26 Feb 2015

A question about : ISME (Marshall Ward) bogus account set up or scam?

Hi, not sure if this is the right or best place for this but I am somewhat concerned by a letter I received in the post ehilst away on holiday. The letter is from ISME (Marshall Ward) - online/home shopping and the format of the 'letter' is 'an account statement addressed to me saying I have Ј1,000 credit limit, current balance 'nil'. It even has an account number and an official looking statement date of 14 Jul 12. I have never a) ordered or bought anything and b) never set up an account online or applied for credit with this company.
So, being a cynic and somewhat paranoid, I attempted to call their 'customer contact number' (0844 charged at 5p per minute) but after 15 minutes of music on hold gave up after being led to beleive there was no longer than a 10 minute wait at the start of the call.
So, my quesitons are:
1) Is this just a marketing flyer set to look like an account in your name to encourage you to then 'spend spend spend,
and then
2) Get you to call a non geo number and hang on for ages whitst they cream in your money
3) Both of the above
4) More cynical and someone has setup an account in my name and will be ordering goods that I'll have to prove was not placed by me?

How do I get this company and others like it banned from carrying on this way?

Hope someone can help/advise.

Thanks

Bangon!!

Best answers:

  • Thanks for your reply Wywth, Sent email as suggested - got an acknowledgement onlyy saying 'they would pass to their 'specialist team' who would reply within 3 working days - these have now passed and I'm still waiting. I will give them a further 24 hours then chase up.
  • Hi Bangon,
    If you need any help or have not heard back from our customer service team soon.
    Please email your details to contact_isme@isme.com and put 'help' in the subject box.
    We will be able to confirm to check the information you have received and will be able to advise you further.
    Many Thanks
    Nicola
    Isme Company Respresentative
  • Hi, I have made contact with ISME customer services and their accounts team have confirmed an account had been opened online in my name by someone else. The account has been closed and a CIFAS mark placed against my name to highlight the fact that identity theft has been attempted. No purchases were made on the account. The only info ISME gave me about the account were:
    1. Date account opened
    2. The account was opened online.
    3. They asked me to confirm my month/year of birth during my call with them and also would not give me the email address used to open the account, all they would tell me was the email service provider (withheld here for security reasons).
    I am very concerned about their apparent lack of process/procedures for authenticating online account opening requests and the ease at which Ј1,000 of credit was opened. They assured me that when a purchase is attempted, further checks are made - they did not provide details of the nature of these. I am somewhat skeptical of this, to say the least.
    This type of online account should be outlawed - period!! Online fraud is prolific enough with credit/debit card details being compromised. Allowing online opening of 'credit facilities' seems to me to be plain foolish and likely to leave the finance company behind the credit facility with large amounts of fraudulent transactions.
    I think I have been very lucky that no purchases were made due I feel that I acted as soon as I received a statement - the identity thief clearly obtained or had knowledge of my real address (not that difficult really). Fortunately ISME did not offer 'paperless' or online statements - as if this had happened I would have been none the wiser until probably way too late!!
    I would add that I am an IT professional and am very 'Internet/IT security' aware. I am sure many others will not be as lucky.
    I intend to follow this up with both Experian and the appropriate authorities as there must be some evidence or papertrail of the perpetrator.
  • A copy of your credit report will certainly reveal whether your details have been used to approach any other organisations. If there is fraudulent data registered on your report then we will help you remove it. Just get in touch with our Victims of Fraud team.
    James Jones
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