Chased by Wonga for a payday loan he never took out
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A growing number of innocent people are becoming victims of fraudsters who use the payday lender Wonga to steal cash.
The first time most of them discover the theft is when £300 or £400 is suddenly taken from their account by the high-cost credit company. But according to a police statement about one of the thefts, Wonga "has chosen to write off the crime". Crooks repeat their con, leaving more people having their accounts drained.
Andrew Cotterrell, right, of Somerset was hit with a demand for £405.50 by Wonga in August, even though the 54-year-old former company director has never used a payday lender.
When he told the firm, he was surprised at how quickly they wrote off the debt and didn't seem concerned. "Because Wonga decided to write off the fraud, the police did not take action," he said. "This means that not only does the criminal walk free but the crime is not logged, which means the true scale of the fraud remains hidden."
Last weekend retail assistant Claire Desbois had £600 taken out of her account in nine transactions by Wonga. The 30-year-old from London said: "I had never used them but called Wonga right away. They said I'd have to speak to their specialist team on Monday. It was a worrying weekend."
On Monday, Wonga told Claire to call her bank which refunded her money immediately. "But how can Wonga take money from someone's account that has never borrowed from them?" she asked.
Ben Cox, a student at the University of Central Lancashire, found £600 had been snatched. His bank informed him Wonga had taken the money. "I told them I had never used Wonga and the cash was refunded," he said. "But my card was cancelled leaving it difficult for me to pay for essentials."
Wonga denied its systems are lax, pointing out that fraud counts for less that 0.01 per cent of loans. A spokesman said: "Where criminals do get through, our fraud team works with the victims, indemnifying them from costs or impact to their credit rating, plus working with the authorities."
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments