Mistaken debt
Stephen Bailey lived a quiet life in a peaceful suburban part of Birmingham but all this changed after a debt collection company connected him with a multiple debt defaulter, who had a similar name to his and lived in the same suburb.
Steve’s problems began in January 2004 when he received a demand for an outstanding debt of £3,700 from Legal and Trade Collections. He wrote to the company explaining that they had made a mistake but he continued to receive debt demands from Nelson, Guest and Partners. Further letters followed until Stephen could take it no longer and employed the services of a solicitor.
For a while the letters stopped but then he started receiving debt demands from Lloyds TSB, and Orange, the mobile phone company. The mistake was starting to get out of hand and had completely taken over his life. Stephen was trying to set up a new business but was repeatedly turned down for credit as he was constantly being mistaken for the fraudster.
Stephen spent vast sums of money funding solicitor’s fees and hours on the phone speaking to debt collectors in the hope of resolving the matter. His address has been connected to 24 different debts which have been run up by his namesake.
Although, it is rare, debt collectors can mismatch a person’s identity and record discriminating details on their credit file. This stipulates the importance of regularly checking your credit records to ensure that no-one is taking over your identity to commit fraud. Actions like this could have alarming consequences - like bankruptcy.
Since making the matter public knowledge, Stephen’s case has now been looked into and resolved.
Debt Advice News posted on 29/10/2007 13:48:20
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