Mobile phone- identity theft?

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I have recently been receiving loads of letter addressed to a non-existent person from Carphone Warehouse. I kept on returning them to Carphone Warehouse, and even phoned them on their 0870 number (having suspected my address of being used fraudulently). When I phoned for the second time, the operator said it has been referred to their fraud department. However, I have not heard back from carphone warehouse. I have even faxed through a letter of complaint to their Data Controller, but have not heard back. Further letters were received from Carphone Warehouse addressed to this non-existent person.

Today, I just received 4 letters addressed to this non-existent person at my address. One of such a letter was opened and appear to be from Carphone Warehouse's creditor acting on its behalf to collect overdue money. I have naturally written back to Carphone Warehouse and its creditor to confirm the non-existent person has never lived at my address (I am the owner) and has no association with any household members whatsoever.

However, what protection have I got (e.g. under the Data Protection Act[1998]). Note that Carphone Warehouse did not seem to have acted upon my verbal and written notifications that the person they tried to write to does not exist. Would anything bad appear in my credit file now that this non-existent person is owning Carphone Warehouse a large sum of money? If so, what can I do to remove such person's bad records from my credit file? Do I have to report to the police?

Reply to
Pat
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I am not an expert, just some thoughts from personal experience.

How do you know this ficticious person has affected your credit record? Have you asked for a copy? You can write to Experian and the other company to point out information relating to items on your file, or even get them removed, but i think you need to know what's on there.

I have had problems with a high street bank, well more with a former occupant of my current house who was a customer of a high street bank, and despite my letting them know he'd moved, they still wrote to my address. The letters have eventually stopped.

Reply to
Simon Jerram

You shouldn't open the letters. They are not yours to open.

Just write "Not known at this address" on the outside, and put them back in the post box.

Protection from what?

No.

You are not the person involved.

No.

Reply to
Alex Heney

Which is fine until the bailiff's arrive.

I had a summons arrive for someone else once - and you bet I opened it, better than PC plod breaking the door down with a warrant to arrest the non existant person. That was just a mis-addressing error by the court and easily sorted out, but it could have been more sinister - as the above fraud shows.

Reply to
R. Mark Clayton

Said bailiffs will have no powers to do anything, since the person they are taking action against is not there.

Which they wouldn't do.

If it were a serious enough crime for them to break down the door without warning, then they would not have been sending out a summons in the first place.

We don't *know* that it is a fraud. Although it probably is.

Reply to
Alex Heney

AFAIK, once they have been delivered to the 'correct' address it is legal for anyone to open them.

sponix

Reply to
s--p--o--n--i--x

Alex Heney wrote: ...

But suppose, say, the OP goes shopping and leaves a window open. "Said bailiffs" could then enter and remove goods.

In their eyes legitimate, in the OP's eyes theft (presumably).

Then what?

Reply to
Mike Scott

If there was a credit agreement, such as a mobile phone contract, it may well appear on the files of the credit reference agencies (though not necessarily - no information about my credit cards appears in my files for example) and if you are unlucky it could appear on your file as an association because of the address. It happens. My girlfriend's record included entries for someone who had used her address as a mailing address (with her permission) while in the process of relocation and several people who had lived in the same block of flats as her once (the whole block having the same address). Whether the presence of that information influences credit scoring is another matter.

Request your credit records from Equifax and Experian, and perhaps even the other one whose name escapes me which isn't used so much, and see what they say. If there is anything there which you feel is incorrect or inappropriate then you can take steps to have it removed or a disassociation statement added. Their websites will tell you all about it.

Reply to
Graham J

Wrong if you fail to appear on a summons, then the magistrates will issue a warrant for your arrest. You are thinking about arrest without warrant, which a PC acting on reasonable suspicion can force entry to effect, or a search warrant, although even then they don't write and tell you that they are coming to search for drugs / stolen goods etc. next week - please be in.

Reply to
R. Mark Clayton

Then the OP reports the theft to the police.

Anybody who goes out leaving a means of access for thieves is asking to lose their goods anyhow.

And if it is ever discovered that it *was* the bailiffs who entered and removed goods without establishing ownership, said bailiffs lose their license, even if they don't go to prison for theft.

Reply to
Alex Heney

The scenario outlined by the OP is exactly the reason why you *should* open post addressed to strangers at your address.

But he may well become the person affected.

Brian

Reply to
bigbrian

Yes, but they will turn up and knock on the door in that case, not just break it down without warning.

Reply to
Alex Heney

Whether the plod break your door down or just knock depends largely on where you live. In Cleveland expect to have to pay for a new door.

Reply to
AlanG

You've never lived in Sheffield then.

Had my door kicked through cos the stupid prat picked the wrong street. Much to his chagrin the landlord was there - who was also the local superintentdant discussing some business with me.

Reply to
Chris Street

AFAIAA you can legally open letters sent to your address that aren't sent to you personally, although I always do as you recommended.

Agreed, as you haven't lost anything you aren't the victim of a crime and reporting it to the police would be up to the company defrauded, Carphone Warehouse.

Reply to
Steve Frazer

Call Credit

Reply to
Jonathan Bryce

which suggests

a. you were invovled in the crime or the police had very good reasosn to suspect you

b. you were such an ass when dealing with the police they didn't make sure that you weren't put out for their c*ck -up. i am aware of a number of people who have had doors wrongly put through by the plod, oddly enough most of them if they behaved reasonably at the time got either a new door or a cheque from Plod that more than paid for said new door.

Reply to
Martyn H

I'm pretty sure, as you say, that it isn't a criminal act to open the mail.

But I do feel it is morally wrong, and I can see circumstances (but not this circumstance, so irrelevant here) where the person they were addressed to could treat it as an invasion of privacy, and sue you for the emotional damage caused.

Reply to
Alex Heney
[snip]

Generally, when this happens to me, if I recognise the sender, i.e. the company name or whatever is on the envelope, and I have business with that company, then I'll open it in case they've made a mistake, but if I don't recognise who it's from I'll return it as not known at this address.

People can open my letters all they like, as long as they pay the bills contained therein ;-)

Ivor

Reply to
Ivor Jones

I've been in a similar situation to the OP. At first I did as you suggested, and returned the misaddressed mail to the postbox. When they kept coming, and began taking the form of summonses and leaflets through the door stating "we called but you were not in, please be aware that on our return we may force entry", you bet I started opening the letters and calling the people concerned.

I find the question of being sued for emotional damage, as you say, to be irrelevant here. Were the scum using my address to try anything of that sort, I'd happily countersue for the distress of having to repeatedly turn away police and bailiffs looking for him - as well as turning him over to plod. Saying that in this kind of circumstance it is "morally wrong" to open mail which is inviting you to be harassed in your home seems quite backwards to me.

Reply to
Vashti

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