my Mum can't withdraw money from Santander

novamation

My Mum has an account with Santander, which she can't withdraw money from because she doesn't have id. She went into a branch in early December and they said they would send her a bankcard, which she could use as id. She tells me this is the second time she's had this discussion with them, so I believe they may have said they'd send a card out then, too, and didn't.

The bankcard hasn't arrived so I just phoned up for her (she's a little hard of hearing but won't admit it) they asked to speak to her directly to ask security questions, and she appears to have messed them up, and so they couldn't look at her account. They did say they would investigate the bankcard issue, to make sure it's not being used. They then said that she would have to go into a branch to sort this out, and take id! I explained that she's been told before that she can't use a bank statement as id, because she could have picked it up off of the street, and she doesn't have any photo id, so what do we do?
She can still write cheques, and that's what we've been doing, she writes me a cheque, and I can get money out for her, but it's hassle:(

To give some history, it's a joint account with my Dad but he's just died. They both used to be able to withdraw money from it, but in recent years both my parents have had trouble withdrawing money because of not having id, and the easy workaround was to give me a cheque and I give them cash. I'm not sure what their account type is, some old abbey national one, mine is an old abbey national instant saver - I don't even need any id, just my book!

Can someone tell us what kind of id she should get, will she have to get a passport specially?

She's in the process of getting incoming money switched to a barclays account, but I think she has the same issues with money withdrawals there too.:(

Chadsman

Sorry to hear you Dad has passed away.

Is the account a passbook account, a current account or...?

You need to find out why she needs ID to make a withdrawal? Occasionally I am asked for ID when making a withdrawal from a passbook account with other banks/BSocs- a signed credit/debit card has always sufficed. Would this satisfy Santandire?

talana

Santander's own id suggestions:
http://www.santander.co.uk/csgs/StaticBS?blobcol=urldata&blobheader=application%2Fpdf&blobkey=id&blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobwhere=1223414447659&cachecontrol=immediate&ssbinary=true&maxage=3600

Nothing on that list she could provide them?

McKneff

I was going to suggest just opening a current account elsewhere, transfer all money out of Sandtander, close Santander account fully.
She will be sent a debit card, no problem.

By the way, transferring a current account to Halifax gives a welcome gift of £100.
Ive been with them for years and never had a problem.

Could you register for internet banking for her, it is so much easier.

heloid

You could try:
http://www.citizencard.co.uk

Roughly £15 I think and fairly simple to get through the ID checks if you have a family doctor etc.

novamation

I believe it's a current account, I don't think it has a passbook. I just looked at a statement, across the top it says "The Santander Account" I can't see it stateing anywhere else what kind of account it is.

But yeah, my Dad, his financial papers are a huge mess, boxes everywhere, I haven't been through all of it yet, grrr. He was mostly in charge of finances, and I don't think he was very good at it

novamation

talana wrote: »

Santander's own id suggestions:
http://www.santander.co.uk/csgs/StaticBS?blobcol=urldata&blobheader=application%2Fpdf&blobkey=id&blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobwhere=1223414447659&cachecontrol=immediate&ssbinary=true&maxage=3600

Nothing on that list she could provide them?

We could possibly find "notification of entitlement to state pension" and a bank statement. I'm going to bet the counter staff won't know about it though... they didn't tell her before?

IrishGypsy

novamation wrote: »

We could possibly find "notification of entitlement to state pension" and a bank statement. I'm going to bet the counter staff won't know about it though... they didn't tell her before?

A pension entitlement letter (the enitlement part is essential here, not just a general pension correspondance letter) plus a utility bill in her name (in the last 3 months) should be enough (especially in a branch that she visits regularly). They should be the easiest ones to get (normally).

Annoyingly protecting against Fraud is a pain in branch as if we're strict people get annoyed, but if we aren't strict enough and people who shouldn't access an account, do, then we're in serious trouble. And being strict is the 'better' of the two evils

Best of luck

ses6jwg

Doesn't she have a bank card or a bus pass or anything with her signature/ photo on?

samwsmith1

abbas5001 wrote: »

If she does not have 1 form of acceptable ID to make a withdrawal i don't think she is going to be able to open a new current account.

But if she is on the electoral roll she should be able to apply (albeit maybe with some assistance) online for an account and have everything verified electronically.
That's what my Grandad did last year when he found out he could do it that way.
The Co-Op didn't require any registration for online banking when applying and so could simply be applied for online, and they can be operated at the post office.

Stuart_W

As Sam1Smith says, I can also confirm that a Co-op current account can be applied for online, which is electronically verified, and once the card comes through can be operated at the post office for withdrawals and deposits very easily. This, or something similar, might be the way to go. It comes with regular paper statements, so it isn't necessary for anyone to go anywhere near a computer again after applying if paper/post office based is preferred.