The differences between identity fraud and coerced debt

You need to deal with the matter, if left unresolved it could get worse but there is support out there to help you along the way.

If you have experienced fraud and domestic abuse, you can reach out to Refuge for support. 

This will show you accounts in your name that you are currently legally liable for. 

You can do this over the phone or online here.

You may want to share the Action Fraud reference number with the account provider, so they know you have reported it as fraud. 

Before Following a link:

If you think someone may be accessing your phone or computer, Or you’re in a space where you could be disturbed, please do not follow this link:

If there is an account on your credit report that you did not set up or were not aware of until now, then report that to the organisation where the account is held.

For example, if there is a loan that you don’t recognise, you need to contact the loan provider and explain that this account was not taken out by you – this should trigger them to carry out an internal investigation into how the account was taken out.

The account provider should then open an internal fraud investigation and look into how the account was set up. This may take a few weeks, and they may want to speak to you directly to get more information. If they agree that the account was set up fraudulently then they should write off any debts, close the account and repair any damage done to your credit report. 

If they do not believe that the account was set up fraudulently, you can normally appeal this decision. To do this, you can check the account provider’s Complaints process which is normally on their website.

If after the complaint to the account provider, they still don’t agree with you, you may need to make a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS)   

The Financial Ombudsman Service have some clear guidance to banks about how they should approach Economic Abuse – this can be found here. 

Before Following a link:

If you think someone may be accessing your phone or computer, Or you’re in a space where you could be disturbed, please do not follow this link: Websites we signpost you to may not have a quick exit button, and will open in a new tab. Visit us again from a safe device or safe space at a later date.

You could put a Password Notice of Correction (NOC) on your credit file which is an additional layer of security and will mean that any creditor who wants to check your credit file will need the password you have set in order to access your credit file.

Please note that a NOC will stop all automated credit checks, so if you apply for a financial product the application process might take slightly longer as someone will need to check the NOC manually.

You would need to inform all three credit reference agencies (Experian, Equifax and TransUnion) of a Password NOC.  

Equifax suggest sending them a message similar to this: “I, (full name), have reason to believe that my personal details may be used fraudulently in an attempt to obtain credit. I would ask any companies searching my credit information with Equifax to ask for the password in order to confirm my identity.” 

Here’s how to add a Password Notice of Correction to each of the three credit reference agencies:  

• Experian – Go to their Contact Us page, click ‘Errors on my Experian report’ and then ‘I want to explain something on my Experian credit report’ – then you can add the above NOC message into the online form. 
• Equifax – Go to their Online Help, and click ‘Error on my credit report’ and then ‘Notice of Correction’. Then click on the ‘Do you still have questions?’ button. You will need to create an Equifax Online Help account by clicking ‘Create an Account’. You can also report fraud through this route. 
• TransUnion – you can email your Notice of Correction to consumer@transunion.co.uk.See more about what TransUnion say about Notice of Corrections here.

CIFAS is the UKs largest fraud prevention community. They can place a ‘Protective Registration’ warning on your credit file, but this is not free. It costs £25 for two years. You can find out more information about CIFAS Protective Registration.   

Please note that if you report fraud to a bank or financial provider, they may also put a CIFAS marker on your credit file. This doesn’t cost you anything, but they don’t always tell you if they have done this, so if you see a CIFAS marker or ‘Victim of Impersonation’ record on your credit report and you didn’t apply for it this might be why.

Top tips against fraud

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• Secure your online accounts as soon as possible, including making sure login information for Credit Reference Agencies accounts is not guessable (use strong passwords that you don’t use for anything else)
• Set up your financial accounts to a separate email that is not used for other things.
• Check your credit report regularly and set up alerts for any changes​.
• If something doesn’t seem right on your account or statement, speak to the creditor and your bank straight away. You can ask to speak to the bank or financial provider’s Vulnerable Customer Team, which is a dedicated team that supports customers in vulnerable circumstances. 
• Apply for a CIFAS Protective Registration warning on your credit file.
• Request that HMRC makes your records sensitive.

You can write to the creditor directly to explain the circumstances and how the contract came about.

If you have a support worker from a domestic abuse organisation, for example, they can advocate for you and provide a supporting letter to send together with your letter. Both letters should ask the creditor to consider a debt write off, or to manage the debt differently based on the exceptional circumstances that you are in. It is very important to explain that the contract was taken under duress, and that any earlier attempt to discuss this with them could have put you at further risk of abuse.

For more information about how to liaise with creditors, see our guide here

If you have any further information or documentation about the domestic abuse, such as court orders, crime reference numbers or letters from other agencies may also help give context.