annualcreditreport.co.uk has picked up the gauntlet laid down by the National Consumer Council, and on 2 January 2007 launched the country’s only web and telephone based identity theft assistance centre.

The free service:
  • helps consumers to learn how to take steps to reduce the risk of falling victim, online and quickly, using the Identity Theft Expert System
  • helps consumers to monitor risks by helping to get and understand their credit report automatically and annually, using annualcreditreport.co.uk
  • advises victims on the actions required to be taken using the 20 point victim assistance plan published by Credit Reporting Agency
  • enables consumers to report all lost and stolen documents, so that banks and others may check the validity of personal documents as part of their authentication processes.
  • helps consumers to take the necessary steps to prevent further fraud
  • contacts all the relevant service providers on victims’ behalf
  • keeps victims informed of progress; and
  • has an ongoing consumer education role.
One of the fast-emerging range of paid-for identity theft protection services, costing around £84 per annum, and currently marketed by banks and building societies, has been labelled the 'most useless financial product’ by Which? magazine. Such services are often modelled on US products, where the market is estimated to be worth US$900m per year, and in our opinion have not been translated well to the needs of UK consumers.

In contrast, the National Identity Theft Assistance Centre provides reliable information on the true risks, personalised advice on how to avoid falling victim, victim assistance and support, all for free. All you need to do is to be a subscriber of our free credit report service on annualcreditreport.co.uk and you’ll have the peace of mind of knowing that expert advice and help is at hand should the worst happen.

If you are a victim of identity theft and would like to use the National Identity Theft Assistance Centre, simply email us at victim@annualcreditreport.co.uk with brief details of how you have discovered that you are a victim, or phone us on 01872 308645, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.