Fraudster Gains Access To My Credit File via Experian

[NickR]

I was contacted on 13th October by Experian who informed me that they suspect an imposter had applied on-line to view my credit file.

 

 

After a long discussion with their helpdesk

I find out that the fraudster answered 2x security questions incorrectly but was still granted access to my full credit file.

 

 

One of these questions was my DOB - REALLY !!!!

 

I can not believe that full access was granted even though something as fundamental as my DOB was wrong !!!

 

This individual has subsequently gone on to apply for credit and purchase items from many telecom suppliers,

some on my account, including EE, Vodafone, Carphone Warehouse and O2.

 

 

My Vodafone bill is currently over £1500, (Normally £16.00).

 

 

Yesterday I was told that Apple Online had delivered £1200 worth of goods to my address

and it was likely intercepted by the culprit before the delivery man made it to my door!!

 

John Lewis is another store where a Credit card has been applied for in my name !!

 

The effort and time involved in resolving this situation is huge, not to mention the stress and worry whilst the criminal aspect of the situation is dealt with.

 

My credit worthiness will no doubt suffer as a result of this

 

Although I can not hold Experian fully responsible for the actions of this "low life", I do feel they are responsible for giving him easy access to my details.

 

What is the point of having security questions in the first place ?????

 

I have sent an email complaint to Experian but heard nothing yet.

 

I would appreciate any advice you can give regarding how best to deal with my stressful situation.

 

Thanks in advance

 

Nick

[dx100uk]

go inform actionfraud now

 

 

dx

[BankFodder]

I suppose that you have had this conversation with Experian's helpdesk on the telephone and without recording it.

 

I would suggest that you get a call recorder and call them again and see if you can get the same admissions recorded.

 

I would also send Experian an SAR immediately and find out what information you can get about this.

 

I'm afraid that I disagree with you I think that you have to hold Experian entirely responsible and I think that you should begin by embarking on an information gathering exercise – I have already laid out the beginning of it. And then when you get all of your evidence then come back here and we will advise you as to what action to take.

 

I shouldn't hang around on this. It is extremely serious.

 

Record all calls. Keep logs and notes of any calls which are made. Try to confirm everything in writing. Every time you speak to somebody about this on the telephone, get a reference number for the phone conversation and also try to give the name of the person you speak to. However, I very seriously think that you should start off by trying to get them to repeat what they have sent you but this time record it all. You won't regret it. It will make things a lot easier. If Experian realise that you are coming for them – they will close up and become defensive

[NickR]

BankFodder & dx100uk , Thank you for the quick response.

 

I have already spoken with Action Fraud. I have a case number from my local police.

 

I am off to Maplins to buy a telephone call recorder today.

 

Nick

[BankFodder]

You will be better off with a truecall http://www.amazon.co.uk/TrueCall-The-Nuisance-Call-Blocker/dp/B002GP7HQM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1413895498&sr=8-1&keywords=truecall - if you can afford it - or an olympus tp8 from Amazon http://www.amazon.co.uk/Olympus-TP-8-Telephone-Pick-Microphone/dp/B007OXMHDE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1413895471&sr=8-1&keywords=tp8 and a small digital recorder.

If you use an Android mobile then download Automatic recorder https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.appstar.callrecorder which works very well.

If you have an Iphone - then you will need the tp8

 

If you get a truecall - you will need the recording card as well

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

BankFodder & dx100uk , Thank you for the quick response.

 

I have already spoken with Action Fraud. I have a case number from my local police.

 

I am off to Maplins to buy a telephone call recorder today.

 

Nick

 

 

Have you checked Equifax and Call Credit for any transactions?

[NickR]

I have spoken with Equifax who have confirmed the many searches that have been carried out by mobile phone companies etc but they themselves were not duped into giving my credit file to anyone.

 

I guess there was no need, seeing as Experian gave the details up so easily.

[stu007]

Hi

 

Please also report this to the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) the actions of Experian.

 

http://ico.org.uk/

[Lee Vodafone Company Rep]

Hi NickR,

 

If you'd like any help from me with the Vodafone side of things, email me with your details via the Contact us form here and quote the code WRT135 - CAG Forum in the subject line.

 

Once sent, you'll receive an automated reply with a reference number. Post back with this and I’ll check I've received it.

 

Kind regards,

 

Lee

 

Social Media Comms

 

Vodafone UK

[NickR]

I sent a complaint to Experian on 18th Oct by email. (10 Days Ago) I've heard nothing from them, not even an acknowledgement !!!

 

I called the Experian fraud department and they told me all the facts about the application including which 3 security questions were answered incorrectly. The customer service guy was very surprised that the fraudster had been granted full access but could not tell me why. As suggested by BankFodder I recorded the conversation The Fraud dept confirmed that the complaints team had received my complaint and were looking into things. When I asked how long things would take, he said "oh give it a few more days" !!

 

The situation has got worse with products being purchased on credit and apparently intercepted before they were delivered to my address (£1200), also another 2 phone lines and handsets along with a suspicious letter from Lloyds Bank. (I'm not a Lloyds customer)

 

What can I do now to encourage Experian to take the situation seriously. I've had to spend time off work dealing with all this.

 

Thanks again in advance for your advice.

[BankFodder]

Sorry - I'm away at the mo and just using a phone

I'll try to respond later.

Well done on the recording

[NickR]

Almost 2 weeks and still no acknowledgement from Experian. I have contacted the Information Commissioners Office.

 

The Police are dealing with things slowly and thoroughly.

 

I am shocked with Experian's lack of effort to make right their mistake.

 

I feel that I should be compensated for the effort I am having to make in order to stop these fraudulent transactions. I'd also like to publicise the fact that our personal records are not as safe as Credit Agencies would like us to think.

 

Any ideas on a next move ???

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

Almost 2 weeks and still no acknowledgement from Experian. I have contacted the Information Commissioners Office.

 

The Police are dealing with things slowly and thoroughly.

 

I am shocked with Experian's lack of effort to make right their mistake.

 

I feel that I should be compensated for the effort I am having to make in order to stop these fraudulent transactions. I'd also like to publicise the fact that our personal records are not as safe as Credit Agencies would like us to think.

 

Any ideas on a next move ???

 

 

 

 

An investigation such as this will take time 10 -14 days is not a reasonable time scale in which to expect results if the matter is to be investigated properly.

[NickR]

I Have been contacted by Experian who have upheld my complaint and sent me their "final response".

 

The email is clearly a standard response with many incorrectly placed characters (?)

 

They explain how their security process is as robust as possible but unfortunately on this occasion it was breached. They only mention one incorrectly answered security question, however I have a recorded telephone conversation admitting there were 3.

 

They have offered me one years free membership which under the circumstances I find both inconsiderate and inadequate. No mention of how they intend to repair my credit file.

 

I would like to pursue more appropriate compensation and action but would appreciate some opinions and advice first.

 

Nick

[BankFodder]

Well done on all of your results so far. Looks as if everything is going your way.

 

Don't be surprised at the response from Experian. They are more contemptuous and more arrogant than the banks. They are not used to being called to task – whereas the banks have had several years of it now.

 

Also, Experian is not customer facing. There customers are the finance industry. You are simply one of their resources – meaning your personal data. They get hold of your personal data whether you like it or not and then they do what they like with it. They don't need to care about you and you can see that they don't.

 

Their offer is absolutely insolent and you are right to reject it.

 

Their breach is extremely serious. To say that there security procedures are as robust as possible is clearly untrue. To hand out your details to somebody who doesn't even get your date of birth correct is not an example of maximum security. It is an example of incompetence and negligence.

 

At the very least, there are data protection breaches here. Section 14 of the Data Protection Act allows you to claim for any distress caused to you or your family. This is in addition to recovering compensation for any actual losses.

 

Furthermore, is it really clear yet how much damage has been caused? Are any other fraud being perpetrated in your name? Have any of these companies now put you down on their own databases as a suspicious or a fraudulent character? Experian will hardly be aware of how much damage this is done to you.

 

I think you should be contemplating a data protection claim in the County Court under the small claims procedure. I would say there would be no harm in claiming about £1000 on the basis of what you have said so far – although I think it would be a good idea now to prepare a very careful bullet point did statement of everything that has happened and what it has taken you to undo the damage or to protect yourself so far.

 

You need to make sure that the statement is detailed but moderate and can be justified if you are questioned about it. Your statement should include references to any stress or distress that you have suffered – or stressed or distress that anyone else that you are connected with – meaning your family – have suffered also.

 

Once you have done that, we can have a look at it and we can see what a reasonable claim should be.

 

Experian is loaded with money and they don't care. What they won't want is to see this matter go into a County Court and they won't want to see it become the subject of a news article – which it certainly will do once the matter is finished. Because of this, I think that they are likely to try and bully you as much as possible but in the end they are most unlikely to go to court because a judgement on this matter would be a judgement about the quality of their core activity and also you would then go on to send a copy of the judgement to the information Commissioner and also to the FCA. My guess is that they would try to bluff it out to the edge and then finally pay up. I expect that they would try to sign you into a confidentiality agreement – which I would recommend that you refuse unless they pay an additional sum. We will advise you all the way through.

[BankFodder]

Incidentally, I hope you have got the sound recordings held securely and properly backed up. If they are simply sitting on the memory card of a mobile phone then you are really risking your position. You need to keep at least a couple of copies on different computers.

[Conniff]

They have offered me one years free membership which under the circumstances I find both inconsiderate and inadequate. No mention of how they intend to repair my credit file.

 

Nick

 

 

I can't see why anyone would want a report more than once per month and at £2 per shout, that is £24, that really is an insult.

[Mr.P]

In light of Durkin V HFC, I'd be tempted to go for a minimum of £8,000 for each marker placed as a result of fraudulent activity.

 

Has the ICO started an investigation yet ?

[ericsbrother]

there are big holes in the security system of Experian and Callcredit that allow fraudsters to dump stuff on your crdeit files and they know it but I suppose they dont want everyone to hear that so go after them to get the proper resolution.

PM me and I will tell you how it happened to me and what you can do to limit the damage done. I wont post up because the problem is so simple it would be an invitation to other crooks to exploit

[NickR]

Thought I would update the story.

 

Experian confirmed again in an email that their offer of 12 months subscription is a fair and reasonable offer.

 

I have written today to the Financial Ombudsman and been in contact with the ICO.

 

Experian claim that only 2 out of 5 questions were incorrectly answered (according to their records). I still have a current account with Santander. I disputer this and am in the process of obtaining proof that the account was closed down many years ago.

 

My argument is that even if their records show the account as open. If the account is closed, then the answer to the question is still incorrect as I do not have an account, even though their records show that I do.

 

More importantly, I feel Experian should show more concern over the answers that are not being disputed, my date of birth and my wifes date of birth than the one answer they feel they can squirm out of.

 

If Experian had held their hands up to their incompetent security measures in the first place and offered compensation that better matched the issue. Rather than trying to convince me that they have adequate security measures, I wouldn't need to spend half my life dealing with this issue.

 

As always, advice welcome and much appreciated.

 

Nick

[NickR]

I have read information on this forum regarding the usefulness of the Financial Ombudsman Service and ICO. Neither fill me with optimism and confidence even though I have passed my complaint to them and am waiting for a response.

 

Is it worth taking out a Small Claim against Experian?

 

Can I be compensated for the time, effort and stress they have put me through and how do I decide what is reasonable to claim for?

 

I have not been left with financial debt following this experience but that's only due to the time and effort I have put into contacting all the companies involved and explaining my plight.

 

Nick

[DonkeyB]

Have you checked your credit file to see what’s actually on there at the moment? Take screen grabs as evidence.