Ex in the red
Question
My husband left me six months ago, and has a lot of debt. I keep getting letters from lenders for him, and feel he may still be getting loans using my address. How can I check this out?
Answer
It's going to be difficult for you to find out if your ex is still using your address to get credit, because information of this kind is usually covered by the Data Protection Act. Under the Act, only the named person or their representative can gain access to their personal data without a court order.
Because of this, you may want to consider taking all or some of the following actions:
- Contact your ex and share your concerns. Stress that you intend to provide details of his new address to all the companies that he owes money to unless he does so himself;
- If letters are still coming after a few weeks then you can return them to sender with his new address;
- Contact the credit reference agencies telling them of this change of address. Be clear that none of the debts in his name relate to you nor the property you live in;
- If all else fails, you could contact the local police to express your concerns that he may be using your address to obtain credit by fraud.
To contact credit reference agencies for more information, visit the websites for Experian Limited; Callcredit plc and Equifax plc.
Updated: 26/10/2006
Question answered by CAB
