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Identity Theft and Debt

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
Someone I know has recently received a debt collectors bill for £900 from an orange contract which he never opened. His ex opened the contract in his name (not even his full name either as he has double barrelled surname) She used the phone and paid it for a year, then upgraded to the iphone. Since then the bills haven't been paid and orange received the bills back with not known at this address. My friend has been split from this girl for nearly 3 years, hasn't been near her house since then.

Orange won't send him any of the documentation for the contract as its been passed onto the debt collector apparently they can only view information. So where does he stand?

Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Hi Groovaybaby,

    Sorry to hear what's happened to your friend. I got a feeling it's going to be a bit complicated sorting the situation out so I'd suggest he starts talking to people who can help as quickly as possible.

    The Citizen's Advice Bureau is probably the best place to start - I'd suggest he make an appointment at his local service. You can search for a local office on the following page (ignore the error message, search seems fine)
    http://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/index/getadvice.htm?txt_search=&Search.x=26&Search.y=13

    Might also be worth speaking to trading standards as well - even if they can't help themselves I'm sure they can put your friend in touch with someone who can.
    You can search for the details of the nearest office on their homepage -
    http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/

    On top of that fraud is fraud. In the past I've know friends who were chased for bills and legal fees they didn't owe and once they reported it to the police they then had to appear in front of a magistrate and just confirm their story. I'm not sure if the same will apply here but it might be worth speaking to your local police station as quickly as possible.

    There isn't a quick search of local services but if you search for the Police region that applies you should be able to get a non-emergency number to speak to someone.

    At this stage my feeling would be that the faster he reacts to this and the more advice he gets the better his chances of getting it sorted quickly.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    thanks alot i've put him in touch with the local police and they are looking into it.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Wow, what a shitty situation. Hope you get it sorted without too much further trouble.
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