General Chat

We will accept a certified copy of a marriage certificate but we aren't allowed to ask for it ..............(Crown Copyright rules)

So if someone sends certificate signed as a true copy by say a solicitor we can we can accept it but we can't ask the customer to send a certified copy , if we are writing to them we have to ask for the "original"

J

Years ago when I worked in a government department, we could accept original copies and replacement copies of certs issued by the registrar. (bear in mind that what you receive in the first place is a copy of the registrar's original) We could also accept photocopies that were certified by a solicitor. But, the same as Wisechild, we could not accept plain photocopies. The reason was that the original that was photocopied could have been deliberately altered. Also, there can be relevant official information on the back of the original and how would this be known if a photocopy of just the front is presented.

We have just opened accounts with B*rclays, but have been told that if we need to deal with our accounts in the branch in future we need to bring ID each time. It makes sense really as there could be new staff in future that don't 'know' you.

Think they accept certified copies, but not photocopies.
I still have my original marriage cert & my divorce papers.

My son couuldnt get a passport coz I couldnt show that I married his father!!!!!

So I rang them thinking he got it wrong ....But NO

your mum cant show she married your dad so you cant have a passport!

So I had to get a copy of my marriage certificate and my divorce papers then sent it all

So the passport office DOES accept copies!!!!!!!!!! and without that copy you cant have a passport!

the guy didnt understand why my divorce solicitor took my marriage certificate ???

Shouldnt they know the rules!

Believe it or not, I had to show more ID, including a paid account with my address on it when I joined the local library!

I had to wait a month, for the first telephone bill!



:-|

I have to deal with this sort of thing every day at work ( work doing admin for some big fund managers) and it is a real pain not just from the customer's side

The trouble is that these rules come down from government to prevent money laundering so the banks et al have to show that they are doing these checks otherwise they get fined.

The way they do it however is not set in stone so they all have their own ways

Usually they will use Experian or the like to verify people electronically/job done

if not then they will require one piece of ID to verify identity and another different item for address.

I think you should have been able to open the account with a 17 year old child's birth cert and proof of your address (council tax bill). Your letter from the Child Benefit people should also have been accepted. The trouble is no one ever thinks outside the box any more (even if they have a box to thnk outside of in the first place!)

Just escalate the problem to the person who has the ability to take the decision

Jan

Yes, I was getting bogged down in American statistics, and then side-tracked by discussions as to insularity, large country, change in regulations as regards Mexico and Canada, implication that new migrants would get passports to make life easier, so % of those born in America with passports may be less than quoted....

Once again, people who travel frequently for work or holidays abroad make wild assumptions about what is 'usual' and cannot comprehend the idea of people without passports.

I worked briefly in a school on the south coast, near a port, but some pupils had never been abroad.
I do not know how many, but the school had arranged a few days holiday across the channel, and it definitely was a new experience for several.

Only about 30-35% of US citizens born in the US HAVE passports.


They just do not travel outside the country.

However, their own government has caused problems for the approximately 200 million who do not have passports .....................

new "safety" regulations are now in effect whereby ANYONE entering the US from Canada or Mexico MUST have a passport.

Previously, Americans only had to show a driver's license, and by convention and agreement, Canada and Mexico also had to let Americans into their countries with only a driver's license for ID.

However, Canadians had to show passports. Not sure about Mexicans


I crossed the border from Mexico into the US about 5 years ago ............... and the US Immigration Agent was surprised when I showed him a passport.

In 2011 16% of people born in the UK did not have a passport, but I do not know whether that is mostly older people with no passport.

Still looking for information on google.

OH and I had an account in our joint names with a credit union, opened in 1972 when we bought our house.

Around 2000, that credit union merged with another larger one, and we were told our account would be moved to a branch of the other credit union, nearer our home.

The credit unions MERGED with the members' agreement, members who were actually considered shareholders. It was not "taken over".

Fine ................. until OH went in and discovered that he couldn't access the account, even though he wanted to deposit money in it.

He had to show 3 pieces of ID, at least one of which had to be photo ID, and provide a signature.

They also said that I would not be able to use the account unless I provided ID.

I don't drive, so my only photo ID is a passport.

I got on my high horse .......................... it was an account we'd had for almost 30 years, and I didn't see why we suddenly had to show ID.


Since then, OH has operated it as a savings account for him, depositing his loonies and toonies there (ie, $1 and $2 coins :-D ).


I'm beginning to think though that I probably should give in, and go and show them my ID ................... if anything happens to him, then I would have to do that anyway.


Florence ............. our banks used to be the same ....................... any sign of a threat that you might leave, and they would bend over backwards to correct the matter!

We have been with our current bank for a long time, and have been dealing with the local branch on a weekly basis for about 15 years. All the tellers know us, and some of the account managers also. I have the feeling that if we did have a problem, then they would try to sort it out. Not sure about the Manager!

I wanted to open a bank account when I went back to work. The money I earned was to go towards "special" things, like holidays etc, didn't want it to get lost in the joint account.

'phoned the bank first, asked what I would need.... was told, birth certificate, passport, driver license etc etc... so many points for each one, how many points needed etc.

Went to bank. Filled in forms.

Birth certificate ~ no good, because it had my maiden name.

Passport ~ accepted

Driver License ~ no good, because it was from a different place and had no photo ID.

I told the bank person that I had a joint account with my husband, and a fixed term deposit with them. She said that was unacceptable. I told her the fixed term deposit was in MY name, and if they didn't open an account for me I would take my money elsewhere. She talked to the branch manager.............and an hour later I had an account.

I wasn't impressed.

I'm quite a bit older than 18!

My son is 17 and earlier this year(may), he decided to open his own account as he was going to college in sep and with him getting a bursary he would need an account for that. He had to make an appointment(had 2 wait 2 weeks for that) and he needed two forms of id.

I explained that he was 17 had no driving licence or passport and lives at home with his parents. They said his birth cert was not a valid form of Id.

I asked then what can he do. We had to apply for a young scot card which has his photo on or he couldnt open a bank account even though i have banked there for 20 years and used to be a member of staff.

They told me they rarely meet a 17 year old who doesnt have a passport. Well it costs a lot and whats the point if you dont travel away out of uk?

So he applied for the young scot card and 2 weeks later was able to open account. What a polava it was. Worse they wouldnt get someone to open it when we went in but had to make an appointment.
Changed days. When i worked in the bank, if a customer threatened to go elsewhere because we were slow or incompetent, we were in trouble with the boss for losing business!

It seems to me they dont need new customers as much as they use to or they would make it easier to open an account.

Rant over!
Florence
in the hebrides :-P

Try opening a bank account for a severly diabled son.

My sil has had an awful time opening a bank accout for her 30 year old Downs Syndrome son. Prior to the DLA changes his money was paid into his parents account. Now it has to go into his own account.

He can barely write his name, he is tongue tied and it is really hard to understand his speech. And when they went to the bank they wanted to deal with him on his own!!!!

After weeks of tooing and froing they finally got his account opened but what a palaver. He has no concept of money, This is his logic If you give him 4 50p pieces he will love it because it looks more, but give him 2 £1.00 coins and he will think you have not given him as much..... And this is the chap who has to have his own bank account..... PRICELESS

yes you do
but daughter lives at home with us so she doesnt get bills

I quite agree with you wisechild our photo ID cards were so much easier than an A4 sheet of paper without a photo. I have just swapped my UK driving licence fo a Spanish one. The other pain is you have to carry everything around with you and keep all the papers relating to your car either with you or in the car.

Sorry littlelegs we've taken your thread a bit off course. Don't you need a utility bill or something similar now to open a bank account in England.

surely a birth certificate isn't worth the paper it is written on

Oh I see, littlelegs. I thought the bank was being difficult because they needed daughter to open her own account - confidentiality and all that.

I don't have a current passport or driving license which throws 'officials'. I have my birth cert but the fact that was good enough to get me the now out of date passport doesn't wash with them. I still have neither but managed to buy and sell properties, where there's a will.....

Good advice though but crazy that birth cert won't do for the sake of a day - maybe the banks are obliged to swell gov coffers.

Uzzie
Such a stupid idea doing away with the residencia ID card. The scrappy bit of paper we have now is useless.
For a 2nd photo ID I use my OAPs bus pass, which is issued free of charge if you are pension age & has a photo on it.
If I know I´m going to need ID I take my passport, residencia, health card & bus pass. That usually satisfies the most demanding people.
Mind you, my handbag weighs a ton.

My daughter opened her own at 15 she has a bank card so she can shop online ect...I would have thought everyone would need a bank account before then for wages even if its just a Saturday job

ID is always difficult.
I need 2 forms of photo ID to claim some of Mum´s estate ...HOW ? I have a passport that is it ...I have a residencia but they are no longer photo ID. I do not have a driving license....well I do but I do but for the health and life of everybody else on the roads I have never updated it.
There is a way of getting the further ID required and that is going to a solicitor and asking them to stamp and sign your photo etc (bit like a passport) but it´s costly if you have to keep doing that.

Littlelegs good advice there ..most young adults will start wanting their own bank account around 18

Good thread