Do I involve police ?

[sasserina]

I recently had a letter from debt collection agency stating I owed a mobile telephone company 1,000 pounds bill. I telephoned them and asked them when this was set up as I have NEVER had contract phone....They said it was set up 22nd April 2004 at my old address///I had been moved out 6 months...so leaves me with the impression that someone has used my identity...As it has been bank hols I was unable to contact phone company but I suppose my first port of call is to get hold of every bill from them including every call made from that phone to see if I can go through it and recognise any numbers...painstaking I know....Do I involve the police ??? Any suggestions greatly appreciated as nothing like this has happened to me before !!! thankyou very much ...

[Philtaz]

My advice would be to involve the Police at the earliest opportunity, as there is a case of obtaining property/services by deception at the very least.  Your identity may also have been cloned to a certain degree so it would be best to give the Police a call.

It would be helpful to take along some documentation( a recent bill or bank statement) which has been addressed to you at your current address for verification purposes.

[Lindy Loo]

I agree with Philtaz.

Get as much information as you can, but try to get documentation proving that you weren't living at the old address when the contract was taken out. Tenancy agreement, morgage details etc.

Good luck.

[undercovers]

definately contact your local police station, they will be able to advice you what you should do straight away and will be much more use than us i think.

[Pinotage]

I would say that the first thing to do is to reply in writing to the debt collection agency that you did not sign any contract, the phone company has never ever contacted you, their letter is the first you have heard of it, they are mistaken.

[KittyGlitter]

Is the debt collection agency kosher? Do you think it could be them that are acting fraudulent or did you actually speak to the mobile phone company? Yes speak to the police if fraud is involved. Keep records of all phone calls and correspondance you make in relation of this. You could also try speaking to the Citizens Advice Bureau. Hope it gets sorted soon for you.

[trodgers5]

As a qualified accountant with experience in debt collection agencies it would be unusual for them to track you down at your new address - are you sure this debt collection agency is kosher - do not send any money to them - any legitimate agency will provide you with all the information you need on this debt if it does indeed exist.  The next step is to phone the mobile phone company and ask them what you need to do because this scenario is quite common now and they have procedures in place to deal with this.  They will require proof of your identity, signature and bills relating to current place of residence and date from which you resided their.  Do not pay any money to anybody.  You should inform the police at some point but the mobile phone company will also inform the relevant parties with information needed to pursue a prosecution.