Identification Verification Everytime!!

mmlabbd1

Hi all,

I wonder if anyone on here will know the answer to this.

When I apply for new bank accounts, ISA's, savings accounts etc. I get to the end of the application and it the website will say something along the lines of "we will now automatically verify your identification"...then it always fails! They then always want me to send a copy of passport, utility bill in etc to verify my ID.

Now I'm assuming some people don't get this...and I'd rather not have to keep sending ID in everytime I change my ISA etc...does anyone have an idea WHY they can't verify my ID automatically. I'm a homeowner, on the election register, pay council tax, have a current account and two credit cards. I drive and have a passport...why can't banks find my details?

opinions4u

Around 50% fail the electronic ID verification so you're not alone.

Flat numbers, not on voters roll, mis-spelled address from a credit agreement, lack of credit, mis keyed address on your new account etc are common reasons for needing to produce physical ID.

Getting a precise explanation isn't going to happen though.

pqrdef

I always pass the online ID check, but I fail to see what use it is. It does nothing to establish that I actually am the person whose name I'm using. It would be very simple for somebody to steal my identity and sail through an online ID check.

Gromitt

pqrdef wrote: »

I always pass the online ID check, but I fail to see what use it is

I think its more of a "Yes, you almost definitely live at that address" rather than an ID check. Not really that important considering the websites that let you see who is living at what address. You could then pick a flat with a communal postage room and take the post before the owner comes home. I know this has happened to a friend. Never noticed until he was off one day and got a statement through the post for an account he didn't have!

Lith

mmlabbd1,

Just walk in the branch then...


don't give me that crap (oh i work no time) banks are open on Saturday's

jalexa

mmlabbd1 wrote: »

I'm a homeowner, on the election register, pay council tax, have a current account and two credit cards. I drive and have a passport...why can't banks find my details?

Don't know, but have you verified the *exact* details recorded on your Equifax and/or Experian credit reports. Is *any* of it either "wrong" or recorded in a different way to the way you fill in applications? If you go to the Royal Mail postcode website and provide your Postcode, is the address returned formatted *exactly* as you write it? Are your credit card and current account addresses *exactly* correct according to the Royal Mail postcode.

BTW some organisations use cheapskate non-Royal Mail postcode lookup.

MoneySaverLog

Lith wrote: »

mmlabbd1,

Just walk in the branch then...


don't give me that crap (oh i work no time) banks are open on Saturday's

And if you work Saturday's too? I know that some branches are open in the evening too. But I know I don't like wasting my 1/2 hour lunchtime standing in a long queue in a branch only to be told I need to see someone else by someone behind the counter when you get there!

I learn't that the hard way myself, so now go to the customer service desk if it's anything other than paying in/taking out or call ahead of time to make an appointment with the branch manager.

pinkdalek

MoneySaverLog wrote: »

And if you work Saturday's too? I know that some branches are open in the evening too. But I know I don't like wasting my 1/2 hour lunchtime standing in a long queue in a branch only to be told I need to see someone else by someone behind the counter when you get there!

I learn't that the hard way myself, so now go to the customer service desk if it's anything other than paying in/taking out or call ahead of time to make an appointment with the branch manager.

Well that's hardly the colleague's fault behind the counter is it? I mean if you walk into any bank and there is a desk which is quite obviously there for help/advice/information then why stand in a queue for a cashier that quite understandably processes deposits and withdrawals.

If you keep failing the electronic ID it seems clear it is not the fault of the company you are applying through does it? As other people have posted you can not pass the electronic verification for numerous reasons - not on voter's roll, not been there long, had several addresses in the past three years, no other credit relationships held eg credit cards/loans/catalogues. Details you entered on the application don't match exactly with what is held e.g. you are known by a middle name, flat number, new postcode.

elvis86

pqrdef wrote: »

I always pass the online ID check, but I fail to see what use it is. It does nothing to establish that I actually am the person whose name I'm using. It would be very simple for somebody to steal my identity and sail through an online ID check.

But presumably the same person wouldn't be able to obtain the application form that the company subsequently sent out to your address, unless you lived with them?

If you're living in a situation where your mail can be intercepted then surely that's something you would wish to address in any case?

I personally don't see the problem, seems like a good system to me. I'd rather be verified electronically than have to send my passport etc through the post.

ChiefGrasscutter

Join the crowd
I fail the electronic check every time.
Credit ref agency data checked, postal address checked, all OK for each agency.
Numerous credit/debit cards, on electoral roll, lived here for decades, no one else here, detached house rural village UK, ex-directory.
I still fail it every time.

One day I promise myself I will invoice them for my time - and the (increasing) postage of having to obtain the certified copies of the required data and send them off.