On 19th May 2018, I received an email notification from O2, my internet/telephone service provider informing me that I had recently upgraded my tariff. Since I had not done this I rang O2' customer service and was informed that someone had stolen my identity and used it fraudulently to purchase two iPhones at the Carphone Warehouse store in Brent Cross Shopping Center.

The O2 Customer Service Operator advised me to ring Carphone Warehouse urgently to deactivate the iPhones and to report the fraudulent activity to Action Fraud UK Police. Fortunately for me, the iPhones were successfully deactivated and I also reported the fraud to Action Fraud UK Police.

Two months later, as I was busy trying to find who was trying to harm me and my reputation, I was the victim of a second fraudulent attack.

On 4th July 2018, I received a telephone call from Barclays Bank Customer Service, informing me that there had been fraudulent activity on my personal bank account. I was advised to visit my local branch ASAP with two forms of identification and my Barclays Debit Card to verify that the fraudulent transactions had not been made by me.

During my visit to the Barclays Bank branch in Kentish Town, I was informed that ... (name of Fraudster redacted by Change.org) had access to my personal account and asked if I "still" wanted to continue giving him access to my personal account. This was news to me. I had never given or authorised Barclays Bank to give access to

I couldn't understand how ... (name of Fraudster redacted by Change.org) had obtained access to my personal bank account, but it later occurred to me that the only person who could have given him unlawful access is Mr Illie Goldshtein, the Business Manager at Barclays Bank in Hammersmith, London.

(Name of Fraudster redacted by Change.org) and I worked on a film project in 2015, and we had an exploratory meeting with Mr Goldshtein to open a joint business account. Following our meeting with Mr Goldshtein, I decided against the idea and refused to open the joint account.

When I informed Barclays Bank that one of its employees, Mr Illie Goldshtein, had given unauthorised access to my personal bank account, the bank did not deny or confirm my allegation. Instead, Barclays bank despite acknowledging there had been fraudulent transactions on my account denied this amounted to fraud and refused to give a reasonable explanation of what had happened.

Since then my life has been a nightmare. Despite overwhelming evidence provided by the entities involved, my complaints to the Metropolitan Police, The Information Commissioner's Office and the Financial Ombudsman Service have fallen on deaf ears. The Information Commissioner has refused to properly investigate my complaint, stating that their remit does not include identity theft. Even my constituency MP and former Director of Public Prosecutions, Sir Keir Starmer, says that my complaint is complicated.

The response I have received from the Financial Ombudsman Service, who are currently investigating my complaint, has been disappointing. My simple request to obtain confirmation from my bank records of the identities of the person(s) who had unauthorised access to my bank account and who had authorised it has been met with obstructionist statements and a general disregard for their remit as the champion of the common man against big business.

I feel there has been a concerted effort by those meant to uphold the law to undermine and misrepresent the rules which protect us in the United Kingdom.

It is impossible to overstate the significance of my experiences for Black people and indeed all citizens in the United Kingdom if commercial organisations who we entrust with our personal data can use this information to incriminate its customers without consequence. 

I believe the Financial Ombudsman Service has the authority and power to put an end to the ostensible culture of impunity at Barclays Bank, O2 and Carphone Warehouse.  I encourage you to sign this petition to urge the Financial Ombudsman Service to act to keep the United Kingdom a safe and rules-based society.