Identity Protection

Mr C, Surrey
I took out CPP's Identity Protection policy after the first case of identity theft I suffered. I had received a letter from Ikea, saying that I owed them some money for a new kitchen I had supposedly bought. I'd never even been into an Ikea store. I got in touch with CIFAS who were able to prove that it wasn't me who had spent the money. CIFAS suggested I call CPP because they could help me out in future.
The incident kept me awake at night, wondering how it happened. I'm totally security conscious, which is why it was such a shock that it happened to me.

Anyway, we recently had another letter from Halifax about a card that had been taken out back in 2003 and had since been accruing interest. The debt was now over £5,000 and they had never bothered to try and find us! It just makes you think, "oh no not again". Fortunately this time we had CPP and they were brilliant.

CPP gave us total confidence that they were sorting everything out for us. Our CPP case worker was really good, he wrote to us and said there was nothing to pay out - and you can't get better than that.

It's a quality product and the cost is nothing for the peace of mind it gives you. We've had all of these problems, but thanks to CPP we've still got a clean record.

Mr W, Gloucester
Somebody stole my post, which included my DVLA form. The thief used my account details to get a loan, and put up my car as collateral. I first knew that something was really wrong when bailiffs arrived at my door and took away my car.

I spoke to the police and they said, "speak to the loans company" and then I spoke to the loans company who said, "speak to the police". After a while, I just didn't know what to do. I was confused and frustrated. Plus, there was the worry about what else the thief was doing with my details.

Then I remembered my CPP Identity Protection policy and gave them a call. As soon as I spoke to the guy at CPP, he told me that he would handle it from then. Finally I had someone on my side! Once CPP were involved the loans company took me seriously.

My personal fraud expert was brilliant. He was clearly knowledgeable and well trained to deal with people in upsetting situations. I am quite sure that I wouldn't have been able to resolve the issue myself.

If it wasn't for CPP helping me, I don't know if I would have ever got the car back. I'm sad to say now that I think identity protection is a real 'must-have' product, because of all the information about you that's out there. It's pretty scary when you think about how easy it is to replicate your identity.

Mrs C, Sussex
I was sent a kettle that I hadn't ordered from a mail order firm called Additions Direct. I called them and they said I'd purchased the item online with a credit card. It as quite a shock. They said I had £500 credit with them, so I asked them to freeze the account. Then I contacted my Identity Protection insurance provider, CPP, who immediately put a personal fraud expert onto it.

The police told me that someone had used a stolen card to buy the kettle. Luckily I managed to nip it in the bud. CPP put me on the National Fraud Database for 12 months, which basically means that additional credit checks are carried out if someone tries to take out credit in my name. It helps to prove that you are who you say you are!

I sent the CPP personal fraud expert all the details from Additions Direct and he sorted it out and cleared the credit check conducted by Additions Direct from my credit file. He was the liaison between me and Additions Direct and the credit agencies, so I didn't have to make any additional phone calls. That was really helpful because I think something like that would have been really time consuming and stressful.

CPP must have updated me every day until it got sorted and that's always reassuring. I would never move to another identity protection company - I feel confident that CPP are the best people to look after my identity.

Mrs M, Benfleet
I had experienced a serious case of identity theft about five years ago, which took me ages to sort out, so when I heard about CPP Identity Protection I took out a policy immediately. It was lucky I did because, soon after, one of the original problems reappeared.

The original incident occurred when the people we had swapped our council property with opened a lot of catalogue accounts under my name, using my previous address. They'd opened my mail, found out bits and pieces about me and opened accounts to buy electrical goods and clothes. Soon after, we were turned down for credit by our bank. We'd been customers for a long time and I felt embarrassed because I always keep a close eye on our money.

I thought all this had been resolved until recently when a threatening letter arrived from one of the catalogue companies. Fortunately, this time, I had CPP on my side. I explained the whole situation to them and they gave me a personal caseworker.

My caseworker quickly convinced the catalogue company that this latest incident was part of the original identity theft. They called the debt collectors, who stopped hassling me immediately. 

CPP were really efficient, helpful and knowledgeable. Most importantly for me, it was nice to know that I could pass the burden of worry onto someone else - it meant I could leave them to sort everything out for me and then get on with my life.

Mrs H, Southwark
It started when I got a letter from a finance company saying that I owed them over £1,000 on a loan. I just assumed it was a mistake and that it would be simple to sort out. So I called them up, but they were adamant that it was my debt. Next, the Department of Health and Social Security contacted me to say I owed them money for a loan I took out in 1992.

You think this must just be a mistake and it'll sort itself out, but the longer it goes on the worse it gets. You can't sleep and you start doubting yourself. The stress of trying to sort it out made me ill. I must have made so many phone calls and sent so many letters. It was months before I remembered the CPP Identity Protection insurance I had taken out. 

When I called CPP, it was like a weight was lifted from my shoulders. Finally someone was listening to me. My caseworker was very reassuring and told me that he was taking over. It gave me confidence knowing that he was suddenly there to sort it out, like my guardian angel! He'd dealt with these cases before and he just told me to send him everything and try not to worry. To hear that after months of getting nowhere was fantastic

When it did finally get sorted I couldn't believe it. I don't know what I'd have done without the CPP policy. It's worth every penny.