how to prove it wasnt you?

**kelv&haley** · 11-08-2010, 05:22 AM

hoping someone out there is able to help..........
letter received at my mums house addressed to my hubby(we stayed with her for 5 months before emigrating) which she opened.It's from a solicitor, it says my hubby owes nearly 3k on a credit card and they are recovering it for them etc etc.My mum is the stressy type and has freaked out about bailiffs turning up and taking her stuff,and her address being black listed. but my qestions are how on earth did they link my hubby to my mums (we didnt have bills there)and we still own our own house over there,wouldnt letters go to our house?besides those questions i am wondering how on earth i go about proving that we dont owe this money,we have shreaded all or statements before emigrating and the credit card in question was one we had 6 years ago and was paid off via balance transfer to another card when the initial interest free period ended. If it wasnt for us still having our house over there i wouldnt be bothered about trying to sort this out as somewhere someone has cocked up. if i do just say "sod it" i cant be bothered sorting it and ringing around companies proving we dont owe this money can they stop us selling or house when we decide to??? i just am really annoyed that yet again my time is being wasted chasing around when it isnt even our fault!!!
my mum is worrying like mad,so really i dont wanna leave here receiving letters,should she just "return to sender" them ???? any advise would be great thank you haley xxx p.s stupid thing is we do still have an active credit card over there which we pay religiously each month because we are sooo scared about things like this happening!!! crazy!! xx

**Roo1** · 11-08-2010, 05:41 AM

Could it possibly be a hoax? Is this a genuine solicitor? Its strange that the credit card company who you "might" owe the money too hasn't got in touch with you and just sent it on to a debt collector.

I think you should first of all contact the credit card company to see if its true.
Then check out this solicitor, maybe google the business online?

Even though its a pain in the bum, I think you need to make some enquiries, even if it just to appease your mum so she won't stress out about it.

Best of luck
Judi

**me123** · 11-08-2010, 05:50 AM

if it were me 1.contact your uk bank and get your bank statements back dated(this will cost you small amount) 2.contact your credit card company check the date of funds transfered to new card,3.did you have any mail re-directed to your mums house when you left ,this maybe how they got the address,maybe when you cleared the balance the card company sent you a new card through the post and some cheeky bugger been using it..they cant send baliffs to your mums to retrieve debts and if all else fails ..you being here they cant do anything anyway unless it's a tax related offence..so do a bit of diggin..phone bank etc..tell your mum not to worry ..as it has nothing to do with her ...good luck

**kelv&haley** · 11-08-2010, 06:34 AM

wanted to say thanks to me123 aswell but the "thanks" button is not there?? wierd!!

**Diane** · 11-08-2010, 07:12 AM

When you're phoning your bank and credit card company, remember to use the SayNoto0870 website and get a number with an STD code, not one of the 0800/0870/0845 ones that will cost you a small fortune to use from here.

SAYNOTO0870.COM - Non-Geographical Alternative Telephone Numbers

Diane

**Riponian** · 11-08-2010, 09:45 AM

Oh Haley sounds like a right nightmare!!!

I would check out if it is a real solicitor as I know letters like that have been hoaxed before. With it being your mums and your house etc I don't think return to sender would work in this instance.
Get your bank statements as said etc and then contact them direct.

Good luck hope it gets sorted out
x

**mike and tor** · 11-08-2010, 12:02 PM

It may come from a real solicitor. Sometimes the cc company instructs companies to try and collect the money owed.
A very simple and effective solution would be for who ever is in the uk ie mother, to reply to the solicitor asking them to prove the debt.
if it is a fake they wont reply. if they are legit and you owe then they will prove the debt by sending a copy of the inital application you signed to get the cc.
if they can not do this then you dont own the debt and it is up to them to prove it to you.
pm me if you need further more detailed info.
take it easy matey.

**Kris** · 11-08-2010, 12:19 PM

We had something of this type happen to us. My Dad and I were holidaying in the UK and stayed unexpectedly overnight in a hotel in Cambridge and paid by credit card. When we got our credit card statement from the Bank a few months later back in Oz, they had charged a few thousand to the account which we immediately queried with the bank and refused to pay. The Bank called us in and we viewed the paperwork that they had. it was obvious that the signature was not Dad's it was just a lot of gobblygook. The Bank knew it wasn't Dad's signature because obviously they have a copy of his signature, but I believe they were trying it on. We worked out then what had happened because the Hotel must have taken our card and made another imprint and then signed it over. As others have said definitely contact the Credit Card company and ask them what it is about. It probably is a scam and they may not know anything of it. I can understand how your Mum feels, my Dad was pretty upset when it happened too, you just need to keep reassuring her. If it is a scam then they are targeting those that they know are vulnerable. Good luck.

**Mitchell** · 19-08-2010, 05:45 PM

Hiya kelv&haley

I wouldn't ignore it or mark the envelope as gone away as it could just get worse. I would do as others have suggested and contact the credit card company directly. Also as you still have a credit card in the UK, presumably with a UK address, have you thought about applying for a free credit search of yourself with Experian? You can apply for one here. You have to give a credit/debit card details to prove you are who you say you are. Any problems try contacting Experian by email as they were really helpful to me when I had stuff appear on my search that wasn't me.

The advice from CIFAS is "It is fairly straightforward to find out if your identity has been hijacked, and if you do suspect you are a victim, advice is available. Contact the organisation concerned straight away. Report the crime to the police and get a copy of your credit file/report from the credit reference agencies - Experian, Equifax and Callcredit - to check the extent of the fraudster's activity."

Hope this helps