A Kelowna woman thought she took all the right steps after her personal information was stolen earlier this year but that didn’t turn out to be the case and now she’s warning others not to make the same mistake.
Anita Clegg had her purse stolen from her car back in March. She says she felt violated.
“Feeling really vulnerable, someone had access to all my information, ” Clegg said. “It was a horrible feeling and you panic.”
Clegg immediately called her bank, cancelled her credit cards and filed a police report. She says she even took an extra step at the recommendation of the RCMP.
“They told me to call Equifax and notify the credit bureau that that was going on, which I did, so I thought it was all dealt with.” Clegg said.
However, this past week it all came back to haunt her. Clegg says last Monday she applied for a credit card and was surprised to learn that she was declined. She went looking for answers and was even more surprised when she discovered why her credit card application was denied.
Clegg says she had her credit rating reviewed and the one from Equifax, the company she called earlier this year, came back squeaky clean but unbeknownst to her, there is another major credit bureau called Transunion and that credit review was anything but clean.
“My credit rating there was dreadful, dreadful.” Clegg said.
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Clegg learned that her stolen credit card and other personal information was used by thieves to start up a Rogers account and the unpaid bill was $4,500 leaving her with a poor credit.
“It was just unbelievable,” Clegg said. “I was just thinking how does this happen? You hear about identity theft and this kind of fraud but you don’t ever think it will happen to you.”
Clegg says Rogers is being very helpful and that her credit will be wiped clean but she’s warning people to be vigilant with their identification and reminding them to make all the necessary calls should their ID ever be stolen.
“It is taking time to clear this up,” Clegg said. “So if I can help anyone to avoid this, it is a good thing.”
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