Anyone without a passport or driving licence trying to open a student account?

saver2006

went to 4 banks today (HSBC, Lloyds TSB, Barclays and Natwest)
asked to open a student bank account-
was asked: 'do u have a passport'- i said no
ws asked: 'do u have a driving licence'- i said no
and i was then told there was nothing they can do

this is completely ridiculous! surely banks know not EVERYONE has a passport or driving licence- how on earth are these people supposed to open a student account

pondie1

my daughter was already a hsbc customer and went to upgrade to student account,she didnt have passport and they wouldnt accept provisional licence,the other assistant said she could check the household electoral role to know they exist,it worked and they accepted that

Gemmzie

Passport and Driving License are generally the only accepted form of ID because of the security measures and fraud being so rife at them moment.

Apply for a passport, before October and it'll be £66 and much simpler, do it after and it'll be more complicated and expensive.

marshall2k

A passport costs £51 at the moment and a provisional driving licence £31. Either make good forms of ID but as the driving licence is credit card sized it's a bit more practical to carry around.

CrispyUK

pondie1 wrote:

hsbc customer and went to upgrade to student account,she didnt have passport and they wouldnt accept provisional licence

Odd, HSBC took my provisional licence no problems when they upgraded my account (quite why they need to prove your identity when you've already had an account for years I don't know and is one of my many annoyances with them recently).

Some places do seem a bit funny with provisional driving licences, the lady in Co-Op Travelcare had to check with her manager before she'd accept mine for foreign currency.

I don't see why, the only difference between the two is a full one certifies you can drive to test standard - you have to be genuine to get hold of either of them!

regularsaver1

some banks will be able to use your existing debit card for proof of name and then another form of id for address


ps. make you bear in mind the student benefits with each account to compare

fabwitch_2

If you open a savings account for under 16 child or have one already with the Abbeynational you can then open up a student bank account without any difficultly, you just need your savings book and birth certificate as proof. My 14 year old daughter has just opened a student bank account because he Abbeynational told us its much easier to open one under 16 than when you are over 16. Once you reach 18 the account is altomatically given the status as an adult bank account. The difference fo the under 16 bank account s that there is no overdraft facility

regularsaver1

you can not usually use a birth certificate over the age of 18

different rules for different types of accounts and ages

did you look at this post by martin http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cgi-bin/viewnews.cgi?newsid1093692301,68353,

lellie

As someone that checks ID every day as part of my job I understand fully why they only accept driving license and passports. For some of the tests we do, we accept other ID, but it's so hard to establish if they are genuine sometimes. The driving theory test obviously is just the driving license.. I also wonder why they wouldn't accept a provisional - the difference between the photocards is minimal - they are a different colour, the full license has a EU flag rather than the L (LD in wales) in the top left corner, The rest of the license is made up in exactly the same way - contains the same security features etc.

As for passports - I think you should apply before the new system comes in anyway - that way it will save you some money and you've got an ID document - even if you don't intend to travel it's something you're gonna need. You will need to produce ID when you start uni, you will need it if you ever get a part time job while at uni.. You will probably need it when you go drinking! Most places these days will only accept a driving license and passport - because they're the most secure.. even then they're subject to fraud.

I have a welsh driving license and I often get funny looks when people see that - because they're not used to them - but I explain how they're the same - just have welsh as well as english on them so they look more cluttered.

pondie1

my other daughter has just been into hsbc to change to a student account and came up with the same problems,no passport/full driving licence,they said they have recently changed and dont accept provisional etc

netally

Agh, sounds a pain! I only have a provisional and a birth certificate for ID. My passport is expired, would they still take that?