Do banks still require paper bills as proof of address?

kiwibrit

Most of my bills now come to me electronically. I was just about to switch my energy bills to be being on-line only, when I suddenly remembered that paper bills are often used for ID verification / proof of address purposes - particularly by banks.

Of course an on-line bill can be printed out - but the result is so easily forged that I would have thought it meaningless. So the question is, do banks still require paper bills as proof of address? A driving licence (if you have one) is one alternative, I suppose. Any others?

craftypem90

Hi Kiwibrit,

Yes, banks do still require it to be an original paper bill, some bills like BT can be acceptable when printed from an online account as it shows your address, others may not be acceptable.

globetraveller

For our property buying we have found that anything printed was not acceptable- regardless of whether your address was there or not. We had to switch from paperless for a couple of utilities. Its a bit of a pain and something most folks don't realise they need till they are actually asked for it.

poppy_f1

i am paperless for most accounts apart from 1 bank account so i have something just in case

Gromitt

kiwibrit wrote: »

Most of my bills now come to me electronically. I was just about to switch my energy bills to be being on-line only, when I suddenly remembered that paper bills are often used for ID verification / proof of address purposes - particularly by banks.

I've not been asked for paper bills for bank accounts I've opened in the last 10 years. Nationwide asked me for the number from my driving license, but Santander, Co-op, Saffron and some other have not asked for anything. I assumed these used a CRA for identity purposes.

Repeat3Times

It's a good question, kiwibrit. It's a bit hypocritical of the banks to push paperless billing - without warning, Santander stopped sending me paper bills until I asked for them back - while requiring official printed bills from every other company.

rb10

Remember that in addition to a driving licence and passport, you've also got a council tax bill that can be used as proof of address.

chanz4

tesco bank asked me for origional bank statments, they wouldnt accept halifax online or even bt bill from online

JuicyJesus

rb10 wrote: »

Remember that in addition to a driving licence and passport, you've also got a council tax bill that can be used as proof of address.

I do wonder about that. Surely everyone living away from their parents pays council tax? And isn't it a requirement to be on the electoral register anyway? (And thus able to be electronically verified)

tagq2

JuicyJesus wrote: »

I do wonder about that. Surely everyone living away from their parents pays council tax?

Student exemption; shared accommodation; NFA...

And isn't it a requirement to be on the electoral register anyway?

No. Some countries require voter registration; some countries require voting (Australia's the usual Westernised example). Not the UK.

[To clarify, since that might be misread: it's compulsory for some named occupier to fill in an annual voting registration form issued in October and it is an offence to lie on the form. This doesn't give the same result as compulsory registration!]

globetraveller wrote:

For our property buying we have found that anything printed was not acceptable-

Was this checked by asking, "Did you print this out or did they?" With my security/paranoia hat on, the people charged with processing new accounts are armed with detailed information on the type of paper and ink used in various types of document, examining them under microscopes or with ink testing kits (*). With my reality hat on, there are people going "OK that looks near enough", taking a photocopy and clicking a checkbox. It really is about initial assumption of honesty and having extra evidence in case dodgy behaviour comes to light later on.

(*) For immigration examining the passports of their own country, this is not unrealistic.

hermante

kiwibrit wrote: »

Of course an on-line bill can be printed out - but the result is so easily forged that I would have thought it meaningless. So the question is, do banks still require paper bills as proof of address? A driving licence (if you have one) is one alternative, I suppose. Any others?

Maybe I'm being misled by your username, but if you're a Kiwi and a Brit, it might be useful to have some things on paper. For example, I recently got called for Jury Service in Australia and had to post them letter proving I'm living in the UK..