Sending your passport through the post for verification.

Moggles_2

Originally Posted by greyskittles
... it seems that all the online savings accounts with decent interest rates require you to send them ID

Asking you to post ID creates more work for them. I'm sure most would rather check you electronically, if at all possible, added to which lots of us do open these accounts without the need for certified docs.

Originally Posted by greyskittles
Why were they not able to verify my identity using their electronic verification system?

The short answer is that one of the details you entered during the online application process was incorrect, incomplete or does not match the records.

Are you on the electoral roll at your current address?
If yes, does your name & address match the details on the register? (Discrepancies can arise if, for example, you live in a flat or sometimes use a house name as well as a house number.)

There are several other possibilities. I read your earlier post in another thread about difficulty entering your passport ID number during B&B's online application process, so this may be the source of the problem in your case. If something similar happens, rather than struggle with an answer their system does not want to accept, it's best to ring 'em and ask. IME, the remedy usually takes a few seconds to explain.

Hope it all goes smoothly from here on
Best of luck
M

SlyOne_2

Nick_C wrote: »

If posting your passport, send it recorded delivery. YBS is a good account - do you ever go to London? They have a branch at the Aldwych, and can open the account instanly.

By all means, do NOT do that. Either take it to a branch yourself, or send it via Special Delivery, not Recorded. This is because if it ever gets delayed or even lost, Royal Mail will not provide you with any feedback whatsoever until 15 working days have elapsed.

This is happening to me right now. A company posted my passport by recorded to me last Wednesday, it's still not here. Royal Mail don't have a clue where it is, and I'm due to fly out Friday. Fabulous. Royal Service from the Royal Mail.

isofa

Personally I'd never post my passport to any third party, it's far too much of a risk, especially in today's climate.

Recorded delivery is a waste of time, it is still treated as first class, and still gets lost, offers no guarantees at all. As SlyOne says only Special Delivery has a bit more accuracy.

Hope you passport arrives back before your trip!

barak

isofa wrote: »

Personally I'd never post my passport to any third party, it's far too much of a risk...

Agreed!

isofa wrote: »

Recorded delivery is a waste of time, it is still treated as first class, and still gets lost, offers no guarantees at all.

Not entirely true! It does go with 1st class post, but I use it for posting share certificates after having one lost on its way to (or probably after arriving at) the registrar. For 70p there is compensation for non-delivery up to £34 - which roughly covers the cost of a replacement share certificate.

isofa

barak wrote: »

Agreed!

Not entirely true! It does go with 1st class post, but I use it for posting share certificates after having one lost on its way to (or probably after arriving at) the registrar. For 70p there is compensation for non-delivery up to £34 - which roughly covers the cost of a replacement share certificate.

There is no guarantee recorded won't get lost like 1st class though. It is just standard mail with a signature asked for on delivery if it actually arrives, plus a better rates of insurance if you pay extra. But no extra compensation will help if they loose your passport a few days before you are going to travel!

Special delivery is sent in a different way and has "guaranteed" delivery.

dunstonh

How does the passport arrive to you in the first place?

isofa

dunstonh wrote: »

How does the passport arrive to you in the first place?

That's a bit different as up until receipt of delivery, the responsibility is with the passport office. If it doesn't arrive you ring, they cancel it, add it to a list of missing numbers, which are also tracked at border control. And then they organise another.

When you post it and it gets lost to a third party, it's your responsibility to sort out the mess and organise a replacement.

And also you are posting to a third party, so who says what will actually happen to it? Will it get lost and misused by a Royal Mail employee, or if it arrives, will it get lost in the third party's departments, will a fraudulent employee use it as an identity theft item. The scope for misuse is huge.

Milarky

isofa wrote: »

That's a bit different as up until receipt of delivery, the responsibility is with the passport office. If it doesn't arrive you ring, they cancel it, add it to a list of missing numbers, which are also tracked at border control. And then they organise another.

When you post it and it gets lost to a third party, it's your responsibility to sort out the mess and organise a replacement.

And also you are posting to a third party, so who says what will actually happen to it? Will it get lost and misused by a Royal Mail employee, or if it arrives, will it get lost in the third party's departments, will a fraudulent employee use it as an identity theft item. The scope for misuse is huge.

And the joke is that it is only sometimes considered necessary to have particular documents such as a passport produced before opening a savings account with £1 due to the comically variable lists of 'acceptable ID' used. Let's pin the blame for this chaos were it squarely belongs - the government for not providing definitive and lists (so the financial organisations go and make up their own lists) to cover this sort of thing in the legislation (assuming that's necessary anyway)