Rosetta, 56, moved out of a rented flat in Manchester back to her native Northern Ireland a few years ago. However, several months later she discovered – to her horror - that a new tenant was running up huge catalogue debts in her name.
"I thought I’d done everything right when I moved," Rosetta says. "I informed friends, my bank,
home insurance, and creditors of my forwarding address months earlier and took out a short-term post redirection."
Becoming a victim
She found out she had become a victim of fraud when an ex-neighbour rang to tell her that he'd been asked to take in parcels which had Rosetta's name on them.
"My first instinct was to phone the police for advice," she says. "They explained that although the tenant was committing fraud, I was not the 'aggrieved party' and they couldn't act on my behalf as the catalogue companies had to make the complaint; I felt helpless!"
Debt collection centres soon started phoning Rosetta demanding payment for unpaid debts, and she didn’t know who to turn too.
"From what they said, I knew the fraudster used another birth date. I told them that it wasn't me and that it wasn't my debt - but at no point did any debt agencies believe me or offer any help or advice.”
Chased by creditors
"As time went on I grew more frustrated and upset about it. The debt collectors became more aggressive towards me and threatened legal action, saying they’d send bailiffs to take my possessions to cover the cost of the debts.”
Rosetta admits to being “distraught” and speaking to police in Northern Ireland and in Manchester to no avail.
However, the turning point came after seeing an advert for credit reference agency Credit Expert’s service. Rosetta sent off for a free credit report and was horrified to see that the fraudulent debts had tarnished her financial record. The new tenant had obtained thousands of pounds worth of goods and applied for
credit cards in Rosetta's name after getting this from using junk mail.
Fortunately, with the help of Credit Expert, Rosetta's rating is now good. "I spoke with an advisor who contacted the companies and told me to send documentary evidence (photocopies) to prove that the debts weren’t mine and I didn’t live there when the fraudulent accounts had been opened. It was a great relief to have it all sorted." Her experience proves anyone can be a target for identity thieves.
