A man was astounded to come home and find his house had been sold by fraudsters.
Reverend Mike Hall was working away in Wales when he got a phone call from worried neighbours saying someone was inside his property.
He got back to Luton, Bedfordshire on August 20 to find the house had been stripped of his belongings and building work was taking place.
The shocked house owner was ordered to ‘get out’ by the new owner’s father who told him ‘You are now trespassing.’
A BBC investigation found Mr Hall’s identity had been stolen and scammers had pocketed £131,000 from the sale of his home.
Police reportedly initially told him no fraud had been committed as the Land Registry documentation online showed the new owner’s name.
Officers advised him to contact his solicitors about the ‘civil matter’ – but have since launched a probe into the devastating incident. No arrests have been made.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s You and Yours, Mr Hall said he ‘went to the front door, tried my key in the front door, it didn’t work and a man opened the front door to me’.
He continued: ‘I pushed him to one side and got in the property. I really didn’t know what he was doing there.
‘The shock of seeing the house completely stripped of furniture; all furnishings, carpet, curtains – everything – was out of the property.’
He added: ‘I was shocked – having seen the house in the state it was, I was in a bit of a state of shock anyway – but then to be told by the police they didn’t believe a criminal offence had been committed here was just unbelievable.’
You and Yours discovered a driving licence had been used to impersonate Mr Hall, while a bank account was set up in his name. There were also phone recordings of the house being stolen.
The solicitors involved said they couldn’t comment due to the ongoing investigation but would ‘co-operate and comply with our professional obligations’.
The Land Registry said ‘a very small number of fraudulent transactions’ were registered each year, despite their efforts.
A total of £3.5 million was paid to victims of fraud by the Government department last year.
Metro.co.uk has contacted Bedfordshire Police for further comment.
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