Name mix-up leaves family in financial 'nightmare'

A man and his family have been "caught up in a nightmare" after one letter in his name appears to have been erroneously changed by a financial services company.

Blackpool man Marc Thomas said he updated his address with VW Financial Services, and his details were mistakenly merged with those of another man whose name is one letter different and shares the same date of birth.

The mix-up means the 54-year-old has been turned down for loans after he was linked to the credit history of his namesake.

VW Financial Services has been contacted for comment, while the Financial Ombudsman Service confirmed it was looking into the error.

Mr Thomas had sought to change his address under a car lease agreement with VW Finance in 2020 when the mix-up happened.

The father-of two told the Local Democracy Reporting Service he had not noticed the error with his name until he was denied a loan to fund improvements to his new home.

"I’ve never had debt or credit cards, so according to my broker, I was a lender’s dream, but my application for a loan was turned down."

The engineer said he had been left about £15,000 out of pocket as a result of having to extend his stay in a rental home, after delaying the work.

He said he flagged the mistake with VW Financial Services in March but his address was still linked to the financial details of the other man.

"It is not just the financial side, it is all the stress it has caused us as we have been caught up in this nightmare through no fault of our own."

The London-based office of the Financial Ombudsman Service confirmed it was looking into Mr Thomas's case after he lodged a complaint.

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