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Accidental disclosure

(8 Posts)
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Secondwind Tue 29-Jun-21 14:41:11

To cut a long story short, I’m acting as a guarantor for a relative. They will obviously undertake a credit check on me, so I’ve given them information to do that. They assured me that they work under Data Protection and GDPR and that the information is eventually destroyed. I’ve just realised that my National Insurance number was on some of the paperwork. I would not normally disclose this. My daughter paid for an online service once after she was conned into giving out personal information. The service would alert her if anyone tried to apply for a credit card in her name and so on.
She can’t remember what it was called and I can’t find anything online. Does anyone happen to know what the service is, please? Many thanks.

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welbeck Tue 29-Jun-21 16:26:32

for a fee, Experian offer web monitoring, to check for ID fraud.

www.experian.co.uk/consumer/index.html

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welbeck Tue 29-Jun-21 16:32:17

being a guarantor is a very risky thing to do.
you realise you could be left liable for the entire debt and costs.

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Esspee Tue 29-Jun-21 16:40:52

I am more concerned that you have agreed to be a guarantor for a family member.
Are you extremely wealthy that you can afford to cover their debt? If so I apologise.

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mumofmadboys Tue 29-Jun-21 17:24:22

Credit karma is a free service and they alert you if anyone tries to take out a loan in your name. Check your bank statement regularly. Risks are probably low. Try not to worry!

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sodapop Tue 29-Jun-21 17:30:51

I agree with Esspee & Welbeck please take care, being a guarantor is a very risky thing to do. Financial situations can change quickly and you could be left with a big debt.

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Katie59 Tue 29-Jun-21 19:21:19

Typically a guarantor would help a relative buy a house, if the relative defaulted on payments for whatever reason you would be liable for all payments including any loss in value of the property. In short you could have to sell your house to pay their debts.

If it’s any sort of business venture, if you can afford to give them cash to help fair enough, but don’t guarantee any loans.

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Secondwind Wed 30-Jun-21 08:27:36

I’m sorry it’s taken me a while to get back.
Thank you all very much for all your comments, cautions and kind advice. Definitely food for thought.

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