A Night To Remember

It was a balmy Summer night in Toronto, Ontario almost ten years ago. The concert was pure magic. The crowds began their orderly exit and Mike and I waited for an opportunity to get into line. Overhead the dome which had been closed started to steadily open, noiselessly. Peeking through the ever widening crack revealed a clear sky. Starlit.

We made our way through the remaining cars towards my Sunbird. I noticed a police car beside a van which was parked a few spots away from my Sunbird. As we made our way to my car I noticed my rear window had been smashed and shards littered the back seat.

With dismay I realized that I had left my wallet under the driver side seat for safekeeping. I opened the door frantically and poked around searching for my wallet.

I reported the loss to the police who sympathized with my predicament. They took down the details and gave me a reference number for the insurance company. The van had been similarly vandalized and all its contents removed. I didn’t ask .. I had problems of my own. I was shattered.

I made a mental note of what I had in my wallet .. social security card, library card, drivers license, health card and a few bucks. My CD player and the CD’s I had in the car were also removed. Wrenched would be a better description. Funny. It never occurred to me that I was now a statistic and a victim of one of the most insidious and gut-wrenching crimes in this day and age.

I advised the various government departments of the vandalization and was required to complete forms reporting the loss and applying for replacements. The insurance company told me to have the car repaired and itemize all the stolen items. They sent me a check for the losses and the car was as good as new.

Then the fun started. My dad who incidentally has the same name got turned down for an Amex card. His credit rating was pristine. Always paid up. Hardly ever carried balances forward.

He applied for a copy of his credit record from Equifax and was horrified to find a number of purchases from various out of province stores on his record. He went ballistic.

He called every company and threatened them with legal action if the offending item was not removed within seven days. He also filed a complaint against Equifax with the Ministry of Consumer Affairs.

He asked me to go to a lawyer and sign an affidavit detailing what had happened. This was sent to all the credit agencies with a note that any application for credit cards or any credit whatsoever must be confirmed in writing by the lawyer.

Within one week my father’s credit record was restored to what it was before the break-in. The government agency directed Equifax to ensure that my dad’s record contained not even as much as a hint of the offending entries.

Unfortunately I was not so fortunate. The fraud committed using my personal information took almost three years to expunge from my record.

Although the break-in occurred in Ontario the purchases were made in Alberta within two weeks. Organised .. perhaps. What is beyond belief is that companies were so eager to extend credit to an individual who almost certainly had to use my driving license as well as my social security card. I cannot believe that there is another individual who has my exact facial features.

My employer went beyond what was required of them to assist me rehabilitate my record. They wrote a letter to Equifax and to all the stores involved indicating that it would have been impossible for me to have made any of the purchases since I was at work during the crime spree. They attached to each letter copies of the automated signing-in/signing-out procedure which showed clearly my badge number on entry and exit.

Today I do not carry a credit card nor do I carry any form of identification except for my driving license. It was a devastating experience which I would not wish on anybody. I was so concerned about pickpockets at the concert I failed to appreciate that a car presents no challenge whatever to someone with criminal intentions. The affidavit and explanatory letter are still on file with the credit agencies and will remain there for the foreseeable future.

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