Unknown debts and CCJs on my credit report

[ashleyjrw]

Hi all,

I'm about to move out my mother's house and get a place of my own. After getting refused tenancy agreements due to poor credit, I got a free report from Noddle, which had some surprising entries:


Anglian Water Services
£ 1,295
Default

Tsb Current Account
£ 222
Late payment


And three CCJs ranging from £271 - £535.

The problem is, I know nothing about these accounts or debts. They all have my correct information on, and given the Anglian Water entry, I suspect my mother may be behind these arrears.

Clearly these red marks on my account are disastrous for receiving future credit. What would be my best option to resolving these? Would I have to take my mum to court? (Assuming she can't afford to pay them herself, which she cannot.)

Thanks!

[Amethyst]

Re: Unknown debts and CCJs on my credit report

Oh goodness. Have you asked your Mother whether they are hers firstly ? Normally anything would only show on your credit file that was your mother's as a financial connection ( if you had anything in joint names etc) or do you have a similar name ( same initial for example ). Are the CCJ's registered on Registry Trust against you or your Mother ? ( you can check https://www.trustonline.org.uk/search-yourself - there is a small cost I believe ) as they would need sorting out if they aren't yours or your Mother's debts. Otherwise it could be a previous resident or just a case of mistaken ID - someone with similar name and date of birth.

You can ask to be removed as a financial connection if that is how they are showing, but it sounds like these have been put directly on your file, so you need to gather information, find out what they are, where they have come from, and then approach each of the companies for more details and complaining ( if appropriate) they have been wrongly applied against you. First step though, ask your Mother, and if they are hers, it's not her fault they have appeared on your file and she might need some help getting things sorted out xxx

[ashleyjrw]

Re: Unknown debts and CCJs on my credit report

Thanks for the input!

These aren't listed as a financial connection. Without the Anglian Water entry, my first instinct would have been identity fraud. But obviously... the water is tied to the house which we've both lived in for 15+ years, so unless they're unrelated to the other entries, it's likely my mother's purposely used my name for all of these. I guess it's still identity fraud... just a bit nearer to home, as it were.

Assuming this is the case, that my mother used my name and then didn't pay, what would my options be? I'm going to talk to her, but the likelyhood is that she'll not really want to address the issue, nor be able to afford to pay them off.

With 3 CCJs on top of these bills and unpaid overdrafts, my credit rating is listed as 'very poor'. I expect this is going to cost me a lot, both financially and in lost opportunities. Like I said, I'm wanting to move out within the next few months, but it's seeming like it's going to be next to impossible with 1) no history of renting, 2) no possible guarantor and 3) 'very poor' credit

Thanks!

[Amethyst]

Re: Unknown debts and CCJs on my credit report

Can you maybe contact Anglian Water and talk to them about the account first to try find out a bit more detail, and why it's been put in your name, before going through things with your Mother. I'd guess it's not going to be a simple conversation so best to gather as much info as you can first.

The other debts are unsecured consumer credit - so at least 2 current account overdrafts, the CCJ's - cards?catalogues? - do you have the CCJ holder name? possibly DCA's like Lowell / Hoist / Cabot etc ?

What you do depends really how these debts ended up in your name - if your Mother entered fraudulent applications using your details or if the creditors have just attached them to you - maybe your initial is the same and your Mother isn't on the electoral register etc - ie. was it on purpose or is it an error by the creditors ? Can you get your Mother to check her credit file at all ?

How old, if you can see on your file, are these CCJ's ? They stay on the register for 6 years from Judgment. You could pay them off and have them marked as satisfied, but unlikely to make much difference to your current position re renting a place to live.

The Defaults stay on your credit file for 6 years from the date of default, you can pay these off and have them marked as settled/partially settled - which might have an effect on your file, but likely not for a fair while.

You have three choices according to experian;

1:Proceed as if this were a regular case of identity theft. ie. Make a police report & cooperate with any investigation. I don't know consequences for your Mother, if you have to press charges and could chose not to, or if the companies she obtained the credit from would press charges themselves.
2:Work with the creditors to see if a resolution can be made without police involvement ( likely to involve your Mother paying off the debts and asking the creditors to move them from your credit file to hers, and your applying to set aside any judgments as you have just found out about them and they were due to ID theft ( likely to need the police report to do that successfully though so back to 1 ) ( but on this - it could be viewed as a dodge to clean up one parties file if a police report hasn't been made )
3:Pay the debt and live with the consequences.

I suppose, thankfully, they are relatively small amounts.

For future- you could consider getting a protective registration on your credit file - https://www.cifas.org.uk/services/id...e-registration

Some reading http://www.experian.co.uk/downloads/...dBookletA5.pdf