A man has described his shock at returning to his house and finding it stripped of all furnishings after it was sold without his knowledge.
Having been alerted by neighbours, the Reverend Mike Hall drove to Luton and found building work under way and a new owner who said he had bought the house.
A BBC investigation found Mr Hall’s identity had been stolen and used to sell the house and bank the proceeds.
Police initially told him it was not fraud but are now investigating.
poor man!What a nightmare
The disgusting part is the Police would not get involved until the media took an interest & it started looking like a bad PR day for them. Budget cuts & their chosen priorities are starting to leave them as much use as an ashtray on a motorbike, to those who pay local rates.
Good grief what an absolute nightmare! I can’t believe the initial attitude of the police, utterly shocking to dismiss it as a civil issue and nothing they could do.
This is too scary for words.
Its horrific isn’t it? Doesn’t bear thinking about. I don’t know how the police didn’t think its not fraud though? Surely ID theft is a criminal offence?!! Especially if its been used to this extent? Gosh it doesn’t give you any faith whatsoever in the police eh?
This not a new occurrence, but fortunately, not a frequent one. Identity theft is a growing problem and house owners need to be vigilant at all time.
Identity fraud and theft in property transactions (wrighthassall.co.uk)
Disgusting attitude shown by the Police… Can’t believe they didn’t refer him to Police Fraud investigations
I feel there is a lot more to this story.
There usually is, but it’s BBC article, so there’s bound to be more 
Wow can’t even imagine. Talk about next level home invasion. Jesus what a nightmare for that poor guy.
Try the Mirror:
or the Express:
and let us know … 
I think they’ve missed out important factors of this sale to sensationalise a story
Was Auction sale, On line estate agents
Cash purchase ? or Mortgage sale ?
TA6 ? yes or no
Was the property council tax exempt? were utilities suspended ?
And lots of other circumstances that allowed this to happen.
Mind saying that, twice we have come across a fraudster chancing his arm, both being family members
Interesting to read that the Land Registry have paid out in the LAST YEAR, £3.5 million, in compensation for property fraud. My goodness…this is awful! Also…what did they do with all his stuff?
You can listen to Shari Vahl’s exclusive You and Yours investigation on BBC Sounds.
Maybe the answers are there.
Can’t open the three links shown
