What should I do if someone has used my identity to obtain credit?

Credit fraud is a crime. If you believe that information held on your credit file has been caused by another individual fraudulently using your identity details, then you should immediately:

• Contact the police and report the crime
• Obtain a copy of your credit file if you haven’t already done so
• Contact the credit providers involved and inform them of the fraudulent activity, otherwise they may hold you responsible for any bad debt incurred
• Contact your solicitor who can assist you with this matter and communicate the theft to the applicable credit providers

When dealing with credit providers you must keep all notes of all the conversations you have, including names, contact number and the date that you spoke to them. Each credit provider is different and you need to ask questions to ensure that you understand their process on how they handle fraud.

The credit providers will then conduct their own investigations and they will notify Equifax of the outcome. When this is done we will be able to remove any fraudulent information from your credit file.