In desperate need of support and advice..

[Bonnie]

Hi, I've been in a lot of debt for some time now but things got out of control at the end of last year. I was registered by the FSA and was earning a commision based salary, on the basis I was earning a good wage I thought I could get on the property ladder, to cut a long story short they said they could lend me a lot less than previously stated, even after they had received all my wage slips. So as you can guess it all fell through. I decided at the start of this year I wanted a new direction in life and wanted to go to uni as the job I was in was soul destroying, I went for a simpler job and was told I couldn't have it due to my credit file. I printed it off and found out a CiFas flag had been put against my name by the mortgage provider. I was out of work for a few months and discovered debt matters could help me with my £27k worth of debt that was just too difficult to pay.

I am in the process of trying to get into an iva with my creditors but am finding it difficult getting a basic bank account due to this CiFas flag against me. I'm worried that I won't be able to do an iva as I bank with one of my creditors and can't get another bank account. Any help and advice would be much appreciated. Thanks x

[mick.i]

Hi Bonnie,

If you do not have Natwest as creditor then you should be able to open a basic account with them. You can bank on-line and you will also get a solo card.

Good luck.

[Bonnie]

Hi Mick,

I've just been declined by them for their step account possibly due to this cifas marker. Feeling at the end of my tether now, I tried doing that online do you think it would be better to speak to them in person re: my problems?

Thanks

[Qikichi]

Try Think Banking it costs £12.50 a month though.

[aguise]

Hi Bonnie have a look at thinkbanking there is a monthly charge but they will accept all regardless of creditors and though the charge covers you against any other charges and there is a maestro card ,so no need for a pre paid. Look at the managed account. Can be opened over the phone. Any other questions please ask.

Ang

[hara]

What is cifas?
hara

[mick.i]

Sorry to hear that Bonnie, You could try face to face but maybe one of the experts will have better advice.

[Bonnie]

What is cifas?
hara

CiFas is a flag that is marked against your name when you are suspected of fraud, however, I'm not a fraudulent person! The mortgage provider has assumed I'm lying as the amount of commission I earned and was shown on my wage slips did not match what my employer told them.

I have been given a level 4 cifas marker which is in essence "Application Fraud" and deals with material falsehoods inputted on application forms. They didn't even look into it further just dumped this on me and left me to pick up the pieces.

[Bonnie]

Thanks for you hints and tips I shall check out Think Banking online and get back to you all.

[hara]

Dear bonnie,
Some one to be labelled a fraud without grounds is open to libel,did you write to them asking for an explanation?

Have you had a word with your local Law centre.As I understand their advice is free.I did seek some advice.

I am of the opinion that you should not let rest such serious allegations un answered,corrected,apologised and compensated if the situation warrants.

Hara

[Storm]

What steps have you taken with the mortgage provider to resolve this situation - there are remedies.

[Bonnie]

Hi Hara and Storm,

thanks for your comments, I have complained to the mortgage provider and they are unwilling to remove this from my file, the next step is to go to cifas itself but apparently 99.99999% of the time they also reject it and say it should stay on my file for the full year. I'm constantly complaining about this, spoke to cab and they had never heard of it and basically sent me packing....quite disheartening on top of everything else!

[Adam Davies]

Hi Storm
I was unaware that there are various levels for a cifas,thought that a cifas was only put against a person for serious fraud i;e false address,employment etc.
How does someone stand regarding self certification of income ?? because we all know that false income figures are used.
Regards

Andy Davie
IVA.co.uk Spokesperson

About me:
http://www.iva.co.uk/andy_davie_profile.asp

IVA Helpline: 0800 197 4838
http://www.iva.co.uk/iva_helpline.asp

[markiboy]

You can write to Equafax and Experian and have a statement put on your file that you disagree with the Cifas.When I got divorced I put a statement on my file to disassociate with my ex, and you don't have to pay anything. In my limted experiance experian and Equifax will put anything on peoples file when asked by the creditors, however if you appeal and stir up some fuss they will normally remove it or add something in your favour.

[Storm]

The CRA's will only remove something if it is an error - you can appeal and stir up all the fuss you want but at the end of the day its either correct (and stays) or incorrect and has to be corrected.

Putting a statement re a CIFAS will have no impact what so ever. CIFAS is an automatic decline on all lending systems. There is a further fraud system which most lenders use called Hunter (http://www.nhunter.co.uk ) - the lender could potentially have flagged you on that system as well.

Reading back through the post - the circumstances were that your pay slips said one thing and your mortgage provider did a job check they said you didn't earn that amount. This is fairly simple to remedy - your employer is required to provide a statement of the actual monies you earned together with any tax or national insurance paid. This should verify that your wage slips and the total earnings match and as such the CIFAS should be removed.

This isn't a question of whether CIFAS or the Lender feel like removing it under the Date Protection Act and the rules of reciprocity they are required to correct the information in a timely manner.