Virgin Money Discussion & Feedback

I didn’t, I gave up. Figured it wasn’t worth my time for the extra 0.2% over chase in the end

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Nope never asked. There’s now a fair amount of money in there earning interest.

They never asked me for ID either.

That’s quite alarming in my eyes as how do they know the person is who they say they are, someone could literally open one in someone else’s details .

Not really… As if your personal details (Name, DoB, Address etc) all match then you’re good.

It would cause alarm if your address didn’t match and they still approved it.

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Yeah I found it really weird

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These are pretty easy details to get though right?

But most criminals who are trying to impersonate someone will more than likely know all of this to their victims.

Some electoral rolls registers allow you to check peoples information just from a name and town name, which is why I opted out to be on any public list.

Maybe they do further checks if you open some form of credit or overdraft. Guess there’s not much damage you can do with a basic account, what they gonna do, put money in it? :joy:

I suppose putting money in & out can count as making someone a money mule without them knowing.
If it’s the M plus account I think the overdraft unarranged comes as standard with the application last time I checked it.

Additionally some loans allow you to get a loan without ID if it’s paid into a bank that is in same details and same address. So they could do that too.

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Very good points. Definitely worrying then and seems like they’re setting themselves up for some complaints.

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@robsug @Ashton but they will write to you with at least a debit card.

If I got a debit card in the post and wasn’t expecting it I’d be straight on the phone to said bank

All my accounts I’ve opened, I’ve never had to show any form of ID apart from with challenger / FinTech banks and to get my Childs & Co account (RBS)

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I see your point although I guess the damage could have already been done. Although I suppose you won’t be liable for anything since it wasn’t you.

I feel like I’m more paranoid since every bank I’ve had has always forced me to show at least 1 method of ID so it’s new to me hearing this and doesn’t sit right as I’m not used to it.

I lie… ish… My Amex account I went through an account review a few months after it was opened. They wanted a copy of a payslip and then the review was complete :man_shrugging:

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Na, you’re still ‘on the electoral register’ as far as credit reference agencies are concerned, even if you opt out of the open register.

When you opt out of the open register, your details will still appear on the full version of the electoral register.

The full version and what it can be used for

Everyone’s name and address goes on the full version of the electoral register, and you cannot opt out. This is the version of the register that’s used for elections and referendums.

The full version of the register can only be used for:

  • electoral administration purposes (such as sending out poll cards before elections)
  • campaigning activities (for example, candidates and political parties sending election communications to voters, surveying opinions or fundraising)
  • preventing and detecting crime
  • checking applications for loans or credit
  • jury summoning in England, Wales and Northern Ireland

You can find out more about the difference between the open register and the electoral register.

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Redacted

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Maybe this is already known, but I’ve just been able to add my Virgin Atlantic credit card to Google Pay. VM have spent years saying it’s coming soon and now it’s here they seem to have not told anyone.

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I had a similar experience, except in my case it was my address they weren’t 100% convinced was right.

They asked me to upload a statement from another bank to a secure portal of the Amex website (yes, it wasn’t a scam - the genuine Amex website) and then call them back on the general customer service number to confirm I’d done it. While on the phone they double-checked it was received and processed correctly and then marked my mobile number as definitely me on the system too.

I got the impression it was a random check rather than anything brought on by my account activity.

Well they most likely used a combination of application data (run against fraud databases like CIFAS and National Hunter) credit reference agency data (checked against your application details) and possibly the electoral register as well.

If you feel at risk of fraud in any way then you can set yourself up for CIFAS protective registration so that every application you make has to go through extra checks and usually be confirmed by you personally - so automated applications alone would never work. However, this process can cause new applications for financial products to be difficult and onerous and it is usually only used after an account-holder has already experienced fraud (in case they are on a hit list and targeted again with the same stolen details).

I guess it depends on what details the credit provider gets when they search your credit file. If they get a list of account numbers and you’re wanting to transfer a loan to an account which matches then all good… If it doesn’t match then there is more risk.

But the risk is on the lender to complete KYC at an adequate level for their risk profile.

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oh mine was account activity… New account… Used it lightly for a few transactions then few months in I make a larger purchase (Macbook for uni) and they blocked my account for review. It was awkward in the store -_-

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