{"id":1150,"date":"2025-06-02T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-02T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pharosstory.com\/?p=1150"},"modified":"2025-06-02T10:03:35","modified_gmt":"2025-06-02T10:03:35","slug":"i-loaned-my-parents-a-few-hundred-quid-then-they-stole-thousands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pharosstory.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/02\/i-loaned-my-parents-a-few-hundred-quid-then-they-stole-thousands\/","title":{"rendered":"I loaned my parents a few hundred quid \u2014 then they stole thousands"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img width=\"646\" height=\"363\" src=\"https:\/\/pharosstory.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/SEI_253538012_1748517060.043-f289.jpg\" class=\"article-image wp-image-23277786\" alt=\"Money Problem: My parents took out loans in my name and ruined my credit - but I don&#039;t want to report them\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t<\/div><figcaption>Lily wants to buy a house, but her credit rating is on the floor (Picture: Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"metro-article-audio-player\" data-vars-type=\"article-audio-player\">\n<div class=\"metro-article-audio-player-play-row\">\n\t\t\t\t<button class=\"metro-article-audio-player-play-button\"><\/p>\n<p><title>Listen to article<\/title>\t\t\t\t\t<span>Listen to article<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<\/button><\/p>\n<div class=\"img-container\"><img class=\"sponsor-image\" src=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/themes\/metro\/includes\/site-blocks\/article-audio\/assets\/powered-by.png\" alt=\"Powered by\" data-rewritten=\"false\" \/><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"audio-controls hidden\">\n\t\t\t\t<audio class=\"audio-element\" src=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ElevenLabs_2025-06-01T09_24_49_Axell-British-YouTube-Personality-_pvc_sp100_s50_sb75_se30_q50_b_m2-0b1f.mp3\" controls id=\"audio-683d76f5c8ce5\">\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\tYour browser does not support the audio element.<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<\/audio>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&#8216;I know people will judge my mum and dad for what I&#8217;m about to tell you, or call me stupid for letting it happen \u2013 but we all feel terrible already and really just need advice.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>Financially responsible Lily, 25, has just found out her credit rate has plummeted. The reason? Her parents have technically &#8216;stolen&#8217; from her, taking out a spiralling loan in her name. <\/p>\n<p>In the latest instalment of Metro&#8217;s <a data-track=\"inline-tag-auto-link_article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/the-money-problem\/\">Money Problem<\/a>, personal finance journalist and consumer champion <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/author\/sarah-davidson\/\">Sarah Davidson<\/a> gives some no-nonsense advice. <\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The problem&#8230;<\/h2>\n<p>Lily says: &#8216;About two years ago, my parents&#8217; rent went up at the same time as their car broke down, and they needed some money but had been refused credit. I was at uni and only working part-time, which barely covered my own rent and living expenses. I did have a good credit score though, and when I asked how I could help out, my mum suggested I could take out a payday loan of a few hundred pounds.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;I&#8217;m of the opinion that you do what you can for your family, so I agreed &#8211; and as promised, they paid it back on time. The issue is that they then kept borrowing small amounts each month (which the company seemed to allow without any additional checks). <\/p>\n<p>&#8216;The high interest rate got them further and further into debt and it snowballed into the thousands, which they couldn&#8217;t afford so ended up defaulting on.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;I didn&#8217;t find out until I checked my credit report recently, as I&#8217;ve now graduated and started saving to buy a house. Even though I&#8217;m angry at them (mostly for not telling me) I could see how ashamed my mum and dad were about what they did. <\/p>\n<div class=\"video-player\">\n<div class=\"metro-video-player \" data-track-module=\"video-player\">\n<div class=\"vjs-video-container vjs-fixed vjs-responsive\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t{&#8220;@context&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/schema.org&#8221;,&#8221;@type&#8221;:&#8221;VideoObject&#8221;,&#8221;name&#8221;:&#8221;Metro.co.uk&#8221;,&#8221;duration&#8221;:&#8221;T30S&#8221;,&#8221;thumbnailUrl&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2025\/05\/19\/16\/98535393-0-image-a-3_1747669105214.jpg&#8221;,&#8221;uploadDate&#8221;:&#8221;2025-05-19T16:09:35+0100&#8243;,&#8221;description&#8221;:&#8221;Deadlines move fast. 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class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder-headline\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder\">\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder-thumbnail\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder-headline\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\t\t\twindow.addEventListener(&#8216;metroVideo:relatedVideosCarouselLoaded&#8217;, function(data) {<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tif (typeof(data.detail) === &#8216;undefined&#8217; || typeof(data.detail.carousel) === &#8216;undefined&#8217; || typeof(data.detail.carousel.el_) === &#8216;undefined&#8217;) {<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\treturn;<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t}<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tvar player = data.detail.carousel.el_;<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tvar container = player.closest(&#8216;.metro-video-player&#8217;);<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tvar placeholder = container.querySelector(&#8216;.metro-video-player__up-next-placeholder&#8217;);<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tcontainer.removeChild(placeholder);<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tcontainer.classList.add(&#8216;metro-video-player&#8211;related-videos-loaded&#8217;);<br \/>\n\t\t\t});<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&#8216;Is there any way I can fix this without getting them into trouble?&#8217;<\/p>\n<section class=\"metro-comment-cta\">\n<div class=\"metro-comment-cta__inner\"><span class=\"metro-comment-cta__text-wrap\"><title>Comment now<\/title><span class=\"metro-comment-cta__text\">What do you think Lily should do?<\/span><\/span><a class=\"metro-comment-cta__button\" href=\"#metro-comments-container\">Comment Now<\/a><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The advice&#8230;<\/h2>\n<p>Oh Lily. The road to hell is paved with good intentions.<\/p>\n<p>I don\u2019t think you\u2019re stupid for &#8216;letting&#8217; this happen. It\u2019s a bitter pill to swallow, but in the eyes of the law, your parents stole from you. That\u2019s a criminal offence and you\u2019re a victim.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re not okay with that, you need to report it to the police. If you are okay with that, then covering the cost of that theft is on you. It\u2019s also up to you to work out how to deal with what your mum and dad did.<\/p>\n<p>If you had lost money as a result of another person taking a loan out in your name without your knowledge, you would normally take the following steps:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Report it to Action Fraud, the police department that deals with financial crimes. You can do this <a href=\"http:\/\/www.actionfraud.police.uk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">online<\/a>, by calling 101, or by calling their fraud or cybercrime specialists on 0300 123 2040. When you submit a report you will receive a police crime reference number.<\/li>\n<li>Report the incident to the payday lender, including the amounts and dates of the additional advances taken without your knowledge and your crime reference number. The company will either agree to reimburse you for the money taken, agree to a part payment or refuse to cover your losses.<\/li>\n<li>If you&#8217;re unhappy with this outcome, you can make a complaint to the company.<\/li>\n<li>If you&#8217;re still unhappy, you can wait eight weeks (usually) and then make a further complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>However, your question is whether there is any way you can &#8216;fix this without getting them into trouble&#8217;, which I\u2019m guessing means getting your money back and\/or getting this black mark struck from your credit record.<\/p>\n<p>Sorry, Lily. No can do. The bottom line is that unless you report the crime to the police, you are accepting that &#8216;you&#8217; took the loans and failed to repay them. That gives you no recourse to get your money back and no grounds to challenge the damage it\u2019s done to your credit score.<\/p>\n<p>If you don\u2019t want to dob your mum and dad in, then you need to forgive the past and focus on mending the future. To have any hope of that happening, you need to be comfortable accepting that &#8211; in the eyes of the law and of the lender &#8211; this is your problem to fix.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img width=\"646\" height=\"363\" src=\"https:\/\/pharosstory.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-2173426572.jpg\" class=\"article-image wp-image-23290556\" alt=\"Hugging lovingly in the park\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t<\/div><figcaption>She wanted to help her mum and dad out, but her efforts backfired (Picture: Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>You haven\u2019t said whether you\u2019ve had any letters or contact about the default, other than that you saw it on your credit file. You need to talk to your parents to find out why not \u2013 have they changed the contact details on your account with the payday lender? Have they had emails, calls or letters?<\/p>\n<p>Once you\u2019ve got all the facts and paperwork from your parents, here\u2019s what I\u2019d suggest:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Contact the payday lender to find out how much debt you owe and ask them if it\u2019s possible to agree a repayment plan with smaller monthly amounts that you can afford. Just be aware, they don\u2019t have to agree to this. Also make sure they have your correct contact details.<\/li>\n<li>If you have savings (you mention you\u2019re saving for a house), you could use them to clear the debt and then start rebuilding your credit score. Be realistic: the first will be a labour of love and the second will take time.<\/li>\n<li>Don\u2019t be tempted to use a credit card or another expensive loan to pay off this debt. However, if you can afford to take a fixed term loan and pay it off monthly at a lower interest rate, this could keep interest costs down. There are lenders that offer responsible loans for this type of situation \u2013 try searching credit unions and community finance in your area. Campaign group Fair4all Finance invests money into responsible lenders across the UK \u2013 you can find a list <a href=\"http:\/\/fair4allfinance.org.uk\/our-investments\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">on their website<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Your payday lender may already have referred you to a debt collection agency. If this is the case, the lender can give you their details \u2013 or your parents might have these already. Contact the debt collector to ask for your repayment options. Some will allow you to make smaller payments you can afford over a longer time. Others won\u2019t. Whatever you do, <em>do not<\/em> ignore letters. You could end up facing court action, which will make everything much worse.<\/li>\n<li>If you can\u2019t afford to repay the debt, contact one of the organisations listed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/debt-advice\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">on the Government&#8217;s website<\/a> for free and confidential help. They will be able to guide you on your best options and are not financially incentivised to advise you take out expensive debt relief orders or declare bankruptcy. Try to avoid those routes if you can.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Finally, you and your parents need to make this right between you or it will fester. Where there is money involved, feelings can become bitter over time. I\u2019d suggest you sit down with them over a cup of tea at a pre-agreed time to discuss it. Have all the paperwork in front of you and let them know beforehand that you\u2019d like to consider how they could help you with the repayments so they aren\u2019t blindsided.<\/p>\n<p>You might decide to write off some of what they borrowed in your name \u2013 it sounds like you\u2019re sympathetic to their financial situation and want to help if you can. I wouldn\u2019t recommend letting them off scot-free though. That\u2019s not fair on you and, frankly, if there are no consequences for them, what\u2019s to stop it happening again? After all, they seem to have been using your credit pretty freely to pay for more than just their rent and fixing the car.<\/p>\n<p>Use the meeting to work out what you and your parents can realistically afford each month. Add up all their income and subtract all their bills, allowing for some extra cash each month to cover unforeseen expenses. You should do the same. Anything left should go towards repaying the debt. Ask your parents to set up a standing order with their bank to transfer their share to you on a fixed date every month.<\/p>\n<p>Once that\u2019s done, contact the lender or debt collection agency and &#8211; perhaps with the help of one of the charities above &#8211; agree a repayment plan that you can afford to maintain until the loan is paid off. It might be worth agreeing an amount you can afford even if your parents stop contributing. I\u2019m sure you don\u2019t need telling twice that, even with the best of intentions, things can go awry.<\/p>\n<div class=\"factbox\" data-ico=\"factbox_article\" data-track-module=\"factbox_article\">\n<h2 class=\"factbox-title\">\n\t\t\t\tGot a Money Problem of your own?\t\t\t<\/h2>\n<div class=\"factbox-content\">\n<p>Have you been ripped off by a romance scammer? Fighting with family or friends over who should pay for what? Struggling to get by despite a decent income? Or simply want to vent about how you&#8217;ve been treated by a major company?<\/p>\n<p>If you&#8217;ve got a money problem you&#8217;d like Sarah to look into, fill in <a href=\"https:\/\/forms.gle\/Ab8Q9fQkEE3s1HdX7\">this form<\/a> or email <strong>sarah.davidson@metro.co.uk<\/strong>, providing as much detail about your situation as possible. <\/p>\n<p>No issue is too big or small, and all submissions will be treated with the strictest confidence.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong><em>Sarah Davidson is an award-winning financial editor and head of research at WPB<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Got a money worry or dilemma? Email <\/em><\/strong><a href=\"mailto:sarah.davidson@metro.co.uk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong><em>sarah.davidson@metro.co.uk<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lily wants to buy a house, but her credit rating is on the floor (Picture: Getty) Listen to article Listen to article Your browser does not support the audio element. &#8216;I know people will judge my mum and dad for what I&#8217;m about to tell you, or call me stupid for letting it happen \u2013 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1152,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pharosstory.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1150"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pharosstory.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pharosstory.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pharosstory.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pharosstory.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1150"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/pharosstory.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1150\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1155,"href":"https:\/\/pharosstory.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1150\/revisions\/1155"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pharosstory.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1152"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pharosstory.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1150"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pharosstory.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1150"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pharosstory.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1150"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}