CCJ and mistaken identity/identity fraud

[Langdon]

Hi all,
I can see that there are already some very recent conversations on here about setting aside CCJs, but I feel I have a slightly more unique situation here, so would be very grateful for any specific advice.
My story is quite long (apologies) but is needed to provide the full context here.
Basically, I have now for many years been receiving letters from various companies requesting me to pay debts that were never mine. They always have the correct name and obviously my address, but I am completely unaware of them. Whenever I call the companies in question, it becomes apparent, after much discussion, that I am not the person they are looking for (previous addresses do not match, email addresses and other details don’t match). I’m unsure if this is a genuine mistake, or if I have been a victim of identity fraud.
Anyway, I eventually began to ignore these letters. I realise this wasn’t the smartest thing to do, but I got tired of arguing my case, and none of these ever affected me in any way (either my credit score or my bank balance). They usually stopped pestering me after a while, so I was starting to think it may be some sort of scam to get info from me. This was until last year, when one company entered a CCJ against me. As I had been largely ignoring their letters, I hadn’t realised I had been issued a CCJ until way beyond the deadline to reply. It was sent to my correct address; I just hadn’t realised what it was at the time.
With the CCJ against my name, my credit score finally was now impacted, in a big way. In addition, it seemed a past address for whomever does own this debt has now somehow been linked to my file, meaning accounts this person is currently opening (and failing to pay) are now also showing on my file.
I obviously contacted the creditor in question to dispute this and see what could be done. At first, it once again seemed apparent that I was the wrong person. They never admitted this fully, but it was clear my full details did not match. Subsequently, they refused to further discuss the account with me, as it was no longer mine. I felt this was a good sign, but they also did nothing to reverse the damage they had already done. After weeks of trying to find a way around this, I eventually wrote them an email summarising everything, Surprisingly, they replied this time but were now insistent that the debt was mine again, and that they would continue to pursue this money from me. They also refuse to remove the wrong address from my credit file, meaning further negative associations are still being added as we speak. They told me I need to provide evidence to prove the debt was not mine, but I am unsure how I can prove a negative? I would have thought the burden lay on their side to prove the debt was mine, but I am not sure this is the case now that the CCJ has been issued.
I’m really struggling to figure out my next move here. I have sought advice from multiple places, but I feel like I am going around in circles. I also don’t want to contact the creditor again until I have received some advice. I might be paranoid, but I can’t help feeling that they’re trying to extract real details from me that would leave me unable to dispute the debt. As far as I can see, my options are:
Option 1: Try to convince the creditor the debt is not mine, and that I never lived at the associated address (no sure how to do this). If they would acknowledge this, hopefully they could somehow revoke the CCJ from their side?
Option 2: Apply and pay for the CCJ to be set aside. If successful, I understand this would temporarily cancel the CCJ and lead me back to negotiating directly with the creditor, essentially taking me back to option 1 anyway
*
Could anyone advise me on what to do here. I guess my 3 most pressing questions would be:

• What is the likelihood of me getting the CCJ set aside?
• How can I prove the debt was never mine?
• If successful, would I be entitled to claim back the costs of setting aside (and legal fees if necessary) from the creditor?

Thank you very much in advance for any help you can offer.
*

[Langdon]

Has anyone experienced something similar to this? I would really appreciate any advice

[Amethyst]

Hi there,

Presumably you lived somewhere during the time that these debts were taken out and can evidence such, or even evidence how long you have lived at your current address ( bank statement / rent agreement / utilities etc )

Send a SAR to the judgment holder to get all the data they hold on 'you' that may show how this other person has come to be linked to your name and address.

File a dispute with the credit reference agencies about the linked address. Dispute with all three of them - Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.

The CCJ may not actually be against you so you may struggle to apply to have it set aside - it should be removed from the judgment register linking it to you though so you'll need to make a complaint to do that.

Where do you fail on the creditors security ? Date of birth ? Middle name ? What makes it apparent you aren't the right person when you have previously spoken with the creditors ?

Have you made any enquiries of the address that has been linked to you ? Is it someone passing themselves off as you ( ID theft /fraud ) or someone who happens to have same name and it's a massive tracing error ( that they maybe taking advantage of )

[Langdon]

Hi Amethyst. Thanks for the reply.

I do of course have plenty of evidence of where I have lived, but I can't prove I have not also lived at, or been associated with, this other address in any way.


I have already filed a dispute with the credit ref agencies (currently only Equifax are reporting this). They say they cannot remove the address and associated debts from my file unless the creditor permits, which they are refusing to do without 'proof’
*
When you say I should make a complaint to remove the judgement, would this be directly to Northampton County Court? I’m pretty sure the CCJ is in my name currently. It’s registered in my real name at my real address (my credit file is also showing a second separate CCJ against me, but this one is registered at this other address, and I’ve never received any real correspondence for this one).
*
With regards to the security for the other creditors, they usually have my full name (not middle name), my current address and my DOB. It usually becomes apparent when they ask me if I have ever lived at a number of previous addresses they have on file. All the other creditors have just taken my word and stopped chasing me once I confirm this, but this particular company seem adamant. They are apparently ‘satisified I am the correct person’, whatever this means. The email addresses they have on file are also incorrect (although I foolishly corresponded with them using my real email address, so they now have this information if they choose to mis-use it).
*
I haven’t made any enquiries about the alternate address, but I am inclined to think this is genuine identity fraud as opposed to a mis trace. Another creditor told me that they had contacted the address in question, and the woman living there confirmed the perpetrator hadn’t lived there for a while. They're also still opening accounts now, and always default on payment. Seems to be a tried and tested formula, and I feel a bit powerless to stop it at present
*

[Amethyst]

It might be worth your registering with CIFAS and informing action fraud to try prevent further activity. That will also then help with the complaints you make to the creditors.

So there's two CCJs against you now you need to try and get rid of ? Can you say who the judgment holders are of each ? What kinds of debts are they ? And what kind of credit is being applied for - presumably searches are showing on your credit file ?

Cifas info -https://www.cifas.org.uk/services/id...e-registration

[Langdon]

Yes, I have the two CCJ's on my file, plus other defaulted accounts that may yet also be taken further. I have only actually received any real correspondence for the first CCJ. I would assume/hope that if I can get this address removed from my file, anything associated with it will automatically be removed. This would then just leave the one remaining CCJ that is actually registered at my real address.
*
By judgement holder, I presume you mean the creditor that instigated this? Both of them are Lowell Solicitors. The ‘real’ ccj (the one in my name) is apparently for a defaulted account with Vanquis. I’m not sure what the other one is for. The other accounts that are being opened largely seem to be mobile phone contracts, the latest with Vodafone

[Langdon]

Whoever is doing this is also very frequently carrying out enquiries on my credit file, I assume in an attempt to gain more credit.

I have already reported this to ActionFraud, hopefully it will make a difference

[Langdon]

I feel I'm at a decision point, and I need to act pretty quickly. When I think about it, I think my main question is, should I go ahead and fight this myself, or is it so complicated that I would need to pay for legal advice/representation to resolve this. I would prefer to handle it myself obviously, as even if I could eventually reclaim any costs, it's going to be a long fight. I can't really judge how best to proceed - go straight to the court to dispute the CCJ, or try again with the creditor (I'm worried that if I provide them with my full address history to clear my name, they could just update their records for me accordingly and I'm then trapped - it seems this is the only information they don't have to complete an entirely fake debt with my name on it))

[Gingerbeard]

Hey there,
have you had any progress since? Going through something VERY similar.