Abbey: dormant account, ID request

We have a joint Direct Saver (now what they term I think a 'legacy account') which hasn't had any transactions for some years, so wrote to Abbey at Bradford last week asking them to close it and send a cheque (made out in our joint names). We had both signed the letter.

Just had the reply advising they're 'unable to process' the request as it's in a dormant state, and asking for 2 forms of ID either sent to them or taken into branch:
1. Photographic ID - valid passport or drivers licence.
2. Proof of address - driving licence/utility bill dated within 3 months.

For one thing I don't have any photographic ID: old-style driving licence and no current passport, so if it really is necessary I'll have to check with them what alternatives there could be.

But before contacting them I wanted to ask here about the requirement for ID in itself.

I do accept this account would probably be classed as dormant, but would it not have any bearing that we both have other Abbey accounts in sole names which are active*, also our joint mortgage, and we haven't moved for 25 yrs? -- donkeys years before this account was opened, with no address changes for this or any of our other accounts which carry the same details and signatures, which they could check.

I could understand it better if they'd had a letter out of the blue from a completely different address and this was the only account, but that's not the case... or am I missing the point?

[* 2 x sole eSavers certainly have been, but 2 other old sole passbook accounts with minimum balances have not -- at least, not in terms of any transactions, but both have been taken into branch annually for the pence interest to be added, i.e. they've been regularly produced and 'audited'. They were also going to be closed when the DS had been sorted.]