the identity conundrum

Honest John Back Room » General discussion ( non motoring )
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Thu 12 Aug 2010 16:56
the identity conundrum - concrete

My son does not have a passport, driving licence, benefit book, utility bills(lives at home) nor any of the usual forms of ID required by officialdom. He has a job, payslips, P60, student loan docs, security photo ID from his work, bank statements etc all of which are apparantly not acceptable to the jobsworths that seem to run our world. It is very frustrating trying to prove to some clerk, with the IQ of the ambient room temperture, that you are the very person stood before them. When the jobsworth was asked if he had any ID to prove who he was he could not produce any. All my son wanted to do was open a savings account for his holidays. There must be a simple way we can all have our own ID card, not an official government one. Just a simple passport photograph( preferably with a smile) endorsed by say a GP, Policman, JP etc etc. Good enough for HM passport office.Laminated at home and there for all who need to see it. Instead of all this cloak and dagger nonsense just to open a bank account or the like. Why is life so complicated for these people. There motto is 'Why make life diifcult, when with a bit of effort we can make it downright impossible' Rant over. Sensible suggestions very welcome. Concrete.

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Thu 12 Aug 2010 21:28
the identity conundrum - Max Headroom

etc all of which are apparantly not acceptable to the jobsworths that seem to run our world. It is very frustrating trying to prove to some clerk, with the IQ of the ambient room temperture, that you are the very person stood before them.

You identifed the problem when you said "clerk".

They do not have the authority or discretion to use common sense. You must ask to speak to the top brass, or ask the top bvrass to speak to the compliance manager.

Tell them to look up theThe Money Laundering Regulations 2007 No. 2157 which says:

Meaning of customer due diligence measures

5. “Customer due diligence measures” means—

(a) identifying the customer and verifying the customer’s identity on the basis of documents, data or information obtained from a reliable and independent source;

Download this official Government leaflet in plainer English to take with you when you go to see the jobsworth again.

www.moneymadeclear.org.uk/pdfs/proving_your_identi...f

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Fri 13 Aug 2010 08:14
the identity conundrum - Armitage Shanks {p}

A Citizen Card seems to fit the bill and could be useful in most circumstances, particularly when dealing with a jobsworth!

www.citizencard.com/

PS if they don't want his business try another bank! If they are good to him they might have a customer for the next 80 years!

Edited by Armitage Shanks {p} on 13/08/2010 at 08:15

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Fri 13 Aug 2010 22:38
the identity conundrum - Ben 10

Take the plunge and get him a passport. Sorts out so many things and he can use it for a holiday abroad within the next ten years. No-ones going to help you, you have to help yourself. We've all had to do it sometime.

I would have thought bank statements, work ID and P60s would have been sufficient for most jobsworths.

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Fri 13 Aug 2010 23:04
the identity conundrum - Armitage Shanks {p}

A first passport is a LOAD of hassle! £77.50 to get all the iometrics plus you have to attend for an interview. Might be useful in the future but it is an expensive way to open a bank account!

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Sat 14 Aug 2010 08:37
the identity conundrum - WellKnownSid

My last UK passport cost over £165 to renew. Why? Because the UKFCO thinks it fair that I pay a surcharge to cover all the fellow citizens that lose their passport whilst jumping from a third floor balcony or slumped in a coma in some bar.

So the next time you lose your passport abroad, please tear out a page from the replacement and send it to me, because I've paid for it and want it back!

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Sat 14 Aug 2010 14:17
the identity conundrum - Ben 10

" but it is an expensive way to open a bank account"

If you read the post properly, he already had a bank account because he is in work. If you read my post you will see that I cannot believe with all the employment connected paperwork and ID this is not sufficient enough to open a deposit account.

But if he wants his son to get through obstacles of this nature, and they wont accept his current accrued stack, then the BEST option is to get a passport, and the problem will ease.

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Sun 15 Aug 2010 08:14
the identity conundrum - Armitage Shanks {p}

I did read the post and I came across the following which perhaps you missed?

"All my son wanted to do was open a savings account for his holidays"

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Sun 15 Aug 2010 14:25
the identity conundrum - Ben 10

Yes, and hoildays can be taken abroad. Especially over the next ten years. I cannot believe he couldn't open a savings account with stuff already printed with his details on, but if it IS a problem, which I've never encountered, get a passport. Its not rocket science.

Why is it a problem AS. Labours ID card proposal was poo pooed by everyone, because we were being told , by everyone it seems, why have them when we carry around passports. This chap has neither. So maybe the ID card system might have helped him out. But in the absence of the defunct ID system and a driving licence, if he wants to open whatever account or do certain things in life, then he'll have to cart around an array of other amassed paperwork until he owns a property (utility bills, council tax) or learns to drive. So in the interim if he doesn't want a red face when he is turned down at a counter, GET a passport. It will free him to do so many things he can't already do.

There's no conspirarcy AS. A passport is practical whatever hoops you have to jump through to own one.

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Sun 15 Aug 2010 18:59
the identity conundrum - Armitage Shanks {p}

It isn't a problem, for me. I have two passports! It is inexplicable why, if he already has one bank account, he can't have another but that is between him and the loopy bank. My point was, and still is, a passport , which he may not need for years, is an expensive (£165 one poster says) and time consuming route to proving his identity. A Citizen Card might meet his requirement, more quickly and for a lot less money. Let us let him make up his own mind, based on the opinions posted so far. OP hasn''t been back to check yet, perhaps he is fed up!

Edited by Armitage Shanks {p} on 15/08/2010 at 19:03

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Sun 15 Aug 2010 21:45
the identity conundrum - Ben 10

£165 over ten years. Only £16.50 a year. Average about 4.5 pence per day Not expensive.

If you read my earlier posts, I agree with you that I can't understand with all his current paperwork and work ID why they wouldn't oblige. It was only a deposit account. But he will need substantial ID for something more serious. And lacking anything else for living with daddy, he'd be better off purchasing a passport. You never know he might fly the nest ;-)

Edited by Ben 10 on 15/08/2010 at 21:49

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Mon 16 Aug 2010 13:50
the identity conundrum - Cliff Pope

You could I think make a witnessed Statutory Declaration of identity in front of a solicitor, and that would be legally binding on anyone it was presented to.

The solicitor would be obliged to have seen sufficient evidence of your claim, but the exact nature would be up to his judgement based on the circumstances.

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Mon 16 Aug 2010 16:54
the identity conundrum - Ben 10

And how much would that cost ?

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Tue 17 Aug 2010 09:58
the identity conundrum - Cliff Pope

I made one recently to confirm identification in order to verify entitlement to a bequest.

It cost £5.

Edited by Cliff Pope on 17/08/2010 at 10:03

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Tue 17 Aug 2010 16:25
the identity conundrum - Armitage Shanks {p}

Did you just make a sworn statement to say who you are, without having to prove it with documentation? Almost back to square one!
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