Identity Don't Get Done Get Dom

I've been battling your consumer rights for years,

but it seems some companies still aren't getting the message.

The main aim and goal for big companies is profit,

they don't care about the customers.

Day in, day out, thousands of you are still being taken for a ride,

and it's always the same old things.

Shoddy products, small print and bad customer service.

In the terms and conditions,

they use words which they know no ordinary person would understand.

Some firms are driving you barmy, causing you sleepless nights

and making it feel like YOU'RE the one to blame.

But don't despair, cos I'm here to take up the fight

and make sure that YOU don't get done.

Who are we?

Now, that might sound like a profound question,

but when you think about it

our identity is very important to us,

especially in today's world of computers and databases,

where information about us is being stored

by hundreds of different companies.

Just ask David Smith, a coach driver from Gloucester,

who believes he's been mixed up with someone else

and landed with their debts.

He's being chased to pay debts in excess of £7,500

on credit and store cards that are in his name,

but he says have nothing to do with him.

It's upsetting, it's annoying, it's insulting.

It all began in 2004,

when David starting receiving demands for repayment.

I received a number of letters, originally from companies

and then, later on, from debt collectors.

The outstanding debts were from two credit cards

and a store card that David says he's never had.

I do not rack up store cards and credit cards.

I don't have any debt at all.

Yet somehow, it seemed David's name had become linked

to the unpaid card bills.

Then, in 2008, he was contacted by a company called

Cabot Financial Ltd, who bought all three debts.

David told them they'd got the wrong man,

but Cabot Financial's information said otherwise.

As far as they were concerned, somebody had to pay them the money,

and it was going to be me.

Increasingly concerned, David looked into it himself,

and learned that the debts related to an address in Berkshire.

There are hundreds of David Smiths living in Berkshire,

but our David Smith has never lived there.

So, why was there information linking him to the Berkshire address?

And we've shouted as loud as we can that this isn't our debt,

and they still maintain that it is.

Knowing the debts weren't his, David decided to ignore the letters,

and for a few years everything went quiet.

But in August 2012, when David and his wife wanted to move,

they were in for a nasty shock.

Their mortgage application was turned down.

A default had been put on David's record, although not by Cabot,

and his credit rating was now listed as very poor.

His chances of borrowing money were now slim.

It did cause my wife to have to take on the borrowing

for our new mortgage for our new house, entirely on her shoulders.

Although they're finally in the process of moving,

David's desperate for the link between him and these debts

to be removed, and his credit rating restored.

It's affected my wife, and I'm just furious at the whole thing.

Well, I can't blame him.

The question is, can I do anything to help resolve this credit crisis?

I'm in Gloucester today to meet David

to have a chat about this debt that he says

is nothing at all to do with him.

David and Helen have now, thankfully,

moved into their new home.

-Hi, David?

-Hello, Dominic.

-Good to meet you. How are you doing?

-Come on in.

-Thanks very much.

But the issues of David's bad credit rating

and being linked to the debts still remain.

One of the very, very obvious problems here

is your name, isn't it?

Yes.

David Smith?

Yes, we did a little research into that, my wife and I on the computer.

We actually found out that I think 83,000 David Smiths

were registered in 1959, the year that I was born.

Gordon Bennett! That's a lot of potential David Smiths out there.

Now, I need to know where David's got with Cabot Financial so far.

How bad did it get?

Well, I phoned them a number of times, then I wrote to them,

my wife wrote to them.

Some of the letters from Cabot were actually saying that,

basically, they were not going to accept

my claim that this wasn't my debt.

Basically, they wanted the money.

Hello?

It's clear that David has found his dealings with Cabot

increasingly frustrating.

They never give you a free phone number. It's always an 08700 number.

So, instantly you're paying to ring these people.

But the question still remains,

why David is being chased for the debts

if he's never lived at the address the cards were linked to.

David has even sought further advice.

I've had to contact the financial ombudsman.

Raising a dispute with the ombudsman means Cabot

have now got to cease contacting David directly.

When I've been talking to the ombudsman I found out that

once you've raised a dispute with a company they're not allowed

to chase you for any money they think you may owe them,

whether you do or you don't.

How has this affected you, financially, emotionally?

It's made me feel a bit embarrassed,

because I went into my mortgage provider

and they refused me a mortgage.

That was embarrassing,

so we've got the frustration and the anger towards Cabot.

David is, understandably, at the end of his tether.

He knows there are hundreds of David Smiths out there.

But how had Cabot linked him with an address in Berkshire?

Was it their mistake,

or were they relying on information from another source?

Either way, they were sure David was their man.

I'm going to take his letters and correspondence,

and see if I can get to the bottom of this issue.

-I shall be in touch soon, hopefully.

-Brilliant, thank you very much.

-Thanks, David.

-Thank you.

Now, being chased for a debt is bad enough,

but being chased for a debt that isn't yours!

Well, that's enough to drive anybody bonkers.

I think it's time I gave Cabot a call.

But before I start, I always find out who I'm dealing with first.

Cabot Financial was set up in 1998.

They purchase consumer debt from banks and other credit lenders

who no longer wish to manage the debt themselves.

Their website states they believe in ethical collections,

and treating their customers fairly, with respect and empathy.

Now, one of David and my bugbears

is that whenever he's had to call Cabot in the past

it's not been a cheap call,

and has had to come out of his pocket.

But there's a way round this.

I'll tell you something about debt recovery agents - they always

give you these 0845, 0844 and 0870 numbers,

which I hate, because a lot of them are profit sharing,

but because they're collecting debts

and some people might not be able to afford those debts,

if you do a little search, as I have on Cabot,

you quite often find a free phone number.

I've got it. Let's let them pay the bill.

And it's just as well, as straight away I'm put on hold.

-RECORDED MESSAGE: Thank you for calling. Your call will be answered shortly.

-OK.

MUSIC PLAYS

Eventually I get through to someone, but they tell me

I need to call reception and give me another number.

Good afternoon. My name's Dominic Littlewood.

I'm calling from the BBC. I need to speak to somebody

re a complaint that's come in to us

from a customer who you're chasing for a debt.

Who would I need to speak to, please?

I'm told to hold the line whilst the receptionist finds out

who I should contact.

MUSIC PLAYS

Finally, I'm told I need to be transferred to customer assurance.

I take the direct line number myself, and just as well,

as I can't be transferred because nobody's available at the moment.

The receptionist says I need to speak

to someone called Becky in the press department,

but she's not in the office today.

I ask for her full name for future reference,

and I'm told they can't give that information out.

Hmm.

OK. Does she have an extension number or something

so I can deal with her?

I'm told just to call this number to be put through.

They're not making this easy.

Perhaps Becky has an email I can contact her on.

Thanks very much for your help. Bye-bye.

Wouldn't give me her surname,

but she gave me an email address which has got a surname in it.

That was hard work, but I'm fired up now,

and I want to get to the bottom of why David

is being chased for this debt.

I'm emailing the press office to ask how they're so sure they have

the right David Smith, and where they got their information from.

I've called the debt collection company Cabot Financial,

but have had no luck speaking to anyone.

I did email their press office, though, and I've had a reply.

In their email, they say they're no longer going to pursue David

for the money, which sounds good,

but they maintain that they have strong evidence

to link David to the debt

based on their own searches of electoral rolls

and information supplied to them

in March 2012 by a credit reference agency called Equifax.

So, frustratingly, I'm no closer to clearing David's name,

and having his credit rating returned to normal.

David has given us details of both his addresses

and the Berkshire address, and we've made a bit of a discovery.

David is adamant that he's being confused

with another David Smith who lives in Berkshire,

so I've asked my team to do a little bit of research and find out.

And after digging around, they've discovered

that the David Smith in Berkshire

has a different middle name,

a different date of birth,

and is married to a different lady.

Don't know about you,

but that sounds like a different David Smith to me.

But can we now get David's information updated, so that Cabot

no longer links him to the Berkshire address?

And, more importantly,

can we get the default taken off his credit record?

Let's hope so.

But I'll tell you what,

this case has got me thinking about the issue of identity.

Now, I know what you're thinking, "Dom, you're one in a million."

And you would be right.

But the thing is, I'm not the only Dom Littlewood out there.

And that's the thing here, you see.

Many of us share our name with other people.

So how can we be sure that our identities don't get mixed up?

Now, in David's case,

Cabot are saying that some of their information came

from a credit reference agency, or CRA for short, called Equifax.

So what is a CRA and what do they do?

Well, someone who knows all about CRAs

and how they work is editor of Which? Money James Daley.

CRAs store all the data about individuals in the UK

in relation to their creditworthiness,

so that means whether they're keeping up payments

on any loans they have, and also keeping up payments

on other contracts they have,

like mobile phone contracts or their energy bills.

OK, but how exactly do the CRAs collate this information

and build our credit reports?

Every time you apply for a loan,

or start a new contract with a utility company or mobile phone provider,

those companies will go to the credit reference agencies

and put details of those agreements onto your file.

And then, every time you make a payment, they'll register

whether or not that payment was on time,

and if it wasn't, they'll put a mark on your file.

And it's actually quite cheap

and easy to access your own credit records.

Each of the credit reference agencies is obliged

to provide your statutory credit report

for just £2 online.

But are the CRAs' systems foolproof,

or can mistakes get made?

There are only three credit reference agencies in the UK

and with that job comes responsibility.

They clearly need to be working to ensure

that the information on people's credit files is correct.

Some of the common mistakes we hear about

on people's credit files are

that perhaps their utility provider or mobile phone company

has said they've missed a payment when actually they haven't done

or, in more extreme cases, people find that there are loans

on their file that they never applied for,

they don't even recognise.

Right, to keep on top of your credit rating,

check your credit report with all three CRAs,

and if you do find a mistake,

make sure you alert the company responsible

and the specific CRA immediately.

In David's case, I think

I've got the evidence to prove that a mistake has been made.

But was it Cabot Financial's error, or was the information

given to them by the credit reference agency Equifax at fault?

Let's see what Cabot have to say.

Time to call Becky at Cabot Financial.

-'Hello, good afternoon.'

-Hi. Becky, is it convenient?

-'Yes.'

-Superb, OK.

I'm calling you about the email I sent you about a David Smith.

'Yes.'

And I notice there that you've actually said that

you're not going to pursue this any more.

'Yes.'

What does that mean, in layman's terms?

Not "You're not going to pursue it."

Why are you are you not pursuing it

if you've been chasing it for so many years?

'That's a good question,

'and I'd rather not comment on the phone about that.

'I'd rather put that in writing to you.

I asked Becky if they think they've been chasing the wrong man,

as our David has a different middle name to the David Smith

who they've been chasing for the debts.

And, if it's not a clear case,

why have they been chasing David for years?

But sadly, Becky doesn't want to comment on the phone.

-I think you've been chasing the wrong guy, Becky.

-'OK.'

If and when I can prove that to you.

You can put it in writing, if you like, or tell me verbally.

I think we need to do something

to try and stop this happening again,

and something to put his credit rating back.

And something in the way of an apology.

'I'll give you the official response in writing,

'and I'm not trying to be evasive here, but I don't want to respond

'on behalf of the company without having all the facts in front of me.'

There are many David Smiths in Berkshire,

but maybe she can comment on the fact

that our David isn't one of them.

Since 1998, right up to now,

he's only actually had two different addresses.

One is where he is now and one is in Scotland.

He's never, ever, lived at the address

of the person you're chasing.

'Right.'

What can you tell me about that?

-BECKY LAUGHS 'What do you think I'm going to say?'

-Go on.

-Surprise me.

-'I'm just going to say I'm going to put it in writing.'

To be fair to Becky, she is just doing her job,

but I can't help feeling just a little bit frustrated.

It's quite comical.

The only thing you'll be able to tell me verbally

is whether you can't put something in writing.

I'll give you a call tomorrow once I've got your email.

The earlier the better, but I appreciate

it might not be first thing.

It's been lovely talking to you, Becky,

and we'll have a chat again tomorrow.

-'OK, thank you.'

-Bye-bye.

-'OK, bye.'

I'd like to tell you something right now about how that call went,

but you know what?

I'm going to put it writing! I'm going home!

But of course it's not just Cabot I need to speak to.

I've also contacted Equifax to check that the information

they hold on David is correct.

And I get a surprising response from Equifax,

who supplied data to Cabot in March 2012.

They tell me that they've realised the information

they've supplied to Cabot about David's address was wrong.

They say that this information came to them from another source,

but they admit that they didn't check it was correct before passing it on.

They also say they have now corrected their mistake. Phew!

It sounds like we're finally getting somewhere.

But before we get too carried away, I want David

to check his updated Equifax report to make sure it's now correct.

Right, so...

..this is my credit report.

Current address, previous addresses, linked addresses.

One linked address.

Nothing to do with me, that.

That is, that is.

That isn't.

So already we're finding things wrong on another credit history.

Can you Adam and Eve it?

Equifax assured us they'd corrected all the errors,

but David's report is still littered with details

that don't relate to him.

That is not me, and I am not 80 years old. And that, there...

..says that I am.

Well, if you are, you're certainly looking good for it.

It's clear that there are different David Smiths on this report.

David spotted it, so why haven't Equifax picked up on it?

Well, quite frankly, it needs to be sorted out.

So at least I can get credit in the future and people don't think

I'm a person who doesn't pay their debts back.

Oh, dear. David's not having much luck at all.

It feels like we're back to square one again.

Cabot have told me that before March 2012,

their information had come from one of the other CRAs -

Callcredit Information Group, who also linked David to the address in Berkshire.

So it's not just Equifax's mistake

and we've contacted Callcredit to see what they say.

Equifax told us

that once they realised the mistake on David's credit record,

they corrected it, yet he still found mistakes on his file.

I've asked Equifax for an interview

and I'm pleased to say that Neil Munroe,

Director of External Affairs and Communications, has agreed to meet me.

-Hello, Neil.

-Hi.

-Hi. Dominic. Thanks for coming.

-No problem.

Appreciate that. Got a seat over here if you'd like to come down.

Firstly, I want to know how

the CRAs get their information. When information comes in to you,

particularly detrimental information,

what are you required to do by law to make sure that's accurate?

We do as much as we can in terms of quality check,

but there is a very strong obligation on the lender.

We have a very strong contract with the supplying organisation

to make sure they're doing as much as well.

Isn't there a legal requirement that you have to make sure it's accurate?

We have a legal requirement to make sure it's accurate.

So as consumers, we're relying on all parties doing

the appropriate checks on our credit information.

But we've seen that errors, like David's, can occur.

When an error has been made, and you then rectify it, is there a footprint,

a shadow left of the original problem?

If they... It depends exactly what has actually been changed

but in most cases where there is a change,

for example in the status,

so it may have been recorded that you missed a payment

and in fact you didn't, it will be corrected back to the original item.

Great. So if someone then applied for credit there would be

no trace of the previous problem. That's a relief to hear.

Let's talk about David Smith. What went wrong?

Well, it's an unfortunate situation.

We have a lot of sympathy with Mr Smith and there can be instances,

for example, where you have a very close match

between a Christian name and a surname,

and the same date of birth,

where, in fact, it might be that certain data

inadvertently gets loaded to the wrong person.

There are hundreds of David Smiths in Berkshire and Gloucester alone.

So how did our David get mistaken by someone else

when he could prove his address history?

He's never owned a credit card.

His date of birth didn't tally up with the person who had left this bad credit trail behind him.

Why was the finger of blame ever pointed at David?

It makes your system sound very flawed to me.

I would need to explain a little bit about what happened, I think,

in terms of what the debt collection agency company was doing.

They will have used our systems to identify another

Mr Smith of the same surname, same Christian name, same date...

a similar date of birth, and they will have found...

they would have found using our systems a Mr Smith in Gloucester.

As Neil has said himself though, David's details should have

been validated by all companies to make sure they were correct.

And they weren't.

I totally agree, we are required to make sure it's accurate.

We would suggest that we did as much as we could do,

obviously it didn't work right in Mr Smith's case.

I'm not going to say we did get it right.

What I want to know is, why after David has been assured

his Equifax report has been corrected, he found yet more mistakes on it?

What happened is he supplied that previous address to us.

When he supplies that address to us,

we create his file based on the addresses he give us.

We did find that there was an error.

Again there was a company which had supplied data about a Mr Smith

to that address he used to live at.

I appreciate that's two errors.

Doesn't sound brilliant, but we've corrected that one as well.

Right, so how do we know the same thing won't happen again

to David or anyone else in a similar position?

Well, we've taken action to correct...you know,

to make sure there is now a comment on Mr Smith's file to say...

anybody who's going there, is fully aware that Mr Smith lives there

and his date of birth.

As a result of all his inconvenience,

what about some compensation for Mr Smith?

-Well we, we are looking at that.

-Can we discuss that now?

I'd prefer not to. I'm very sorry for what's happened.

As I say, hopefully the gesture we'll make to him,

he'll be accepting of that.

-Thanks for your time.

-OK.

Equifax have recognised a serious error occurred with David's file,

and they appear to be working hard to minimise the risk of this

sort of thing happening to him again.

And, importantly, to other people as well.

I've also heard back from the other CRA,

Callcredit Information Group, who had also passed on information

linking David to the Berkshire address.

They said the address had been supplied to them in 2006

by a legitimate data provider and it's since been removed.

It's great news but David's not going to be satisfied

until he knows that his credit history has been fixed.

This case of mistaken identity has turned David's life upside down.

Well, I'm back in Gloucester, and I've got some news for him.

-Hiya, David.

-Hello.

-How're you doing?

-All right, thank you.

-Got some news for you.

-Oh, jolly good.

I think you'll like it.

All right, David. It's been a little while now so,

let me tell you, I've made plenty of phone calls,

sent loads of emails, I've even met somebody and had a chat about the whole situation.

Everybody is putting their hands up and saying, "Yes, this is a mistake,

"it shouldn't have happened," and everybody is very sympathetic now.

We've been in touch with the debt collection agency, Cabot Financial,

and the CRAs Callcredit Information Group and Equifax.

Quite rightly,

all David ever wanted was for his credit rating to be put right.

Your credit rating has now been restored...

-Yes.

-..so it's now healthy.

They've put a flag on your system now

and they've told me that they will monitor that just in case

debts come in again against your name which aren't yours.

Cabot Financial sent me a letter explaining that in February 2012,

after receiving David's address from Equifax,

they inadvertently reported incorrect data to the CRAs.

"In recognition of our shortcomings we are offering

"you £250 in compensation.

"I'll extend the offer of £250 to contribute to

"a charity of your choice which we will pay on your behalf.

"Finally, I would like to further offer my apologies..."

Well, there's the apology. "..for any inconvenience our contact may have caused,

"and we will further provide you reassurance

"we have fully amended all relevant records

"and no further contact will be made by us in relation to this matter."

Apology, acceptance, acknowledgement -

they say it's not going to happen again. £500.

-£250 for you, £250 to a charity of your choice.

-Charity, yeah.

But we're not at the end yet because there's a letter from Equifax.

Equifax apologised for inaccurately linking David to the wrong

Mr Smith and confirm that no financial link will now show

between our David and the other David Smith.

"We appreciate the concern this matter has caused and would

"like to offer you £250 as a gesture of goodwill in recognition of this."

They've also offered David a year's free subscription to check his credit report.

So in total, across the two companies,

that's £500 in David's pocket and £250 for a charity of his choice.

-Are you happy?

-Yes, I'm a lot happier than I was a couple of months ago.

-What difference is this going to make to you now?

-Well, it's all good.

I can borrow money now, I can put my name on the mortgage

so my wife isn't solely responsible for the mortgage, so...

Yeah, it's going to make life a lot easier.

And it's down to you guys, it's brilliant. Thank you very much.

It's down to you, Dom.

We asked Cabot Financial for a comment on this case and they say...

Callcredit Information Group also commented...

Yeah, it's been eight years of coming and going

and it's just never really gone away.

It's always been there or hanging over me.

And so now that I've been compensated

and my name's been cleared, it's just all good.

It's just all good.

Tell you what, that is

an eight-year problem that's finally been put to rest.

Now David is over the moon. I'm chuffed to bits.

But there's also a little animal rescue farm just outside of Gloucester

who's going to benefit to the £250.

Kerching.