For over a decade, my partner has been mistaken for another person with the same name and date of birth by credit reference agencies.
The other Christopher Smith has a record of not paying his bills and has lived in multiple locations, leading utility companies and councils to chase after my partner for his debts. Despite having different middle names, it doesn’t seem to make a difference.
Due to the debts of the other Christopher, my partner’s credit score has suffered, resulting in credit refusals and numerous claims from councils, companies, and debt agencies stating that he owes them money. He has made multiple attempts to resolve the situation, successfully challenging parts of his credit score, but has been unable to fully rectify the problem in his records.
This morning, a man claiming to be from Birmingham City Council contacted us about unpaid money, although it seemed he didn’t actually work for the council.
This situation is beyond ridiculous, and it’s unimaginable that my partner has to endure these circumstances. It constantly stresses him out and significantly impacts his financial decisions. He even changed his surname five years ago, but it hasn’t made a difference. The fraudulent individual appears to live in the Midlands, while we reside in Somerset. Please, is there anything you can do to help?
JC, by email
This letter is an abridged version, and I understand the frustration you both feel, especially considering you may want to apply for a mortgage in the future. If you don’t address this issue now, it could jeopardize your mortgage prospects.
To gain expert insight, I consulted James Jones, a longstanding expert from the credit reference agency Experian, for advice.
He stated: “Resolving this can be challenging since name and date of birth are crucial identifiers. To tackle the issue, your reader should obtain credit reports from the main credit reference agencies (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion) and request disassociation from the other individual.
“Additionally, he should ask the agencies to add blocks to any debtor-tracing services offered to clients, aiming to prevent his address from being suggested as a possible new address for the debtor. If the reader’s credit reports still contain entries that do not belong to him, including linked addresses, these should be disputed and removed by the relevant agency. This should resolve the matter.”
He has kindly offered to initiate the process at Experian, and it has already begun. I’m afraid you’ll likely face several weeks of paperwork, but it must be done.
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