‘I’ve never banked with HSBC’ says man left with £17k debt after letter box raid

A man has been left struggling with a mountain of debt after fraudsters stole his identity by breaking into his letterbox. He said that the criminals quickly racked up more than £17,000 of debt with HSBC - a bank he did not even have an account with.

Jamie Cavanagh, 37, a civil engineer from East Grinstead, West Sussex, was shocked to receive a letter from HSBC in January 2024, which claimed he had racked up over £12,000 in credit card charges despite never having an account or any dealings with the bank.

He also found out that an HSBC current account had been set up under his name with a £5,000 overdraft that had been "maxed out", causing his credit score to nosedive by more than 300 points in recent months. Upon discovering the fraudulent activity, Jamie immediately reported the transactions to HSBC as fraudulent, suspecting that his identity was stolen by someone who "busted" into his letterbox and used his personal details to open the accounts.

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The stolen funds were mostly taken out in £350 increments from various bank branches across south London, and there were also transactions at retailers including Tesco, Sports Direct, and a number of chicken shops.

Residing alone in a large block of flats, Jamie has been cooperating with HSBC to shut down the fraudulent accounts and repair his previously "nigh on perfect" credit rating. However, he has described the process as "beyond poor" and akin to "dragging your arse across sand paper".

After a gruelling 14-week wait and with HSBC's investigation still pending, leaving the credit card account open, he took to X, formerly known as Twitter, sharing his plight which quickly went viral with