Somebody unknown using my details for insurance.
Somebody unknown using my details for insurance.
Author
Discussion

LRDefender

Original Poster:

675 posts

34 months

Yesterday (18:23)
quotequote all
Hallo P.H's,

I've recently had a couple of letters from a well known insurance company requesting I pay an outstanding amount on a 'business insurance' that had been recently cancelled. There wasn't any detail or description of the insurance within the letter and I did think it was a scam. I ended up contacting the insurance company and eventually I managed to communicate with someone that looked into the policy details and they revealed someone has insured their van at my address and under my name.

I travel a lot so I haven't had an active insurance policy in the U.K. for about 4 years. I am now wondering what other products and services the van driving insurance enthusiast might have accessed under my name.

The insurance company have confirmed the policy and obviously aren't going to tell me anything about the insurance enthusiast due to privacy laws. If I'm honest I doubt if the insurance company will actually investigate it although they as have stated they will.

So what do I do next? Forget about it and hope this is a one off or should I start checking credit reports for D.D's etc?

paul_c123

2,185 posts

19 months

Yesterday (18:41)
quotequote all
You would normally check a bank account for DDs.

Do you mean, check your credit report for any new credit account(s)?

LRDefender

Original Poster:

675 posts

34 months

Yesterday (18:44)
quotequote all
paul_c123 said:
You would normally check a bank account for DDs.

Do you mean, check your credit report for any new credit account(s)?
Yep, credit report for new credit accounts and soft searched too I guess. Anything that I don't recognise I can follow up.

About a year or so ago I received a ticket for using a mobile phone (I think) whilst driving in the U.K. at a time I was outside the U.K. Obviously I challenged the ticket and it went away.

Chimune

4,154 posts

249 months

Yesterday (18:53)
quotequote all
Pretty sure you can lock your credit in Experian so no new agreements can be taken out without second confirmation from yourself.

MustangGT

13,745 posts

306 months

Yesterday (18:54)
quotequote all
LRDefender said:
Hallo P.H's,

I've recently had a couple of letters from a well known insurance company requesting I pay an outstanding amount on a 'business insurance' that had been recently cancelled. There wasn't any detail or description of the insurance within the letter and I did think it was a scam. I ended up contacting the insurance company and eventually I managed to communicate with someone that looked into the policy details and they revealed someone has insured their van at my address and under my name.

I travel a lot so I haven't had an active insurance policy in the U.K. for about 4 years. I am now wondering what other products and services the van driving insurance enthusiast might have accessed under my name.

The insurance company have confirmed the policy and obviously aren't going to tell me anything about the insurance enthusiast due to privacy laws. If I'm honest I doubt if the insurance company will actually investigate it although they as have stated they will.

So what do I do next? Forget about it and hope this is a one off or should I start checking credit reports for D.D's etc?
If it is your name being used they must be able to discuss it with you, if it is just your address then that is a different matter.

BertBert

21,093 posts

237 months

Yesterday (18:58)
quotequote all
Chimune said:
Pretty sure you can lock your credit in Experian so no new agreements can be taken out without second confirmation from yourself.
But only if Experian get used for credit checking

LRDefender

Original Poster:

675 posts

34 months

Yesterday (19:06)
quotequote all
MustangGT said:
If it is your name being used they must be able to discuss it with you, if it is just your address then that is a different matter.
I have requested more information by email and I'll wait for their response. The policy is in my name and my U.K. address.

E-bmw

12,847 posts

178 months

LRDefender said:
Hallo P.H's,

I've recently had a couple of letters from a well known insurance company requesting I pay an outstanding amount on a 'business insurance' that had been recently cancelled. There wasn't any detail or description of the insurance within the letter and I did think it was a scam. I ended up contacting the insurance company and eventually I managed to communicate with someone that looked into the policy details and they revealed someone has insured their van at my address and under my name.

I travel a lot so I haven't had an active insurance policy in the U.K. for about 4 years. I am now wondering what other products and services the van driving insurance enthusiast might have accessed under my name.

The insurance company have confirmed the policy and obviously aren't going to tell me anything about the insurance enthusiast due to privacy laws. If I'm honest I doubt if the insurance company will actually investigate it although they as have stated they will.

So what do I do next? Forget about it and hope this is a one off or should I start checking credit reports for D.D's etc?
I had this a few years ago, or similar anyway.

I got a reminder for renewal of a policy that I didn't have.

No such payment had ever gone out from my bank

I informed them by email that I did not have this policy.

They sent a letter back with a renewal price.

I told them by email I did not have this policy.

Renewal date came & they sent a reminder that if I didn't pay I wouldn't be covered.

I Told them by email that I didn't have this policy & so would not be renewing something I didn't have.

A week later they sent me an email saying they had auto renewed & sent me an invoice for the renewal.

I just ignored it & didn't hear back from them again.

I should have just ignored them all after doing my own due diligence and blocking the email address.

alscar

8,806 posts

239 months

LRDefender said:
Hallo P.H's,

I've recently had a couple of letters from a well known insurance company requesting I pay an outstanding amount on a 'business insurance' that had been recently cancelled. There wasn't any detail or description of the insurance within the letter and I did think it was a scam. I ended up contacting the insurance company and eventually I managed to communicate with someone that looked into the policy details and they revealed someone has insured their van at my address and under my name.

I travel a lot so I haven't had an active insurance policy in the U.K. for about 4 years. I am now wondering what other products and services the van driving insurance enthusiast might have accessed under my name.

The insurance company have confirmed the policy and obviously aren't going to tell me anything about the insurance enthusiast due to privacy laws. If I'm honest I doubt if the insurance company will actually investigate it although they as have stated they will.

So what do I do next? Forget about it and hope this is a one off or should I start checking credit reports for D.D's etc?
A couple of years ago I was the "victim " of ID fraud for Car Insurance - 4 different attempts with different Insurers known as ghost broking.
I also received a letter from a debt collection agency and one from a premium financing co.
Insurers use 1 of 2 different systems for their checks and in each case the policies themselves had been cancelled flat.
For each Insurer letter I called each one and was assured they knew it was false and they had themselves informed the MID.
For the PF I also called but the Debt collection I emailed and cc'd the Insurer who then also contacted them and all was removed.
I notified the Action Fraud site as advised to do so in each case but other than 1 phone call of reassurance received back not sure what if anything ever happened as a result.
I also registered for the CIFAS additional credit checks at a cost of £30 for 2 years.
I check my credit score every 6 months via my Banks free service.
ID theft isn't viewed as a crime per se and the Police aren't interested and in fairness you can see why.
Whilst its stressful and for some upsetting as long as you are methodical in dealing with and keeping copies of the correspondence hopefully all will be ok.
Good luck.




LRDefender

Original Poster:

675 posts

34 months

Seems both Alscar & E-bmw have enjoyed similar experiences, I'm glad to hear neither of you suffered any financial loss or inconvenience.

I have heard back from the insurance company and they have stated they will not discuss details as the policy wasn't purchased by myself, seems fair enough. I've checked my credit report and there is a veritable plethora of soft searches and some have used the incorrect details, nothing that would cause concern.

alscar

8,806 posts

239 months

LRDefender said:
Seems both Alscar & E-bmw have enjoyed similar experiences, I'm glad to hear neither of you suffered any financial loss or inconvenience.

I have heard back from the insurance company and they have stated they will not discuss details as the policy wasn't purchased by myself, seems fair enough. I've checked my credit report and there is a veritable plethora of soft searches and some have used the incorrect details, nothing that would cause concern.
In my case I was able to obtain various additional details such as reg numbers , the false email address and even what the cars themselves were along with an area and suffice to say it might well have all be centred around a certain often mentioned place.
I obviously did nothing with said details as there wasn't really anything else I could do.

E-bmw

12,847 posts

178 months

alscar said:
LRDefender said:
Seems both Alscar & E-bmw have enjoyed similar experiences, I'm glad to hear neither of you suffered any financial loss or inconvenience.

I have heard back from the insurance company and they have stated they will not discuss details as the policy wasn't purchased by myself, seems fair enough. I've checked my credit report and there is a veritable plethora of soft searches and some have used the incorrect details, nothing that would cause concern.
In my case I was able to obtain various additional details such as reg numbers , the false email address and even what the cars themselves were along with an area and suffice to say it might well have all be centred around a certain often mentioned place.
I obviously did nothing with said details as there wasn't really anything else I could do.
Mine was health insurance & there was no record on my credit report, they had just used my email address for some strange reason.

CanAm

13,493 posts

298 months

alscar said:
LRDefender said:
Seems both Alscar & E-bmw have enjoyed similar experiences, I'm glad to hear neither of you suffered any financial loss or inconvenience.

I have heard back from the insurance company and they have stated they will not discuss details as the policy wasn't purchased by myself, seems fair enough. I've checked my credit report and there is a veritable plethora of soft searches and some have used the incorrect details, nothing that would cause concern.
In my case I was able to obtain various additional details such as reg numbers , the false email address and even what the cars themselves were along with an area and suffice to say it might well have all be centred around a certain often mentioned place.
I obviously did nothing with said details as there wasn't really anything else I could do.
This has also happened to me. Some scrote from Chatham took out a policy using my name and address (a more rural area). The first I heard about it was when I received a letter from an Insurance company (one of the many Online-Only Insurers) advising of a DDM default and that the policy was therefore cancelled, quoting my bank account and sort code numbers, and the vehicle reg number.

Having worked in Insurance it was obvious to me that all the contact would have been by email, including the issue of the policy documents, and it was only the requirement that a cancellation letter be sent to the postal address that resulted in me being aware of the policy. It took a while to get past the Insurer's automated answer system as obviously I couldn't answer any of the security questions. I eventually got through to their fraud team, who were very helpful, and removed the credit and Insurance cancellation markers for me.

The police just didn't want to know of course, as others have mentioned, despite the fact that I can give them the details of an Insurance Fraudster.

I also submitted a Subject Access Request to the Motor Insurance Bureau asking for details of all policies in my name. They replied within the statutory 30 days giving the full details (including additional drivers!!), over the last 5 years but for just ONE vehicle of the two I currently own*, and another I've had in that period, and nothing for the scrote's car insured in my name. I've replied saying that isn't what I asked for, and they will respond within another 30 days. *PS they couldn't even find details of my second car, which I found straightaway on ASKMID. I'm not impressed with the Police or the MIB.

LRDefender

Original Poster:

675 posts

34 months

My main concern is whoever has used my details will be building up a financial identity that could have negative financial impacts for me further down the line.

A couple of years ago I was taken to court and found guilty by my local council for an unpaid council tax bill that I never received. I only found out about it when someone informed me that bailiffs had been trying to enter my property. This event took quite sometime to rectify and cost me a lot more than the original council tax bill. I would like to avoid such scenarios again!

InitialDave

14,792 posts

145 months

LRDefender said:
My main concern is whoever has used my details will be building up a financial identity that could have negative financial impacts for me further down the line.

A couple of years ago I was taken to court and found guilty by my local council for an unpaid council tax bill that I never received. I only found out about it when someone informed me that bailiffs had been trying to enter my property. This event took quite sometime to rectify and cost me a lot more than the original council tax bill. I would like to avoid such scenarios again!
Council tax has its own specific and quite nasty approach to arrears, far more aggressive than other kinds of debt or missed payment.

Simpo Two

92,104 posts

291 months

LRDefender said:
A couple of years ago I was taken to court and found guilty by my local council for an unpaid council tax bill that I never received. I only found out about it when someone informed me that bailiffs had been trying to enter my property.
Do you mean that you didn't receive the summons so they won by default?

As Dave says councils can be big nasty beasts with huge resources and legal power.

CanAm

13,493 posts

298 months

alscar said:
A couple of years ago I was the "victim " of ID fraud for Car Insurance - 4 different attempts with different Insurers known as ghost broking.
I also received a letter from a debt collection agency and one from a premium financing co.
Insurers use 1 of 2 different systems for their checks and in each case the policies themselves had been cancelled flat.
For each Insurer letter I called each one and was assured they knew it was false and they had themselves informed the MID.
For the PF I also called but the Debt collection I emailed and cc'd the Insurer who then also contacted them and all was removed.
I notified the Action Fraud site as advised to do so in each case but other than 1 phone call of reassurance received back not sure what if anything ever happened as a result.
I also registered for the CIFAS additional credit checks at a cost of £30 for 2 years.
I check my credit score every 6 months via my Banks free service.
ID theft isn't viewed as a crime per se and the Police aren't interested and in fairness you can see why.
Whilst its stressful and for some upsetting as long as you are methodical in dealing with and keeping copies of the correspondence hopefully all will be ok.
Good luck.
In my case the Scrote had used one of the Online Insurers, and obviously all transactions and correspondence were electronic including, crucially, the issue of policy documents, with the result that the "Policyholder" received nothing whatsoever, and everything went to Scrote@hotmail.com. Most Insurers ask for your Driver Number which includes you surname and (jumbled) Date of Birth, which they then check against the DVLA records. I can only assume that this Company didn't do this as I know that Scrote didn't use my DoB.

What worries me is that I only found out about this policy because of a DDM default. How many more are there out there, ticking away quietly, paying premiums online. If they do default on payments, the only credit reference that's going to suffer is YOURS, because you, the policyholder are the only name and address they can attach it to.

I am waiting to see if the MIB come back to me with the information I have requested.

LRDefender

Original Poster:

675 posts

34 months

Simpo Two said:
LRDefender said:
A couple of years ago I was taken to court and found guilty by my local council for an unpaid council tax bill that I never received. I only found out about it when someone informed me that bailiffs had been trying to enter my property.
Do you mean that you didn't receive the summons so they won by default?

As Dave says councils can be big nasty beasts with huge resources and legal power.
Agreed, councils are nasty.

I didn't receive the council tax bill or the summons. Or the bailiffs letters or visits. I wasn't living in the house at the time as I wasn't in the U.K. And I had told the council. Once the debt had been passed to the debt collection company the council would not speak to me. I very nearly left the U.K. for good after that particular episode.

alscar

8,806 posts

239 months

CanAm said:
In my case the Scrote had used one of the Online Insurers, and obviously all transactions and correspondence were electronic including, crucially, the issue of policy documents, with the result that the "Policyholder" received nothing whatsoever, and everything went to Scrote@hotmail.com. Most Insurers ask for your Driver Number which includes you surname and (jumbled) Date of Birth, which they then check against the DVLA records. I can only assume that this Company didn't do this as I know that Scrote didn't use my DoB.

What worries me is that I only found out about this policy because of a DDM default. How many more are there out there, ticking away quietly, paying premiums online. If they do default on payments, the only credit reference that's going to suffer is YOURS, because you, the policyholder are the only name and address they can attach it to.

I am waiting to see if the MIB come back to me with the information I have requested.
As I said above Insurers do have access to various “ checking systems “ ( as explained to me by one of them ) and where the scam falls down is that you as the innocent victim don’t get an email as they are using one that obviously isn’t yours so communications can’t be replied to.
In all my cases the first I knew was when their letters arrived telling me they had been cancelled.
That’s also why I registered for that CIFAS service although how good it is I know not.
I just thought £15 per year wasn’t the end of the world.
What really pi£&ed me off thought was how pointless the AF system was and if happened again I wouldn’t bother registering.
I even wrote to my local MP as I thought he might like to make a name for himself getting ID Theft looked into but he never even bothered to reply.


OIC

397 posts

19 months

alscar said:
LRDefender said:
Seems both Alscar & E-bmw have enjoyed similar experiences, I'm glad to hear neither of you suffered any financial loss or inconvenience.

I have heard back from the insurance company and they have stated they will not discuss details as the policy wasn't purchased by myself, seems fair enough. I've checked my credit report and there is a veritable plethora of soft searches and some have used the incorrect details, nothing that would cause concern.
In my case I was able to obtain various additional details such as reg numbers , the false email address and even what the cars themselves were along with an area and suffice to say it might well have all be centred around a certain often mentioned place.
I obviously did nothing with said details as there wasn't really anything else I could do.
Mind telling me (us) how you did that?

I'm currently playing the 'computer says no', 'GDPR', 'security not passed' (wasn't actually asked) game with DVLA.