Equifax.

There are also about 10 CRA'S tracing searches too. They also need to go.

 

ICO is the same as for you. Will do that too.

 

Ta,

[daisy lighter]

OK . I will update just in case anybody wants to follow this.

I have written to all the lenders on his file and all of the tracing agents and DCA's. All sitting waiting in their wee envelopes. Tomorrow in uni I will make 9 copies of his Eqyifax file and post them (highlighted of course) to every body.

 

I have also found his medical card so will copy that and send it to Experian along with a copy of his passport, birth certificate, student loans award (which they have already told me they won't accept but he has nowht else) polling card, and letter of confirmation of ER. all recorded delivery - it's not going to be cheap.

Keen to see whats going to be on Experian.

 

Is it worth doing Call Credit too?

[247orbital]

yes do all three CRA, Callcredit is being used more and more by companies. They are often the worse for incorrect or out of date data. The poor man CRA.

[The Debt Star]

TBH, while i hate paying Equitwats £6.99 pm and Exqueerian £7.99 pm, at least I can keep tabs on whats going on my Cred Files (or whats not going on them that should be). Your son should perhaps join on-line and he can then access his CFs as often as he likes.

As soon as my CFs normalise I'm gonna stop paying the CRAs and quit memberships. But, at the moment, this service is proving useful as I can dispute stuff as it happens.

[daisy lighter]

Ok so far one of the tracers/ debt collectors have written and confirmed removal of their searches.

Equifax still havent looked at his complaint - still within their 28 days.

Co op have acknowledged the complaint but are investigating.

Experian have sent his file - it hold 9 defaults. Just about to start the photocopying and letters for this lot.

The letter to Experian has been sent by email tho I am thinking about stopping the email contact and using post instead.

 

Lombard (the big default) have agreed in writing that it is not sons account, they are still investigating how this happened and have asked son to provide an address and date of birth for a relative. Very unsure about doing this as the relationship is not good to start with, relative will be really cross about son knowing all this information.

And I'm not sure that Lombard should have even asked for this?

Any body any thoughts on this? Legal or moral?

 

 

Thanks

[daisy lighter]

Debt star.

 

The online CRA's do have the advantage of being quick to access but son has no debit card and they all need one in your own name to sign up.

 

Thanks for trying to help tho. Its appreciated. : )

[silverfox1961]

You are under no obligation to supply Lombard with any info at all bar what they needed to prove your son was not the debtor.

They should be offering compensation for this defamation of your sons character. He has been turned down for accounts due to their wrongful actions. The same goes for all the other defaults.

 

The searching of a credit file needs the subjects permission (in most cases) so even the ones that did do a search need a good talking to.

 

I would use Recorded Delivery post rather than email. You will have proof the letter was received.

 

I'll repond to your PM when I've had a think

[daisy lighter]

Thanks silverfox.

 

They offered costs to date for postage & photocopying. We are just ignoring that offer as its pathetic. Most of what he has been turned down for credit wise is basic banking and a mobile.

When he went to uni the first year he was declined a shared flat. We have written to the letting agent asking them to put in writing the reasons why. At the time he was told credit score and asked to pay several months rent as a deposit instead, which he couldn't do so he stayed here and just travels in now.

 

None of them do anything quickly do they?

[postggj]

Me thinks woodchester apples to each one of The defaults it seems considering a track of refusal for credit has been confirmed

[daisy lighter]

postggj

 

Thanks for that, I have just found some detail on a case Woodchester v Swaine here

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?297476-Woodchester-v-Swain

Is that what you were refering to?

I will try and get a good read through it later today.

 

Thank you

[silverfox1961]

Thread Title changed and moved to data Protection and Default Issues forum

[daisy lighter]

Thanks for the move silverfox.

 

OK so today another trace company has writen and confirmed that they have requested to Equifax that the searches they recorded should be removed.

The company is TNC legal sevices and they say they have paid attention to the relevant requirements of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 and 2006. The letter we recieved also complies with CSA trace guidelines Section 5.

They also state that their client, an insulation company did not provide them with a date of birth. Strange then that they recorded one on sons file.

 

Haven't heard from any of the other companys who have defaulted or reported adverse data. Just how long do they need? All letters were sent recorded delivery and all have arrived.

Equifax themselves haven't even come back yet.

They reckon 28 days which they didn't state as working days so I am taking it that they have to reply by this Friday. Orginial complaint sent via their online system on the 25th March.

 

Am looking forward to Equifax response. Hopeful that they will just scrap the whole report. I am going to keep up dating this as it is a good way for me to keep track of events.

Edited April 19, 2011 by daisy lighter
spelling ! again !

[postggj]

the woodchester case confirmed £1000 compensation for each unlawful default

 

keep copies of your credit report as back up

[daisy lighter]

Hi postggj

 

That would be good!!

I really must find the time and get a proper read at that. Seems to me that this should be a very straight forward case, however the lenders barr two just arn't in any hurry to fix this.

Thanks for your input.

[daisy lighter]

The 28 days Equifax have to investigate are up today and they have not even replied. Do they not understand how serious this is?

 

Silly question.

[silverfox1961]

I think you will have to give this another few days as they have 28 days to investigate but with the post, you may have to wait a little longer

[daisy lighter]

Equifax was an online complaint so we called them and they have escalated sons case. That was two days ago and today they have confirmed by email that they have fixed this. The file is in the post so we will just have to wait and see if its been done properly.

 

Information has come from the third party that he was made bankrupt last year by one of the companies. He was told by post (so the lenders did know how to contact him).

Now we need to find out, firstly, if it is true, as third party is confused a lot of the time and secondly the DCA's make up court lookalike letters to scare people so maybe its that.

I would find it hard to believe that any company could bankrupt the wrong person ??

Am also going to check CCJ's just in case. NI we don't always have CCJ's registered on credit files immediately.

 

Seems that as soon as son went on the electoral roll that all the companies decided to set their DCA's on son. We have had at least one phone call from Westcot to a neighbor asking for information about who lived here. There has been a lot of post from DCA's but I have just returned it as I didn't realize that it was son they think they are looking for. Why would I?

 

Just got my post and obviously the DCA's have decided to carry on chasing son even though they all know now that he is not the person they are looking for. All got proof from me by post and all have been contacted by Equifax & Experian. But still today I have a nice little post card from Wescot who would like us to call Dani and a letter from a local solicitor threatening court.

Lovely : )

What a shower of incompetent *****.

[ArtisanUK]

Equifax was an online complaint so we called them and they have escalated sons case. That was two days ago and today they have confirmed by email that they have fixed this. The file is in the post so we will just have to wait and see if its been done properly.

Evidently, there was quite a queue for their escalator.

 

Information has come from the third party that he was made bankrupt last year by one of the companies. He was told by post (so the lenders did know how to contact him).

Now we need to find out, firstly, if it is true, as third party is confused a lot of the time and secondly the DCA's make up court lookalike letters to scare people so maybe its that.

That's easy enough to verify - just do a search through the London Gazette, wherein the notice of his bankruptcy would have been published.

 

I would find it hard to believe that any company could bankrupt the wrong person ??

One would also have considered it to be most unlikely that any company would have made the monumental blunders they did in your son's case - yet blunder they did.

 

Am also going to check CCJ's just in case. NI we don't always have CCJ's registered on credit files immediately.

I may be mistaken but I believe the same is true for the rest of the UK - if a judgement is paid in full within one month, it is not registered.

 

Seems that as soon as son went on the electoral roll that all the companies decided to set their DCA's on son.

Did none of those dolts even bother to think that he suddenly popped up on the electoral roll because he had just turned 18 and therefore could not possibly have been liable for debts allegedly incurred before then?

 

We have had at least one phone call from Westcot to a neighbor asking for information about who lived here.

I believe that may have been illegal, if only because, by the caller identifying himself as someone from Wescot, they suggested to your neighbour that your son was in debt - Wescot are only debt collectors.

 

Just got my post and obviously the DCA's have decided to carry on chasing son even though they all know now that he is not the person they are looking for. All got proof from me by post and all have been contacted by Equifax & Experian. But still today I have a nice little post card from Wescot who would like us to call Dani and a letter from a local solicitor threatening court.

Does either state who the alleged original creditor might be?

 

Even once you have managed to convince Wescot that the alleged debt was not incurred by your son and cannot be enforced, without a court order for them to remove and delete any and all data they have on your son, there may be a chance that they'll just add the case to their "uncollected" folder and, in due course, sell it with a load of others to another DCA such as Aktiv Kapital or MacKernzie Hall. Of course, they'll not bother to say why the alleged debt remained uncollected.

 

For that reason - that the problem may continue for years, whatever you do - I wonder if you could obtain some sort of injunction against any DCA or solicitors seeking repayment of a debt allegedly incurred by your son prior to [the date of his eighteenth birthday]. If you ask nicely enough, the local solicitor currently threatening court might help you pro bono.

[daisy lighter]

Hi ArtisanUK

 

Thank you for such a detailed reply. Equifax were at day 30 with no response except the automated one. When we first phoned the CS girl, she said the case didn’t exist.

 

Earlier in the day I had updated their online service telling them that we had now found out that the situation may now be classed as libel as Equifax were continuing to hold, process and publish incorrect defamatory information. I copied and pasted emails that were sent to son from Lombard which in turn included Lombard’s screen conversations with Equifax discussing the situation in some detail. So they had no get out clause by saying they were not aware.

 

When CS found the case, I asked for a manager and got someone who said he was a manager. He was actually very helpful. 2 day turnaround !!

 

I have checked the Gazette and there is no BR listed so at least that’s something positive. But you are right! Bit naïve of me to think they couldn’t BR the wrong person after this mess. J

 

Did none of those dolts even bother to think that he suddenly popped up on the electoral roll because he had just turned 18 and therefore could not possibly have been liable for debts allegedly incurred before then?

 

This amazes me also. Unbelievable.

 

As for Wescot I had already phoned them as they kindly gave the neighbor a contact number to pass to us. They didn’t identify themselves as Wescot verbally, she knew from the number which she called back as she was concerned. I had never even seen this woman before she knocked the door. At that time I didn’t realize that they were looking for son. I did write to them but haven’t heard anything back.

 

Wescot communication yesterday was not addressed to anyone in particular, just a card but the solicitors letter was addressed to son.

 

For that reason - that the problem may continue for years, whatever you do - I wonder if you could obtain some sort of injunction against any DCA or solicitors seeking repayment of a debt allegedly incurred by your son prior to [the date of his eighteenth birthday]. If you ask nicely enough, the local solicitor currently threatening court might help you pro bono.

 

Yes I am worried now that even if the files are cleaned up to what they should be, that this won’t be the end of it. The sol is a friend but the problem in NI is that pro bono is not the norm at all. You have to apply for legal aide first, be turned down and then apply via the Law society. Although a judge can apparently request it for a case if he wants to. Just waiting to hear back from legal aide could take months.

 

It is a very good idea tho and I will look further into it. I will look into hiring a solicitor (I know more than friend sol does about this) so a solicitor with some understanding of general data protection and credit law would be good.

I am in the fortunate position of having very close family who will help financially if I ask. I wouldn’t ever ask for myself but its different for your babes.

But yes an injunction of some sort is probably the best idea yet.

 

Many thanks, you are a gem.

[daisy lighter]

Two letters for son today.

Call credit report is here! And it is correct! Perfect. Am so relieved that I might even write and congratulate them. No defaults,names correct, DOB correct, address's correct, dates correct.

Really makes me wonder if Equifax and Experian are more connected than I had thought.

 

2nd letter is from Nelson Guest asking son to contact Wescot.I know know that least myself (son) and Equifax have contacted them so I need a really good letter to them. I will also go back to Equifax and o2 and tell them that Wescot are ignoring instructions. Not that they will care but I think they should be made aware that their incorrect data has resulted in this continuous harassment.

 

More letters. Ahhh

[daisy lighter]

The Equifax report is back and has been amended to remove the defaults. The search information still shows the DCA's, Wescot, UK search etc.

 

Surely this should have been removed also?

I think I will insist on this being removed, as its not sons info and regardless of whether it gets used in credit scoring or not, it would be used if any manual search was done.

One of the DCA's on the file has written to son to confirm that they have already removed this but it's still there.

 

Experian have said they have removed all adverse data now but have not sent a free file. They want son to request another file, preferably online. As all this wrong info has disqualified him from getting a debit or credit card so that can't happen. We will have to wait for another paper one.

 

Son is very relieved and wants to apply straight away for a bank account with a debit card, as he is hopeful that he might actually get his debit card and mobile in time for his traveling to begin at the end of the month.

Any body any idea how long it takes this good info to make its way through the system?

He also wants to ask for compensation. Should he just ask or get a solicitor to do it for him?

[postggj]

did you find out how the link was done to your son ref these accounts and who was responsable for that link

[daisy lighter]

No I didn't. My first priority was to get the files cleaned for son.

How could I do this postggj? If we SARN the two CRA's that might show who had the earliest entry?

 

My first thought on this was that it was actually the credit reference agencies who were responsible for the confusion as they picked up ER entries. The DCA's started as soon as son went on the ER.