Identity Theft / Alinta Energy Listed a Default on My Credit Report

Gills on 04/08/2020 - 12:59

Need urgent help to what my options are and how to go about the situation.

Back in April 2020 i was just going through my credit report to see my credit score online and noticed a default that was listed by Alinta Energy under my name. i was shocked to see that there as i never had an account with such company for anything.

I called their customer service to explain the situation and was advised that that was mistake and it will be removed withing 24 to 48 hours. i checked again a week later to see that the default listing was still there. I called again and this time i spoke to the supervisor and was reassured that they will look into it and get back to me after theri investigation.

Now i had a call from someone from Alinta saying that they have investigated and they are not going to remove the default as according to their investigation default is listed under correct person. when i asked the name and they said the account holders last name matches with your last name but their first name is different. and then is said isnt it clear then that it is not my name? to that they replied that the documents that we have given by the account holder has your first and last name.

Then i was advised to get a identity certificate from police and from Illion to confirm my details.

Just really confused on what to do and why should i spend all my time and energy to defend my case when i have nothing to do with all this.

Thank you guys and i will look forward to all your suggestions.

Financial

Related Stores

Alinta Energy
Alinta Energy

Comments

  • toniyellow on 04/08/2020 - 13:02
    +11

    Have you tried the Ombudsman?
    https://www.ewov.com.au/complaints/complaints-we-can-and-can…

    • Gills on 04/08/2020 - 13:30

      No I haven’t yet. But thank you heaps for suggesting!!

      • Gills on 04/08/2020 - 14:09
        +8

        Just spoke to the Ombudsman and they said they will get in touch with higher authorities in Alinta energy and will give them 15 days to resolve the case with my desired outcome and if they failed to do so them we will take it further.
        Thank you Toni for your suggestion.

    • [Deactivated] on 04/08/2020 - 14:51

      Note: these energy/water ombudman EDR schemes are state-based and OP would need to connect with the one for his/her state (eg EWON for NSW, EWOK for Queensland etc). But I would not suggest starting there.

      Here's my 2.2c worth (incl GST)

      Step 1 - IDR - Go to Alinta (the credit provider) and state you wish to make a complaint

      Step 2 - EDR - If Alinta can't/won't sort it out for you (they have 30 days to do so from the time you make a formal complaint) then raise it with the OAIC as a complaint under the Comprehensive Credit Reporting regime.

  • Fysh on 04/08/2020 - 13:03
    +3

    Lodge a dispute with the credit agency. They will ask for evidence and then it should be wiped if the details do not match. Explanations on how to dispute this will be on the credit providers site. Make sure you check your file with all the credit agencies.

    • Gills on 04/08/2020 - 13:36

      Yes i did and below was the outcome

      Conclusion
      The illion team has reviewed your enquiry and has concluded the entry will remain unchanged.
      Next steps
      If you are unsatisfied with the result of this review, please refer to the following available options:

      Lodge a dispute directly with the credit provider involved
Lodge a complaint with illion
If after taking either of the above steps you remain unsatisfied with the outcome of your dispute you have the right to refer the matter to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) or the Australian Financial Complaint Authority (AFCA)
  • Fysh on 04/08/2020 - 13:42
    +7

    If alinta believe that u are the customer then request an account history with all the notes and recording of the acceptance of the contract

    • Gills on 04/08/2020 - 14:07
      +17

      yes I asked them for all that but they said we cant disclose all that information as you are not the account holder and then i said hell yes, You are right i am not the account holder then take my bloody name off my credit report.

      • Fysh on 04/08/2020 - 14:21
        +2

        So get that in writing and send it to illion

        • Fysh on 04/08/2020 - 14:22
          +2

          And also go to energy ombusdman

  • picklewizard on 04/08/2020 - 15:35
    +7

    You might have to insist but the silver bullet will be the address at which the service was registered.

    If you never lived there and can produce a bill for another company (of any type) showing an address and a date, they'll generally remove it.

    If all else fails, obmbudsman. If it's legitimately not you, you will be able to get out of this without much hassle.

    Source: I used to do this for a telco.

  • Gills on 06/08/2020 - 12:11
    +5

    I thought i give you guys an update of the matter.

    First of all thank you all for your suggestions on how to go about with the situation.

    A special thanks to TONIYELLOW for suggesting the Ombudsman service as i called them and reported the incident. They assured me that they will get in touch with the Alinta energy at high levels and i received a call from someone within 24 hours apologising and advising that they have rectified that the your last name matched with the person who holds the account with us but has a different first name.

    The person who called me said that we listened to the voice recordings and you are different person and they have started the process of getting the default removed from my credit report and it will take 10 business days. she asked me if i have an amount for compensation in mind so she can report that to the legal team to that i answered i don't have anything in mind. i think that would be to do with ombudsman referring them to compensate me for this matter.

    I am glad to see the matter is being resolved without be going thru the hassle !!!!

    once again thank you!!!!!

Login or Join to leave a comment
Login Join