ReAssure

bigblue2

Hi
Has anyone been contacted by ReAssure regarding policies they have brought from Barclays life?, i received a letter from them stating they have been trying to find me in regards of a life insurance policy i took out over 20 years ago, i only paid into it for a couple of years max when i was in my late teens early twenties so i had completely forgotten about it ,
I sent them all the information they requested but they then wrote back to me saying my signature had changed , which in over 20 years it probably has, they sent me a signature verification form out which needs to be witnessed by either a financial adviser, solicitor, or bank manger, that's fine if you have one but i have none of those although i was told a solicitor that it would probably be something like £150+ to get that done which i don't have .
I contacted their customer services to ask if i could go their head office in Telord in person with all my I D and get them to verify it personally but they informed me they don't do that , which i find strange given that these staff are trusted to make decisions on if the information you have sent in is 100% legitimate , the customer services adviser then told me it probably wasn't worth pursuing if i had only paid in for a couple of years .
Anyone else had issues like this , i hate the thought of someone having money that should be mine but they are just throwing obstacles up all the time and i haven't got the money to waste on solicitors for them to turn around after and say sorry the policy is worth nothing .
Any tips or advice would be gratefully received
Regards
Gary

dunstonh

I contacted their customer services to ask if i could go their head office in Telord in person with all my I D and get them to verify it personally but they informed me they don't do that , which i find strange given that these staff are trusted to make decisions on if the information you have sent in is 100% legitimate , the customer services adviser then told me it probably wasn't worth pursuing if i had only paid in for a couple of years .

When someone signs to verify your ID in a professional capacity, it comes with a legal liability. The average staff member at a call centre are not trained to do that and are not of a professional standing to sign it.

They are stuck between being required to verify your ID and you not providing sufficient ID to meet the required standards.

Has your signature changed much?
Do you still bank at same bank you paid the premiums on? If its a known bank account to them, that often helps the with the ID. A bank statement with your name, address, sort code and account number on matching the bank details they used for the direct debit goes a long way with most insurers. At the end of the day though, you need to ask the insurer for solutions.

bigblue2

thanks for the reply , i can see they need to be 100% sure and act in accordance with the requirements set out but it's really created a very tricky situation, i guess my thinking was they have staff of a high enough level at a head office to be able to satisfy the reuirements, after all i would have thought if i was actually stood in front of them with photo ID etc it would actually be better than a witnessed letter , granted that would have been witnessed by a professional person.
unfortunately (or fortunately) i no longer bank with Barclays although i did try them but they just told me the policies are nothing to do with them now and they don't do personal verification for none customers, my signature probably has changed quite a lot as i was a teenager when it was set up now 43 and i probably sign 50-60 times per day for work now so it's got pretty broken down

dunstonh

i guess my thinking was they have staff of a high enough level at a head office to be able to satisfy the reuirements, after all i would have thought if i was actually stood in front of them with photo ID etc it would actually be better than a witnessed letter , granted that would have been witnessed by a professional person.

if it was a just a witness, then anyone could do it. However, the fact they have specified certain professionals indicates a higher standard requirement. For example, all the ones you mention have to comply with the anti-money laundering ID checks.

Contact Reassure and ask them what they are looking for in terms of ID. It maybe a selection of documents work. After all, they are not looking for someone to verify your signature. They are looking to verify you are who you say you are.

bigblue2

Been in contact with ReAssure , they are a strange company to contact , they have a contact us online form but once you fill it in they say we can't reply to emails 🙄, what's the point in emailing them then, anyway rant over I have asked over the phone what I.D I can use and they still want the usual, passport,driving license, birth certificate etc but that has to accompany a signature verification , how the heck do fraudsters manage it I can't even get my own money off a policy they brought , so they buy my policy from Barclays who had all my contact details and then ask me to prove who I am ......hard work

Chris_Pollard

bigblue, frustrating though it might be some companies won't reply via email to guard against fraud and scammers. Many insurance policies were effected before email was used, and many people change email addresses, hence companies have no idea whether bigblue2@something.com is you, or someone scamming to find out policy details, or personal details to undertake identity theft. There's often logic behind what appear daft rules, but that's not to say things always run smoothly.